People's Physician Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu - Shining with the Qualities of a Soldier of Uncle Ho - Part 2: Sowing Seeds of Hope on the Border (continued and concluded)

More than two decades after her retirement, Colonel, Associate Professor, Doctor of Medicine, People's Physician Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, former Deputy Director of the Central Military Hospital 108, remains dedicated to her work. At over 80 years old, she not only continues to work and study but also leads the volunteer group "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends"; silently sowing seeds of hope in the border regions of the Fatherland with heartfelt gifts and models of raising goats, wild boars, and cultivating tea... helping local people to improve their lives.

Giving "fishing rods" to people in border areas.

Visiting Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu at her home on Luong Yen Street (Hai Ba Trung Ward, Hanoi), she led me into a room filled with medical books in various languages ​​and introduced them as her and her husband's "precious treasure" that they had painstakingly accumulated. She even showed me on her phone the certificates she had recently received from the Z-waka application – an online learning platform for medical professionals offering courses on the latest medical knowledge from around the world.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu enthusiastically shared that she spends time daily updating her knowledge through this application and takes online tests after each course to receive a certificate of completion. She currently serves as the professional director of a clinic in Hanoi . Her voice is warm and full of passion: “Medicine is constantly progressing; if we don’t learn, we will fall behind. To contribute to the community, we must constantly learn.”

Despite being over 80 years old, Associate Professor and Doctor Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu continues her research diligently. Photo: QUANG DUY

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu's journey of dedication since retirement has been continuous. For 15 years, she served on the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Veterans Association and the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. In 2021, she and her like-minded friends established the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends" group - a charitable organization that operates effectively with two main goals: alleviating and sharing the suffering of Agent Orange victims and helping poor women in border areas find sustainable livelihoods to overcome poverty.

The first project of the "Women Intellectuals - Friends of You" group was breeding goats in Long Sap commune, Son La province. With 50 million VND raised, Ms. Hieu and the group members gave 4 goats to each of 5 Mong ethnic families and meticulously guided the people on how to build shelters, provide feed for the goats, and even invited experts to come to the area for training. The image of the small woman with gray hair, leaning on a cane, going from house to house to guide people on goat farming has become familiar to the people in the border area of ​​Long Sap. "We have to go directly to guide and supervise to feel secure. The group's motto is that whatever we do, we must do it practically, effectively, and see it through to the end so that the people truly have a 'fishing rod' and not just a 'fish'," Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu expressed.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu (using a cane) and members of the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Yours" group guide goat farmers in Long Sap commune, Son La province. Photo provided by the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Yours" group.

Thanks to that dedication, from the initial 20 goats, the herd multiplied, providing a stable income and helping households escape poverty. Following this success, her group implemented a project to plant Shan Tuyet tea in Chieng Khua (now merged into Long Sap commune). The 16,000 tea seedlings donated to families there have now grown into lush green tea plantations. Not stopping there, she and her group, "Women Intellectuals - Friends of Friends," continued to implement a wild boar farming model to help other families in the border commune of Long Sap.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Nam Hung, Commander of the Long Sap Border Gate Border Guard Station (Son La Provincial Border Guard), shared: "With affection and a heart directed towards the people in the border area, for nearly 5 years, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, along with the 'Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends' group, has carried out many practical activities to support people in difficult circumstances in the border area of ​​Long Sap commune." Besides donating and guiding local people in developing economic models to "eradicate hunger and reduce poverty," the group also provides medical equipment and medicine to the Vietnam-Laos Border Friendship Military-Civilian Medical Station, and awards hundreds of scholarships to underprivileged students... Particularly, every Tet holiday, through the "Spring Border Guard Program to Warm the Hearts of the People" organized by the Son La Provincial Border Guard, hundreds of disadvantaged families and policy beneficiaries receive practical gifts, free medical examinations, and free medicine from Hanoi Medical University Hospital, facilitated by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu. These meaningful actions significantly contribute to alleviating the difficulties in the lives of people in border areas.

Sow the seeds of a tree, nurture the seeds of a person.

For Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, the journey of philanthropy doesn't stop at giving material gifts. She also cherishes a deeper desire: to sow the "seeds" of knowledge and nurture the dreams of the younger generation in the border region. For many years, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu has regularly mobilized friends and philanthropists to donate books, clothes, and school supplies to Long Sap Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School (Long Sap commune, Son La province). In 2024, she connected with and mobilized donations of 100 sets of new textbooks for students. In 2025, her volunteer group supported the school with 110 million VND to renovate the boarding facilities, assist disadvantaged students, and transport 15 tons of desks, chairs, cabinets, and learning equipment from a private school in Hanoi to Long Sap...

Each trip to the remote border region is a journey of several hundred kilometers, starting early in the morning and returning late at night. Few people know that behind that resilient appearance, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu has overcome many challenges of illness: two knee replacement surgeries, one major surgery and six consecutive rounds of chemotherapy to treat uterine cancer; two consecutive surgeries for intestinal obstruction... Yet, even at over 80 years old, she still regularly sets out, bringing love to the remote border region because the joy in the eyes of the children there is the greatest motivation for her to strive and continue to contribute.

Teachers and students of Long Sap Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School (Long Sap commune, Son La province) receive support gifts from the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends" group. Photo: QUANG BINH

Mr. Nguyen Quang Binh, Principal of Long Sap Ethnic Boarding Primary and Secondary School, expressed his deep gratitude to the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends" group, especially Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu, who has dedicated much affection and practical support to the school, contributing to improving the quality of teaching and helping disadvantaged students have the opportunity to study. Mr. Nguyen Quang Binh emotionally said: "Despite her advanced age, frail health, and the long distance, Ms. Hieu still personally came to visit us teachers and students. She is not only a person rich in knowledge but also has a kind heart, always caring for students in the mountainous border region. On behalf of the school, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu and the "Female Intellectuals - Friends of Friends" group. We teachers and students will continue to strive for excellence in teaching and learning to live up to the trust and support of Ms. Hieu and all the benevolent hearts."

Although time has left its mark on her white hair and slowed her steps, the flame of love for her profession, love for people, and dedication to the community still burns brightly within her. The life and career of Colonel, Associate Professor, Doctor, and People's Physician Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu is a prime example of a soldier of Uncle Ho—a military doctor who is intelligent, courageous, compassionate, and lives and works wholeheartedly for the Fatherland and the people.

Colonel, Associate Professor, Doctor, People's Physician Nguyen Kim Nu Hieu has been awarded the Third Class Resistance Against America and National Salvation Medal; the First Class National Defense Medal; the First Class Glorious Soldier Medal; the First Class Achievement Medal; the Victory Banner Medal; the title "Outstanding Citizen of Hanoi" in 2025, along with many other prestigious titles and awards.

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-17/thay-thuoc-nhan-dan-nguyen-kim-nu-hieu-sang-ngoi-pham-chat-bo-doi-cu-ho-bai-2-gieo-mam-hy-vong-noi-bien-cuong-tiep-theo-va-het-1016862