Editor's note: Over the past 50 years, Ho Chi Minh City has always been known as a dynamic and humane city. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee (VFF) of Ho Chi Minh City has played an important role in making that mark. The VFF is the link connecting the community, creating consensus and a place where people place their trust, give love and share.
The path of love
Mac Dinh Chi Street these past few days has not only been the entrance to an office, it has become a road of love, of footsteps following each other without stopping. When the clock pointed to 11pm, the rain suddenly became heavier, but the flow of people was still crowded.
A female worker, her shirt darkened by the rain, quietly placed two boxes of instant noodles and a bag of baby milk on the reception table. A tech driver, still in his raincoat, carried boxes of necessities. Couples struggled to carry bags of groceries, milk cakes… These images are not strange to this city, but every time they appear, they still make people silent. In the middle of the night traffic, in the middle of a sudden rain, in the bright white light of the Front yard, kindness does not need an introduction; it just needs a place to anchor, to be sent to the right person in need.
In the middle of the Front yard, dozens of volunteers worked tirelessly. Their union shirts, militia shirts, young workers’ shirts, student shirts, young mothers’ shirts… were all soaked with rain, but they all worked hard to sort each box of goods. A young person said in a gasp: “We come here as soon as we get home from work. We work until the bus leaves…” No one claimed to be doing something big, each person only did a small part, contributing to the love of the whole city.
Thoroughly grasp the viewpoint “People are the root” in all activities of the Front. Action programs must originate from practical requirements, from the legitimate needs and aspirations of the People; respect, promote and protect the people’s right to mastery.
(Documents of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Congress in Ho Chi Minh City, term 2025-2030)
The later the night, the more urgent the atmosphere. Each truck full of goods leaving is a gap that is immediately filled. The sound of pulling tape, the sound of goods being loaded onto the truck, the sound of people calling to adjust the straps…, all blend into a rhythm typical of the seasons of love. The trucks run all night to reach Khanh Hoa province, where thousands of houses are still submerged in floodwaters. Before that, there were trucks going to Lam Dong province, carrying blankets and medicine for people in landslide areas. There are trucks heading to Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces, where children are lacking milk, many families are lacking common medicine. Each truck is like a heartbeat of the city sent to their compatriots in times of trouble… The city’s people understand that, somewhere hundreds of kilometers away, there are people waiting for trucks of love.
In the past, the whole country helped me...
Not only a gathering point for goods, the Front yard is also a place to evoke memories of the days when the city fought the epidemic. At that time, the whole country turned to Ho Chi Minh City with hundreds of tons of goods and thousands of volunteers. Today, the city responded to that affection naturally and respectfully. An elderly Front official looked at the crowd and said: "This is the natural course of affection!"
What moved many people was not only the quantity of goods sent, but also the way they were received. Everything was clearly recorded, carefully counted, sealed in batches, and allocated according to the needs of each province. This transparent way of doing things created lasting trust among the people. No one worried about their gifts “going to the wrong place”, because they believed that the Front would deliver them to the right people. And the Front understood that trust was more valuable than money; once it was built, it had to be maintained with all responsibility.
In that space of affection, there are quiet stories that touch people's hearts. Like the story of Mr. Chau Quoc Lam, a Chinese man living in Phu Dinh ward. For many years, he and his little daughter lived in a dilapidated house with a sinking floor and a corrugated iron roof, and each rainy season was a season of sighing. Thanks to the support from the Ward Front to repair the house, the new house has helped the father and daughter have a warmer shelter. "I have been helped, so I must know how to help in return," he said when he brought a small amount of savings to contribute to the people in the flood-affected areas.
Not only Mr. Lam, many families who received support before also quietly contributed some gifts to send to the storm area. Some contributed a few cans of milk, some contributed a few kilos of rice, some contributed a few tens of thousands of dong, that was their way of responding to the heart that the Front had given them. It is these small actions that help us understand that social security is not a one-way giving, but a circle of sharing, where those who received help can become givers.
The days of storms and floods also highlight the role of the Front as a "support". In each natural disaster, the Front not only stands up to receive, but also acts as a coordinating agency, a place to synthesize needs, and a focal point for regulating social forces. From businesses, organizations, religions, volunteer groups to ordinary people, all turn to the Front as their first choice.
Near midnight, the rain was less heavy, but there were still people who came late, their hands trembling, asking: "Are you still accepting?". The receiver smiled: "Yes, people out there are still waiting." That was the city's silent promise to the people in the flood-affected areas: no one would have to suffer alone. Likewise, in the white light of the Front yard, new pairs of sandals were arranged in boxes, family medicine bags were neatly folded, clothes were classified by age... are small but genuine pieces of the spirit of sharing. All combined to form the most beautiful image of the city on rainy days: a city of love.
The rain will stop. The water will recede. But the city’s spirit of solidarity, through each night of light on Mac Dinh Chi Street, through each overnight bus ride, will remain forever. Amidst the loss and damage of natural disasters, that light is proof that: The Front is always present in the right place, at the right time - in the hearts of the people.
The program “Eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses” in recent times in Ho Chi Minh City has built and repaired about 1,800 houses for poor, near-poor, households in special circumstances and policy families. Along with that, Ho Chi Minh City has supported funding to build and repair hundreds of houses in remote, mountainous provinces.
Since storm No. 10 affected the Northern and Central provinces until November 23, the Ho Chi Minh City Relief Mobilization Committee has received 32,418 donations worth more than VND244 billion; received 29,000 family medicine bags, 70 tons of rice, 1,376 tons of essential goods with a total value of more than VND136 billion from individuals and organizations sent to our fellow countrymen in the Central region. It has spent more than VND190 billion in cash and goods worth more than VND136 billion to people affected by storms and floods. In Khanh Hoa province, up to now, Ho Chi Minh City has supported VND50 billion; operated 4 field kitchens (providing 24,000 meals/day/2 meals); donated 10,000 life jackets, more than 2,430 tons of goods, 10,000 family medicine bags; More than 1,200 officers, soldiers, doctors, and volunteers directly supported at key locations.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/mat-tran-to-quoc-trong-long-dan-bai-1-sat-canh-cung-dan-tu-nhung-dieu-nho-nhat-post825643.html
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