Always keep the fire of charity

In August 2022, I went to Germany and had the opportunity to meet her. I found out that she is a famous blogger in this country with the nickname My Ha Phan, which made me curious...

Mobilizing the community to help fellow countrymen…

After graduating from university with a degree in economics , then struggling and trying her hand at the Berlin food market, My Ha started investing in business in 2011. Thanks to her tireless efforts, she now owns a chain of 3 restaurants in the German capital. She is the accountant and arranges all business activities herself. In addition to running and managing the restaurants, she also participates in social networks and has become an influential figure for the Vietnamese working community in most states of Germany.

My Ha told me about the time when the historic flood in October 2020 caused heavy damage to the people in the Central region. At that time, people at home and abroad opened their arms to share the losses of the people caused by natural disasters. Faced with this situation and believing in the hearts of a few thousand friends on Facebook, My Ha called on friends to join hands to contribute to relief. Not only friends but also many individuals and associations enthusiastically responded. In just a short time, she called for donations and added her personal money to transfer to Vietnam more than 20,000 euros, equivalent to nearly 500 million VND for a volunteer group of the Quang Binh Youth Volunteer Association (about 30 people) in Dong Hoi City, to bring relief to the people. In particular, My Ha alone donated hundreds of millions of VND in personal money. The full names and donations of the benefactors were all transparently announced by her.

Phan Thi My Ha was awarded a Certificate of Merit by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son for her outstanding achievements in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and helping flood victims in the Central region.

"Friends, relatives, and kind-hearted people around me always encourage me to keep the fire of compassion burning. If I can do good things, I will continue! So I continue my work towards the community," she confided. So when I hear that my fellow countrymen are facing difficulties due to the impact of the epidemic or that my second homeland is suffering from natural disasters, My Ha and her friends and benefactors "rush to the rescue".

Later, relying on her influence, My Ha continued to mobilize the community to send tons of clothes to people in the highlands of Quang Binh province. Thanks to her wide connections, the cost of transporting the goods by plane was waived, only the warehouse cost was about 500 euros. During the Covid-19 outbreak in Bac Giang, My Ha called for 4,570 euros to send back (thanks to Tu Tam Charity Association in Quang Binh) to contribute to the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic as well as transferring money to coordinate with Tu Tam Charity Association to buy food and groceries worth more than 100 million VND to transport to Ho Chi Minh City to support people affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

She also coordinated with many individuals and groups to mobilize masks during the outbreak in Germany, contacted and made appointments to go with Vietnamese Embassy staff to deliver them to hospitals in Berlin. Here, she closely coordinated with Ms. Vo Dien (President of the Phu Hai District Association, Quang Binh), calling on the community to support 23,700 euros to bring the body of a fellow countryman who suddenly died from Germany back to Vietnam. She also called on the community to help another young Vietnamese man who had a stroke with a large amount of money... Like the previous times, when she had not received enough donations, she advanced her own money to promptly transfer the money to support the victim.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she mobilized philanthropists to donate 200,000 masks, worth 90,000 euros, to Vietnam through the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany. All charity activities were photographed and recorded. Many philanthropists even gave cash to My Ha without having to post their names or ages online, enough to show their trust in her. She told about Mr. V.Th.Ng., the owner of a restaurant in Stuttgart, about 600 km from Berlin, who donated 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 euros to support his compatriots in difficulty during the pandemic, Vietnamese refugees from Ukraine... Listening to the story, I kept thinking about the kindness of Vietnamese people who are always ready to help those in difficult circumstances, those who have had unfortunate events, regardless of whether they are compatriots far from home or people from other countries...

Phan Thi My Ha (second from left) and businesswoman supporting masks (center)

Help provide the necessities refugees need

Helping people in need in their second homeland

In July 2021, Southern Germany was flooded, more than 180 people died, hundreds of people went missing, thousands of houses were destroyed. My Ha and other philanthropists organized a call for donations to support people in the affected areas, with heavy losses in human lives and property. Just on the first day of the call, 7,000 euros were immediately donated, the whole batch received 30,000 euros. She joined the Embassy to give to representatives of the affected areas. When receiving 15,000 euros in support, the representative of the Rheinland-Pfalz state government expressed his great emotion and gratitude for the warm hearts of the Vietnamese community in Germany for sharing with the families of victims of natural disasters. The remaining amount was given to the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen.

In February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. When Vietnamese people in Ukraine evacuated to Poland and then to Germany, they were lost, helpless, and lacking everything. The most difficult thing was that no one knew German. My Ha volunteered to be an interpreter or translate documents, fill out forms, etc., and provide free consultation without any remuneration. When people sent information via her Facebook asking for advice and help, My Ha followed a volunteer group of Vietnamese people in Germany to a transit camp 100 km from Berlin to provide support. She wholeheartedly advised and guided those who entered the resettlement camp, and those who had relatives in German states who needed her. She sent messages calling for support for people in times of trouble, and she personally donated 6,000 euros. My Ha also went down to the place herself 8 times to deliver relief goods. Before leaving, she surveyed the refugees' immediate needs through Facebook. Thanks to that, essential items such as instant noodles, rice, kettles, rice cookers, razors, hair clippers, shoes, medicine, cooking oil (which was very scarce at the time), seasoning powder, fish sauce, etc. were delivered directly to the refugees. My Ha also received support from some charitable businesses, such as selling goods at original prices including rice, suitcases, clothes, strollers, etc. to help share with the people.

Her Facebook page has a lot of friends, nearly 100,000 followers. Many news, policies, and guidelines that Germany has just issued, published in print or online newspapers, she has accessed, exploited, quickly translated and posted on her page, of course with sources and not forgetting to orient public opinion correctly. In addition, she also helps advise many cases about petitions and documents of workers in Germany that need to be submitted or translated, at the same time advises, guides and answers on some policies and laws of the federal government to help workers and Vietnamese citizens avoid violations... Therefore, the Vietnamese community in Germany, especially the youth in Berlin, highly appreciates the quickness of a non-professional "journalist" like My Ha, so when she calls for support, she is always responded to and actively supported.

Having good economic conditions, being accompanied by many individuals, organizations, Vietnamese associations as well as friends, German and Vietnamese businesses on charity trips or calling for support for difficult circumstances has helped My Ha gain more motivation in community activities.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/mai-giu-lua-thien-nguyen-185230609130612888.htm