People who are devoted to "strangers"

People who are devoted to

Ms. Tran Thi Oanh kindly guides disabled children to complete scholarship procedures in preparation for the new school year.

At the age of 64, Ms. Oanh has a happy family, but she does not sit back and relax in her old age, but is still working hard every day on charity work. With the motto "Living is giving", she comes to charity and humanitarian work, because she thinks that God has given her health and is with her children and grandchildren, so she must contribute and share meaningfully, then that joy and happiness will last.

Preparing for the new school year 2025-2026, she took advantage of the attention of the Vietnam Association for the Relief of Disabled Children and the Association for the Support of Disabled People, Orphans and Protection of Children's Rights of Thanh Hoa province to grant scholarships to 11 disabled children in the ward, each child 1 million VND and a gift bag. She took the children to receive gifts, completed the procedures with caring instructions like a relative. This is one of the small things that Ms. Oanh does with all her heart and love for the children, hoping to make up for their disadvantages. Many times, she did not hesitate to spend her own money, mobilized benefactors to support funds to carry out many meaningful charitable activities to help orphans and disabled children with scholarships, bicycles, and sponsor the children every month so that they have the conditions to go to school. In addition, she also asked for wheelchairs to give to the elderly who had strokes, or had mobility problems...

During her years working at the old Dong Son District Party Committee, she was the Deputy Chief of Office and Chairwoman of the People's Party Union, so she understood the feelings and concerns of workers and gradually became more attached to them. In 2016, she retired from social insurance and continued to participate in social work in the locality. Witnessing many disabled children born not as complete as normal children, children without fathers, children without mothers, children with parents suffering from mental illness, serious illness... Ms. Oanh understood and devoted herself to the disadvantaged. She always wondered how to help children after finishing school to have a stable working environment to make ends meet. If there were no one to help and encourage them, they would have to drop out of school to find work while they were not yet of working age, did not have enough social knowledge and could easily be lured by bad elements.

With that concern, Ms. Oanh and the association's collective surveyed and made a list of orphans and disabled children in especially difficult circumstances studying at schools in the area to call for and mobilize help. Regardless of rainy or sunny days, she is always on the roads and uses previous working relationships to mobilize agencies, businesses, and philanthropists to sponsor, help the children and accompany the association. From 2020 to now, she has mobilized 27 collectives and 22 individuals to sponsor 86 orphans and disabled children studying from grade 1 to grade 12, each child from 300 - 500 thousand VND/month. Up to now, many children have passed the university and college entrance exams, some have graduated from school. She personally contacted to find jobs for 2 children with stable income; sponsored a child since grade 8, Nguyen Thi Duong in the old Dong Thinh commune, orphaned by her father, living with her mother in great difficulty. Up to now, Duong has graduated from high school and is studying a trade.

In addition, Ms. Oanh also called on benefactors to support the establishment of a volunteer club consisting of 8 brothers and sisters to organize charity porridge cooking for poor patients at Dong Son General Hospital every Monday morning; mobilize traders at Rung Thong market to give children clothes, shoes, and school supplies. On average, 150 children receive gifts each year, each worth 300 - 500 thousand VND. In 5 years (2020-2025), she and the association mobilized to build and repair houses for orphans worth 630 million VND...

The contributions of Ms. Oanh and the association have partly alleviated the difficulties and disadvantages of orphans and disabled children, helping them overcome their inferiority complex and confidently rise up in life. Those actions have been recognized by the Party Committee and the government; the children's relatives are grateful. But more than anything, for Ms. Oanh, it is the right thing to do to spread love, sow more hope for disadvantaged children to step firmly into life.

Article and photos: Le Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nguoi-het-long-vi-nguoi-dung-259645.htm