Religion and ethnicity go hand in hand with Ho Chi Minh City - Part 2: Great solidarity from simple things

In Ho Chi Minh City, the spirit of great solidarity is still evident in daily life: parishioners donate land to open alleys, Buddhists contribute to demolishing temporary houses, and the Chinese, Cham, and Khmer communities share meals of love. From these seemingly simple things, community strength is cultivated and spread.

Accompanying in building civilized urban areas

When mentioning the Knight of the Grand Cross Le Duc Thinh, the first layman in Asia to be awarded a noble title by the Vatican, many people often mention the phrase "building bridges, connecting love". With more than 40 years of association with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, he has become a symbol of the spirit of companionship and sharing, an example for parishes and religious communities to follow in the journey of "living the gospel in the heart of the nation".

That spirit is being extended in concrete actions in each religious community. At Thang Long Church, parish priest Nguyen The Thu led us to visit the “Thang Long Brothers” flower garden, a park of nearly 500 square ^meters .

“This area used to be an empty lot, full of rubbish and rocks. During a meeting with the ward leaders, I proposed the idea of ​​transforming it into a park and flower garden to provide a place for people in the neighborhood to have fun. Hearing that, the ward leaders immediately agreed,” Father Nguyen The Thu recalled.

Thanks to the support and appeal of the neighborhood, only 1 week later, the project started; people contributed bags of cement, a few carts of stone, some contributed 5 million VND, 3 million VND, some contributed a few hundred thousand VND. The ward People's Committee supported tables, chairs, and stage decorations. About 2 months later, the project worth nearly 200 million VND was completed, becoming a place connecting the Chinese community with the Kinh people and some ethnic minority households in the area to have fun and do daily activities.

Mr. Tran Van Chu, a member of the Pastoral Council, said: “Every week, the church gives free meals to hundreds of poor people, mostly Chinese, Buddhists and non-religious people. Kindness does not discriminate by religion.”

Parishioners in An Phu Parish in alley 205 Tran Van Dang (Nhieu Loc ward, HCMC) donated land to widen the alley. Photo: HOAI NAM

In alley 205 Tran Van Dang street (Nhieu Loc ward), Bat Nha pagoda and An Phu parish actively encouraged people to donate land to widen the alley. Venerable Thich Minh Thien and priest Le Hoang Chuong not only called directly but also integrated into ceremonies, chanting hours, and holy masses to explain to people the meaning of opening the alley. In less than a month, more than 200 households agreed to donate land, some households donated hundreds of square meters.

That spirit of solidarity also spread to many other parishes. Hop An Parish (Go Vap Ward) in just 3 months, together with parishioners and the government, completed a flower garden project and a road along Tham Luong canal, over 1km long, worth over 1 billion VND, bringing a new look to the entire residential area.

Or in Binh Dong ward, the garbage dump that existed for decades right in the residential area was eliminated thanks to the consensus of Binh An parishioners, the government and local people.

From these practical works, we can clearly see the solidarity strength of the religious community when joining hands with local authorities. The models of “Green Sunday”, “Volunteer Activity Day”, “For the Green Canal”… from parishes have contributed to beautifying the urban appearance, improving the environment, and at the same time strengthening the neighborly relationship, so that each neighborhood, hamlet, and small alley can truly become a “common home” connecting all people.

Support for the weak

On a mid-September afternoon, when the last sunlight had just faded, the yard of Pho Minh Pagoda (Cho Quan Ward) was bustling with preparations for the Mid-Autumn Festival. More than 400 gifts including candies and lanterns were carefully wrapped by monks, ready to be given to disadvantaged children in the ward.

“We want the children, despite their difficult circumstances, to still be able to celebrate a true Mid-Autumn Festival, with the sound of lion drums, bright star lanterns and spreading love,” said Venerable Thich Giac Nghiem, abbot of Pho Minh Pagoda.

During his twenty-five years of association with Pho Minh Pagoda, Venerable Thich Giac Nghiem has turned the small pagoda nestled in a residential area into a familiar place of support for local people. Every Vu Lan occasion, thousands of gifts are sent to the poor, each year more than the previous year.

During the rainy and stormy seasons, Pho Minh Pagoda participates in relief programs. In particular, when the Covid-19 epidemic was intense, Pho Minh Pagoda donated 10 tons of rice to the ward Fatherland Front and mobilized disciples to support the kitchen and field hospital.

The Cho Quan ward authorities highly appreciate the support of this pagoda. Religion and life here are closely linked. On every holiday, the Fatherland Front and the pagoda coordinate to organize activities for the people, from taking care of children to helping poor households. The affection spreads throughout the neighborhood.

Not only Buddhism, the spirit of sharing is also evident in the activities of the Cao Dai Saigon parish under the Cao Dai Holy See of Tay Ninh (Cho Quan ward). In the morning on Tran Hung Dao street, in front of the Holy See, pots of steaming vegetarian rice are served, regularly more than 300 portions per day, sent to poor workers, lottery ticket sellers, homeless people or relatives of the sick.

From scholarships for students, dormitories for students to job introductions for young people, taking care of Tet gifts for poor households, the Cao Dai Saigon Parish has formed a closed cycle of social security and care from childhood, adulthood to old age. During and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the charity kitchen is still on fire with 300-400 meals a day, sharing the burden with the community.

One gesture that many people mentioned was the parish organizing free funerals for the needy. From coffins, transportation, burial, even transporting the coffin to the Holy See of Tay Ninh if the family wishes, everything was taken care of with the joint efforts of fellow parishioners.

Heritage of unity, strength today

At the meeting to pay tribute to ethnic compatriots, religious dignitaries and officials (April 2025), the leader of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee affirmed: Ethnic compatriots, especially the Chinese people, along with religious dignitaries and officials, have spared no effort in sacrificing their blood, bones, and hardships, dedicating their intelligence and steadfast faith to the cause of national liberation and national reunification. That is a precious spiritual heritage, a living symbol of the great national unity bloc, creating the identity and strength of Ho Chi Minh City today.

According to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, in recent years, religious organizations in the city have actively participated in the "For the poor" movement, the "Zero-dong kitchen" model, taking care of the livelihoods of the disadvantaged, accompanying in environmental protection, responding to climate change, and maintaining social order. In the past 5 years, Ho Chi Minh City Buddhism alone has worked with the Fatherland Front at all levels to implement social security programs with a total budget of more than 4,000 billion VND, making a practical contribution to the overall development of the city.

HOAI NAM - CAM NUONG - THU HOAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ton-giao-dan-toc-dong-hanh-voi-tphcm-bai-2-dai-doan-ket-tu-nhung-dieu-binh-di-post821565.html