"Rich lady" of joy
"Grandma, Ms. Phu is here!" Seeing the familiar figure of Ms. Mai Thi Phu (Acting President of the Association for Promoting Education in Can Giuoc Commune, Tay Ninh Province) looming from the alley entrance, little Huynh Van Hung ran out to greet her and then quickly went inside to call his grandmother.
Since their mother passed away due to Covid-19 (2021), Hung and his brother have been living with their grandparents. Ms. Phu is a regular visitor to the family, sometimes visiting, encouraging, sometimes giving gifts or books so that Hung and his brothers can go to school.
That day, Ms. Phu came to bring some blank notebooks for Hung and reminded him to prepare to receive textbooks in early August.
Ms. Mai Thi Phu gives new books to Huynh Van Hung brothers
Interrupting the conversation between Grandma and Ms. Phu, Hung asked softly: "Are we going anywhere this year?" Ms. Phu smiled, because she still hadn't chosen a place to take her friends.
From 2021 until now, every year she has raised money to take Hung and his siblings and 5 other children in the same situation (orphaned due to Covid-19) on a summer trip.
“A few years ago, there were years when we went to Dam Sen, years when we went to Cu Chi Tunnels,... all because Ms. Phu took care of the children. Since the children's mother passed away, thanks to the support and care from the Committee, and with Ms. Phu coming back and forth to help, the house is less lonely” - Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga - Hung's grandmother, confided.
As the acting President of the Association for the Promotion of Education, Ms. Phu is especially interested in children in difficult circumstances and always tries to bring them small joys - textbooks that still smell of new paper, school supplies or cash, both to make them happy and to help share the difficulties with their families.
“Every year, the Commune Education Promotion Association organizes gift giving on June 1st for children in difficult circumstances with a cost of about 60 million VND. In addition, the Association also gives textbooks at the beginning of the school year, Mid-Autumn Festival gifts and Tet gifts to children. Every year, the Association also mobilizes thousands of notebooks to donate to schools in the area to give out rewards at the end of the school year. All thanks to the companionship and support of benefactors, we can maintain these activities regularly,” Ms. Phu added.
Before saying goodbye to Hung's family, Ms. Phu did not forget to give some banh it tran from the charity kitchen.
Ms. Mai Thi Phu (in Ao Dai) and other benefactors give gifts to poor but excellent students in early July 2025.
In addition to raising funds to give gifts to disadvantaged children as an education promotion worker, Ms. Phu also participates in organizing a charity kitchen, providing 200 meals to patients at the Medical Center every month on the 15th (Lunar calendar). She and her family also periodically support 200 more meals for patients and people in difficult circumstances on the first day of the month (Lunar calendar).
Since participating in education promotion activities in 2012, Ms. Phu has approached many difficult situations and wanted to share some of her feelings with them. That is the biggest motivation for her to maintain her volunteer activities.
“Every time I give a gift or a meal, I receive a lot of joy and happiness. I just keep going, and the joy multiplies every day. My parents named me Phu, which means rich, and now I feel rich: Rich in joy!” - Ms. Phu happily said.
Sowing love through medicine
In a friendly conversation, Ms. Phu said that she often went to Pho Minh Duong Traditional Medicine Clinic (Can Giuoc commune), sometimes contributing to the activities of the Clinic, sometimes participating in the delegation to raise funds for activities to care for people in difficult circumstances and the elderly in the locality.
The head of Pho Minh Duong Traditional Medicine Clinic is Venerable Thich Minh Pho (physician Bui Thanh Lua) who is devoted to charity activities. Therefore, patients with difficult circumstances who come to Pho Minh Duong for examination and treatment are completely free of charge. Not only that, if the patient has to be treated as an inpatient, all the costs of food and accommodation here are free.
Venerable Thich Minh Pho donated Western medicine to organize free medical examination and medicine giving activities for the elderly in Can Giuoc commune in 2025.
Venerable Thich Minh Pho shared that he studied medicine with the desire to bring health to everyone. With that motto, Venerable not only focuses on examining and treating patients with traditional medicine but also researches and prepares pills for patients to use easily.
Living with Venerable Thich Minh Pho at Pho Minh Duong since he was 4 years old, seeing his master diligently examining, treating and preparing medicine every day, and seeing the happiness of the patients when they recovered, especially those in difficult circumstances, Pham Phu Quoc gradually nurtured in his heart the dream of following in his master's footsteps, becoming a physician to treat and help people.
After graduating from junior high school, Quoc asked his teacher to let him study Traditional Medicine at Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic College. Up to now, he has completed his first year of study. Studying both culture and traditional medicine is quite difficult, but Quoc is very happy because he is gradually realizing his dream.
On his days off, Quoc often arranges to return to Pho Minh Duong to visit his master and learn more about the profession. “My family lives in Da Lat, sometimes when I have work or free time, I will return home to visit. On other days off, I return to Pho Minh Duong,” Quoc shared.
At Pho Minh Duong, besides Quoc, there are 4 other children who were adopted by the Venerable since they were young. The youngest is just over 3 months old. All the care, diapers, milk, and education of the children are taken care of by the Venerable.
Venerable Thich Minh Pho examines patients at Pho Minh Duong
Venerable Thich Minh Pho shared: “Pho Minh Duong takes care of children with the hope of helping them when they are in need. When they reach adulthood, I tell them about their family, relatives, and origins. The most important thing for the children here is still education, because only education can give them a better future.”
As a person who is devoted to charity activities, Venerable Thich Minh Pho often gives gifts and supports expenses for people in difficult circumstances and orphaned children both inside and outside the province.
In 2025, the Venerable supported the entire cost for the Elderly Association to buy medicine to organize free medical examination and treatment activities for the elderly in the area.
In addition, the Venerable also supports health insurance for the elderly at a nursing home in Dong Thap province. In Can Giuoc commune alone, the Venerable has sponsored 5 orphans due to Covid-19 with a support of 3 million VND/year for each child.
Without fanfare or noise, every action of Ms. Mai Thi Phu and Venerable Thich Minh Pho is imbued with humanity. Small gifts for poor children at the beginning of the school year, vegetarian meals or free medicine sent to the sick, loving arms for disadvantaged children,... are like a warm stream that flows quietly every day, watering life with love and faith in good things./.
Guilin
Source: https://baolongan.vn/nhung-trai-tim-rong-mo-a199832.html
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