A father's heart - turning pain into action

Journey from pain

In 1972, young man Nguyen Xuan Thuy was just 17 years old, enthusiastically following the call of the Fatherland to the B2 battlefield, the South Central region - a place known as the fiery pan of bombs and dioxin.

In early 1973, he followed his unit to Loc Ninh district (formerly Binh Phuoc province) to fight in the 130th Artillery Battalion. In December 1974, Mr. Thuy was injured twice by bombs and mines, causing severe concussions in both ears, affecting his hearing.

Returning home, he carried on his body many wounds of war, was a 4th class disabled veteran, lost 31% of his working capacity. He thought the hardships and losses of war had ended that simple life, but he did not expect that he was infected with the evil Agent Orange.

Tấm lòng người cha, biến nỗi đau thành hành động - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy visited Agent Orange victims.

War is like fate

The pain of war multiplied when his three children were born infected with Agent Orange. His first child, Nguyen Thi Dieu Thuan (born in 1989), was born nearsighted and had mild effects of Agent Orange. His two later children, Nguyen Thi Thao (born in 1989) and Nguyen Xuan Thang (born in 1991), were severely affected by Agent Orange, often suffering from epileptic seizures, and had to depend on others for all their personal activities.

Tấm lòng người cha, biến nỗi đau thành hành động - Ảnh 2. — Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy with his two children infected with Agent Orange

Mr. Thuy smiled sadly, sharing about his situation: "Who can I blame now? It's war, it's the fate of every human being. I feel I'm luckier than my comrades who have remained on the battlefield forever. Although my children are severely disabled, my wife and I are still healthy enough to take care of them. I'm just worried that when we're gone, I don't know what will happen to them. Therefore, I understand and sympathize with the families whose children are victims of Agent Orange. What I do is simply to share and help my comrades, the less fortunate in this life, to ease their difficulties, to reduce their burdens both materially and mentally so that they have more faith and love in life. That's all a healthy person should do for their comrades, the people living around them, and the locality where they live."

Turn pain into action

Looking at his gentle smile and enthusiasm when visiting families of Agent Orange victims, we felt the flame of love that Mr. Thuy wanted to instill in them the belief in overcoming their own fate. He has turned his pain into practical actions when participating and taking on the role of Chairman of the Association of Agent Orange Victims in Chu Se District (old) for more than 20 years.

Tấm lòng người cha, biến nỗi đau thành hành động - Ảnh 3. — Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy regularly visits and encourages the victims.

The old Chu Se district has more than 500 victims of Agent Orange, including 152 second-generation victims and 174 third-generation victims. Most of the victims' families are ethnic minorities with difficult lives, living in remote areas. With the desire to improve the lives of the victims, Mr. Thuy proactively connects with agencies, units, organizations, philanthropists, and charitable organizations at home and abroad to donate to help the victims through many different forms of activities such as visiting and encouraging, giving gifts on holidays and Tet, building houses; donating wheelchairs; supporting the care of severely disabled children; implementing livelihood models...

Tấm lòng người cha, biến nỗi đau thành hành động - Ảnh 4. — Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thuy (second from right) and other benefactors presented a house to Ms. Ro Lan Len's family in Blut Roh village (Al Ba commune).

Faith overcomes fate

In 5 years (2018 - 2023), Mr. Thuy and the district's associations mobilized many resources and supported the Fund for Agent Orange victims with more than 5.9 billion VND. Since then, he has visited and given gifts to 7,242 victims, worth 2 billion 564 million VND; donated 70 wheelchairs worth 182 million VND; donated 55 bicycles to poor students worth 62 million VND; donated 8 "charity" houses to families of Agent Orange victims, worth 545 million VND; supported medical examination and treatment, and provided emergency assistance worth 908 million VND; organized detoxification saunas for 309 resistance fighters infected with Agent Orange with a support amount of 509 million VND.

To settle down and make a living, for each family to live in peace, first of all, they need a stable place to live, enough to avoid wind and rain. When life is stable, they can focus on making a living and taking good care of the victims. Just from the beginning of 2025 until now, Mr. Thuy has mobilized the construction of 7 solid houses to help families of Agent Orange victims have a stable place to eat and live.

Mrs. Tran Thi Tuyet Nhung emotionally shared: "Currently, I have cancer, and my nephew is infected with the third generation of Agent Orange. Uncle Thuy has mobilized sponsors to help build me a house and often visits to encourage and care for me and my nephew during difficult and sick days. I am very grateful for Uncle Thuy's kindness. Thanks to the new house, I feel more secure to recover and take care of my nephew."

Tấm lòng người cha, biến nỗi đau thành hành động - Ảnh 5. — Mr. Thuy and Vned organization give support to raise Ro Lan Kuu

"Don't give fish, but give fishing rods", that is the motto that Mr. Thuy put forward when supporting livelihood models such as chickens, cows, goats breeding... so that families can proactively develop their family economy, not waiting or depending. There have been 46 families supported by the livelihood model support program, overcoming difficulties and escaping poverty, which the Agent Orange Association gave them the opportunity.

Mr. Le Van Ky, resident of Tnung village, H'Bong commune, Chu Se district (old), emotionally shared: "My family used to work as hired laborers, life was very difficult. The family has 2 children with cerebral palsy due to Agent Orange, thanks to Mr. Thuy who helped the family with 2 cows to make a living. Currently, my family's economy has stabilized, we have bought 5 sao of land, and built a new, spacious and clean house. We are really grateful for Mr. Thuy's help."

Mr. Thuy believes that each Agent Orange victim carries his own pain, and his relatives and parents all have their own wounds and worries that when he is gone, the victims will lose their support. Mr. Thuy has contacted the Vned organization in France and the ASIA Vietnam organization, and philanthropists across the country to support the adoption and long-term care of 144 Agent Orange victims of the second and third generation, who are the grandchildren of resistance fighters.

Mr. Thuy's actions that bring value to the community have been recognized not only through the annual certificates of merit from all levels and sectors, but more importantly, through the trust of Agent Orange victims. Mr. Thuy is a living proof that "we cannot choose our family and the circumstances of our birth, but we have the right to choose our way of life." He has turned his own pain into actions that benefit the whole society, lighting the flame of hope for Agent Orange victims for a beautiful life.