Young Sergeant Major and the 'Dialysis Village': Wrapping Hope in Each Bundle of Bamboo Chopsticks

(Chinhphu.vn) - In the mountains and forests of Dien Bien, where life is still full of deprivation, there is a man with an extraordinary heart, who has sown hope and supported the lives of those in need with his own will to live and his compassion. That is Sergeant Giang A Thang, a Mong ethnic, born in 1997, currently an officer at Hospital 7/5, Dien Bien Provincial Police.

Sergeant Giang A Thang and the people of the "dialysis village" make bamboo chopsticks to sell to raise funds - Photo: NVCC

Shock at age 20

Born and raised in Huoi Tong 1 village, Muong Tung commune ( Dien Bien province), Giang A Thang was once the family's greatest hope. With his constant efforts, he became a People's Police officer, working at the Security Team of Muong Cha district (old). This was a proud step forward for any highland boy.

However, life does not always go according to plan. In 2017, when he was only 20 years old, A Thang was suddenly diagnosed with chronic kidney failure – a cruel sentence for a young man in the prime of his youth.

"At that time, I wanted to give up everything…", A Thang choked up when sharing in a conversation with a reporter from the Government Electronic Newspaper.

"From a healthy person, I entered a series of days having to be attached to the hospital, with the dialysis machine. In the early days, every week I regularly traveled 50-60km from home to the provincial hospital for dialysis. But my illness got worse day by day, the dialysis schedule increased to three times a week, forcing me to temporarily put my work aside for a few years, rent a room near the provincial hospital to continue treatment. Those days passed quietly, tired like long moonless nights in the Northwest mountains," A Thang recalled.

Light from the "dialysis neighborhood"

Later, when his unit facilitated his transfer to the 7/5 Hospital in Dien Bien Phu City to facilitate his treatment, A Thang began a new journey. There, in the boarding house of poor kidney failure patients, affectionately called "dialysis neighborhood" by the locals, he found people with similar fates.

"Here, everyone is poor and sick, but no one abandons anyone," he said. Seeing his uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters living a precarious life, depending on subsidies or small remittances from their hometowns, A Thang wondered: "Can we just wait and endure?"

And then, from the hardship, a small but humane initiative was born: "Bundle of loving chopsticks".

The idea is simple but full of humanity: Taking advantage of the traditional skills of the ethnic minorities in the highlands, whose hands have been accustomed to whittling chopsticks since childhood, A Thang and the patients started making bamboo chopsticks to sell to raise funds. The work is light, the investment cost is low, and it is suitable for the weak physical condition of the patients.

At first, only a few people participated, now there are about 15 patients working together. Each month, those who are less well off earn about 500,000 VND, those who are better off can earn over a million VND. Although the amount of money is not large, in difficult living conditions, it is a joy; joy not only because it helps with some of the hospital fees, but also because they get to work and live a useful life.

"With money, they can buy more medicine and not worry about food. Seeing them happy, I feel like my life is no longer meaningless," A Thang shared.

The "Bundles of Love" are completed and ready to be sent to consumers - Photo: NVCC

The narrator of the "dialysis neighborhood"

Not only organizing production, A Thang is also the person who connects and promotes the product. Through his Facebook page and personal TikTok channel (Giang A Thang), he posts short self-recorded videos about the journey of "Bundle of Loving Chopsticks", about the fate of people in the dialysis neighborhood, the tears and laughter behind the simple door of the rented room.

Each bundle of bamboo chopsticks sold is not only a handmade product, but also a sincere story about the will to live, a connecting thread between the buyer and those who are fighting the disease every day.

On October 11, 2025, Sergeant Giang A Thang was honored in the top 20 Young People Living Beautifully in 2025 , an award presented by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union to recognize kind acts and positive contributions to the community.

Not being the inventor of anything great, Giang A Thang chose to live beautifully in the most difficult circumstances. He could not cure his own illness, but he healed the tired souls around him.

In the old rented houses in the "dialysis neighborhood", the sound of bamboo being chopped, the murmur of voices, and the eyes shining with hope still resound every day. "The bundle of loving chopsticks" is not only a small economic model, but also a warm fire, a place where people find the meaning of life, even though they think they are at the end of the road.

Son Hao

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/thuong-si-tre-va-xom-chay-than-goi-ghem-hy-vong-trong-tung-bo-dua-tre-102251015155454321.htm