Mr. Tung often does charity work.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung (third from right, back row) has actively participated in local humanitarian and charitable activities for many years. Photo: Contributor

Mr. Tung confided: “I was an orphan so I understand the difficult and unfortunate circumstances. Since then, I have soon fulfilled my wish to do many good deeds to share love and help those less fortunate than me so that they have the motivation to rise up in life.”

Share love

One day at the end of June 2025, we followed Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung and some members of the Charity Porridge Pot model to Vinh Cuu District Medical Center to provide free porridge to patients in difficult circumstances who were being treated there. The members of the group kindly visited, encouraged and personally handed out warm, nutritious porridge to the patients. "The way you give is better than what you give", the charity group's way of doing things helped the patients feel warm-hearted.

Holding the porridge in her hand, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien (residing in Phu Ly commune, Vinh Cuu district) emotionally shared: “I have been at Vinh Cuu district Medical Center to take care of my husband for nearly a week now. My family's circumstances are difficult, so thanks to the charitable porridge from the humanitarian group, I have been able to reduce some of the expensive expenses, and at the same time, my husband has nutritious meals to recover his health…”.

Sharing about the idea of founding the Charity Porridge model, Mr. Tung said that around 2012, he went to see a doctor at Vinh Cuu District Medical Center. Here, he saw that most of the patients being treated at the center were in the deep forest and had difficult circumstances. Many cases of food shortages, so he came up with the idea of founding the Charity Porridge model to share love, helping patients have delicious meals, ensuring nutrition.

Thinking is doing, Mr. Tung boldly shared the idea of establishing the model of the Pot of Love Porridge and was approved by the leaders of the Red Cross Society of Vinh Cuu district for immediate implementation. Since then, Mr. Tung has contributed a part of his monthly pension to the Humanitarian Fund of the Red Cross Society of Vinh Cuu district. At the same time, every day he rides his motorbike to mobilize resources from benefactors and philanthropists. Thanks to that, the District Association has coordinated with the Medical Center of Vinh Cuu district to organize free porridge cooking for patients and relatives taking care of patients.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung (second from right) and the charity group give free porridge to patients in difficult circumstances being treated at Vinh Cuu District Medical Center.

“The Charity Porridge Pot model has been maintained regularly for more than 12 years. Initially, we cooked porridge every day of the week with the quantity fluctuating from 40-50 portions. Later, many patients recovered and were discharged from the hospital to return home on weekends, so the number of patients staying on Saturdays and Sundays was very small. Since then, our kitchen has only cooked for patients 5 days a week (from Monday to Friday) with an average of about 40 portions of porridge per day. We try to choose people with a lot of experience to cook nutritious porridge to help patients eat well and recover soon,” Mr. Tung confided.

With his contributions to humanitarian and charitable activities, Mr. Tung has received many medals, certificates of merit and awards from various levels.

Actively do charity work

Mr. Tung said he was born and raised in Hue city. During the war, he followed the migration groups to the South. He arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in 1964. Here, he tried to find a job and then started a family to stabilize his life.

After the liberation in 1975, Vinh Cuu was considered a "promising land" and many people from all over the country came here to reclaim land and start a business. His wife's family decided to live in Vinh Cuu district (current residence) from July 1975, but Mr. Tung could not go with his family because he had a favorable job with a stable salary in Ho Chi Minh City (working as a worker for a foreign company). In 1996, when the job at the company began to have difficulties, he decided to leave Ho Chi Minh City for Dong Nai to live a stable life with his family and children.

“When I returned to Dong Nai, I was accepted to work at the Fisheries Sub-Department of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Department of Agriculture and Environment) and worked steadily until my retirement in 2012,” Mr. Tung shared.

When mentioning the opportunity to do charity work, Mr. Tung said that, when he was still working in a state agency, he was elected by the people as a representative of the People's Council of Vinh An town and held this position for two consecutive terms (2011-2016 and 2016-2021). After retiring, when his family life was stable, he spent a lot of time participating in social work and doing charity and humanitarian work in the locality. For example, he participated in many years of work at the Association of the Elderly in Ward 2, Vinh An town and the Red Cross Society of Vinh An town. In addition, he has also been a member of the Executive Committee of the Red Cross Society of Vinh Cuu district from 2016 to present.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung and the charity group gave gifts to people in difficult circumstances in Vinh Cuu district.

Recently, Mr. Tung has spent a lot of time in the locality to grasp the thoughts and aspirations and provide timely support to elderly members in difficult circumstances. Every year, he regularly mobilizes benefactors and donors to support resources to organize the giving of an average of 200-300 gifts (each worth an average of 300-500 thousand VND) to elderly people who are facing many difficulties in life. He also actively participates in programs organized by the Red Cross such as giving gifts to the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged on holidays and Tet... Mr. Tung's heart has received the respect and support of local people and benefactors near and far.

“In order for my charity and humanitarian work to run smoothly and remain stable for many years, my family has always been a solid support. Especially my wife has always accompanied, shared and been ready to support me whenever I encountered difficulties and needed help. That has given me more motivation to do meaningful things over the past decades,” Mr. Tung confided.

An Nhon

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202506/ong-tung-hay-lam-viec-thien-7d4156f/