The Da Nang expatriate association in Ho Chi Minh City is supporting people affected by floods through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Da Nang City. Photo: XH
In this land, kindness is sometimes nurtured through acts of sharing, through stories of compassion, quietly but persistently, extending through many generations.
1. No matter how far they travel or where they establish their careers, deep within the hearts of those born on this land, they carry the memories of countless storms and floods. It is these memories that fuel the enduring spirit of sharing. When circumstances permit, they return in the simplest way: contributing their efforts and hearts to their homeland.
On October 25, 2025, the Da Nang Hometown Association in Ho Chi Minh City was newly established by merging four hometown associations according to the new administrative boundaries. Just a few days later, in late October and early November 2025, Da Nang suffered a series of heavy storms, causing severe damage to the people.
Without hesitation, the Da Nang Hometown Association in Ho Chi Minh City sent letters of condolence and promptly established a relief committee, mobilizing people and businesses to join hands in providing support. Driven by love for their homeland, compassionate hearts connected. In particular, the persistent and continuous support throughout nearly a month of the peak period from the Thien Tam Fund ( Vingroup Group) provided crucial resources, helping the relief efforts to be implemented promptly and effectively.
Mr. Tran Hung Phong, Chairman of the Da Nang Hometown Association in Ho Chi Minh City, said that for housing, the Association received about 200 applications, with a total support budget of nearly 17 billion VND, of which more than 10 billion VND has been disbursed. The Association also directly supported the repair and construction of houses for disadvantaged households with nearly 1.6 billion VND in cash, of which 1.2 billion VND was transferred through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, about 150 tons of rice and essential goods, worth 1.7 billion VND, have been mobilized and delivered directly to people in disaster-stricken areas.
Tons of essential goods were transported by the Association to the people of Da Nang. Photo: Provided by the Association.
In early November 2025, while floodwaters still blanketed the fields, a relief team from the Da Nang Hometown Association in Ho Chi Minh City traveled thousands of kilometers back to their hometown. The team, led by Mr. Tran Hung Phong, included representatives from the Thien Tam Foundation and many philanthropists and businesses.
The trucks carrying supplies braved deep floodwaters to reach the disaster-stricken areas. Many times, the vehicles broke down, and the entire team got out to push them together. Not a single complaint was heard, even though most of the members were over 60 years old. In their eyes, there was only one destination: their homeland, struggling after the floods.
Beyond disaster relief, this spirit of kindness is also sustained through long-term humanitarian programs, such as the "Supporting Top Students" scholarship program, which awards 10 million VND per scholarship to support disadvantaged students; this year alone, the Charitable Foundation has supported 160 cases. Or programs like "Bringing Tet Home" and "Zero-Cost Transportation" which have become a source of moral support for migrant workers in Ho Chi Minh City...
For Mr. Tran Hung Phong, everything stems from a deep understanding of life: "The childhood of most people from Quang Nam province is spent amidst storms, floods, and poverty, but it is also imbued with human kindness. When they have the means, each person always makes a conscious contribution, however small, to their homeland, the place where they were born and raised, and where their loved ones live."
And it is this sense of camaraderie that has become a strong bond, uniting an association that needs no sanctions, no administrative constraints, yet still develops steadily, guided by kindness and a shared love for its homeland."
2. In Da Nang, kindness is also nurtured quietly and persistently through the preservation of culture, memory, and morality—core values that give depth to a livable city.
Understanding that the future of the city rests in the hands of the younger generation, the Da Nang Youth Union has implemented the model "Da Nang Youth Preserving Folk Poetry from Heroic Mothers" as a way to sow seeds of kindness from the roots. This is not achieved through rigid lessons, but through listening, empathy, and connection between generations. In Ngu Hanh Son ward, the Youth Union brought this model to the home of Heroic Vietnamese Mother Mai Thi Say, where the memories of war remain vivid in every lullaby and song.
Members of the Youth Union in Ngu Hanh Son ward stand beside Mother Mai Thi Say (center) to preserve the lullabies she sang. Photo: LVT
In the small house, my mother's voice, soft and slow, resonated deeply: "My dear, rest assured / Go and serve the civilian workers on the battlefield..."
These simple lullabies, trembling with age, seem to encapsulate a lifetime of sacrifice and patience. They are memories of war, love for the homeland, and the unwavering loyalty of mothers and wives who bid farewell to their husbands and sons going to war, never knowing when they would return. Each song is a piece of history, quiet yet profound, leaving listeners deeply moved.
In that warm and affectionate atmosphere, the young people sat beside their mothers, attentively listening and taking notes on every word and sentence. They were receiving a vivid lesson about gratitude, responsibility to the past, and duty to the future.
The lullabies of Mother Mai Thi Say have been digitized using QR codes for preservation and dissemination to young people. Photo: LVT
Le Xuan Thanh, Secretary of the Youth Union of Ngu Hanh Son Ward, shared: "This activity not only connects the past with the present but also awakens national pride, contributing to building a generation of young people with compassion and strong character in the new era."
That is also the underlying goal of the model: to help the younger generation understand that kindness begins with appreciating the values that have shaped the country and its people today.
From those simple gatherings, an invisible thread connects memory and the present, linking the silent sacrifices of previous generations with the aspirations of today's youth to contribute. It is this continuity that ensures kindness remains unbroken, passed down from generation to generation, like a persistent underground stream flowing through the heart of the city.
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From expatriates returning to share with their homeland, to relief convoys silently braving the floods, to the lullabies of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers cherished and preserved by the younger generation, all have together created the portrait of a kind and compassionate Da Nang. It is a city that develops not only through growth figures and modern constructions, but also through human kindness, respect for the past, and faith in the future.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/nhan-len-nhung-dieu-tu-te-3324271.html
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