A couple in their late 50s repay life's kindness when they "feel content."

Starting their lives raising ducks in the fields, enduring hardship and traveling across the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta since their early twenties, Mr. and Mrs. To Buu Thach (also known as Tam Thach) now, in their late 50s, feel they have "had enough." "Enough," according to them, means having a comfortable life, stable jobs, and kind, dutiful children. For them, that is happiness.

Mr. and Mrs. Tam are drying turmeric to use as a medicinal herb. Photo: DUY KHOI

From that simple yet profound feeling of contentment, Mr. and Mrs. Tam Thach decided to dedicate themselves to charitable work as a way of giving back to life. Their house is located in Long Thanh 2 area, Thot Not ward, Can Tho city, but it's almost always closed during the day. Anyone wanting to find them can go to the Tra Uoi 1 bridge on the Thot Not bypass road and they'll find them. They work alongside their neighbors, cutting, drying, packaging, and donating the herbs to charitable traditional medicine clinics. They rarely rest throughout the year because they are always thinking of patients who need medicinal herbs to treat their illnesses.

Mr. Tam Thach recounted that about four years ago, seeing that his family's affairs were settled, he and a few friends decided to go searching for stinky grass to donate to traditional medicine clinics. Starting with just a few people, the group gradually grew to a dozen, sometimes even more, expanding their search. Depending on the needs of the charitable clinic, they would find the appropriate herbs. When they brought them back, the women in the neighborhood would help chop, slice, and dry them. In this way, the traditional medicine group led by Mr. Tam Thach gradually came into existence with joy and voluntariness, without any obligation. Sometimes, when the work of searching for and chopping herbs required many people, nearly 50 villagers would come to help. "Recently, we harvested nearly 50 bags of turmeric, and many villagers came to help, making it a joyful occasion. Everyone was enthusiastic as if it were their own family," Mr. Tam Thach said.

For over four years, Mr. and Mrs. Tam Thach and their neighbors have maintained this meaningful work. Starting as amateurs, they are now knowledgeable about the uses of various herbs, such as Solanum torvum, Rhus chinensis, turmeric, licorice, and Centella asiatica. Every 20 days or so, the group supplies 250 bags of herbs, equivalent to over 2 tons of dried herbs, to a charitable traditional medicine clinic in An Giang province. This is a very large quantity, demonstrating the hard work and dedication of Mr. and Mrs. Tam Thach and their neighbors.

Ms. Vo Thi Kim Bong, a resident of Thot Not ward, said: “At home, I do housework and sew clothes, but I also take advantage of my free time to make traditional medicine with Mr. and Mrs. Tam. I feel happy doing this, as it helps the medicine clinic have a plentiful supply of medicine to treat people's illnesses.” Mr. Phung Van The, also a resident of Thot Not ward, shared: “Finding traditional medicine is extremely rewarding, because I think that people will be cured by the medicine I personally gathered. What could be more meaningful than that?”

Speaking about her family, Mrs. Tran Thi Thuy, the wife of Mr. Tam Thach, couldn't hide her emotion and happiness. Mrs. Tam recounted that she and her husband got married at 22 and started their lives raising ducks in the fields. For decades, they traveled across the fields of the Mekong Delta to make a living and raise their two young children. Now, their two children, Buu Vinh and Kim Xoan, both have stable jobs and are dutiful to their parents. For them, that is immeasurable happiness, and they constantly repeat the phrase "feeling content." Therefore, they nurture the aspiration to repay life's kindness by doing something useful, such as finding medicine to save lives.

Every morning, while he drives to get the herbs, she also prepares the tools at the foot of Tra Uoi 1 bridge for the villagers to come and cut the herbs. At noon, when Mr. Tam returns, the two of them dry the herbs and gather them into bags. Day after day, month after month, their kindness and love are strong enough for them to continue this work.

The kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Tam Thach and the volunteer traditional medicine group has inspired us to embrace a principle that seems easy but is difficult to achieve in life: "Knowing when you have enough is sufficient!"

DANG HUYNH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/vo-chong-u60-tra-on-doi-khi-thay-du--a202146.html