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| Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh receives gifts from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province and sponsors to the Hanoi Parish Orphanage Center (Ho Nai ward). Photo: Tran Thanh |
This honor recognizes the immense efforts of Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh in both religious and secular life.
Spirituality and worldly life go hand in hand.
As of 2025, Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh has served for 17 years as a member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee for Catholic Solidarity of Vietnam. Additionally, from 2023 to the present, she has been the Deputy Chief of the Office of the Committee for Catholic Solidarity of Vietnam in Dong Nai province. In each role, she has always strived to serve her faith well and do good in worldly affairs.
Specifically, she actively contributed to strengthening national unity through participating in disseminating information about the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws and regulations; patriotic emulation campaigns and movements; and promoting and implementing the Unified Action Program of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and the Vietnam Catholic Committee at all levels…
According to Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh, everything she has done and is doing is aimed at ensuring that the children at the center have a safe home, feel the warmth of human kindness, and confidently move forward in life so that their lives will be better.
This has contributed to the effective implementation of the National Movement for Solidarity in Building New Rural Areas, Civilized Urban Areas, and Living a Good Life with Moral Values, linked to the 10 contents of "7 Good Lives, 3 Moral Values" launched by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Association in Dong Nai province. It has contributed to creating a vibrant atmosphere of emulation in parishes and religious communities, bringing practical results in various aspects of social life; encouraging Catholic people, parishes, and religious orders in the province to promote activities in healthcare, education , charity, social welfare, gratitude, and assistance to the elderly, orphans, homeless children, and the unfortunate in society…
At the same time, as the whole country embarked on the process of reorganizing its administrative apparatus, the nun advised the Vietnam Catholic Committee of the province to participate with the authorities at all levels in disseminating information about the reorganization to help people understand the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State; she also met with and promptly informed priests, monks, and parishioners about ceasing the operation of the district-level Catholic Registration Committees to align with the local government at both levels…
Bringing love to orphans.
In addition to the contributions mentioned above, Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh also helped build a home for orphaned children.
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| Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh with children being cared for at the Hanoi Parish Orphanage Center (Ho Nai Ward). Photo: Van Truyen |
Sharing about her involvement in social work, Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh said: From 1994, she was sent by her convent to study social work. By 1996, she participated in many social activities related to helping the poor, the disabled, orphaned children, and the elderly in need... Afterwards, she took charge of managing the Hanoi Parish Orphanage (Ho Nai Ward). The center is currently caring for 36 children, the youngest of whom is only a newborn. They are cared for and given opportunities for education like other children in the community.
According to Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh, children come to the center through various means, including abandoned children discovered by local residents who then go through various procedures to be brought to the center; and children left at the center's gate… After receiving the children, the center informs the local authorities to carry out the necessary procedures for adopting the children.
Raising children is difficult, but educating them is even more challenging. Due to their circumstances, the children here are more or less self-conscious and hesitant to interact with the outside world. To help them build self-confidence, the nun and other sisters first show care and love without spoiling them, thereby building the center into a loving family. At the same time, throughout the children's development, the nuns encourage each child to overcome obstacles, cultivate moral character, and strive in their studies to become useful members of society and build a better life for themselves in the future.
Thanks to this, from 1990 to the present, nearly 30 children have grown up in this loving home. Among them, those with good academic performance have graduated from university, some have graduated from vocational schools, and all have stable jobs. During holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the grown-ups all return to participate in activities with the center's community.
During a visit to the Hanoi Parish Orphanage Center to offer gifts, Ms. Luu Thi Ha, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Quang Ngai province, acknowledged the efforts of Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh and the other nuns at the center in caring for underprivileged children; and in building and fostering community cooperation to ensure the center's activities are carried out effectively.
In addition, Sister Bui Thi Hong Hanh and the center's staff also organize supplementary classes for children who sell lottery tickets, children who accompany their parents from afar to Dong Nai to work, etc., and who do not have the opportunity to attend primary school. The center also provides textbooks and notebooks for the children attending the classes. To ensure the quality of the classes, the center invites teachers from some nearby schools to teach, and these teachers only provide symbolic support.
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Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202510/nu-tu-mang-yeu-thuong-den-tre-mo-coi-08f16f8/
