VietNamNet reporters met Do Van Thuyet, 42, from Cau hamlet in Lac Dao commune in Van Lam district in Hung Yen province when he was preparing for a charity trip to Yen Bai.

It was one of many charity trips provided by Thuyet over the last seven years.

In 2017, Thuyet joined the Nghia Phuong Charity Club, calling on relatives and friends to donate money and goods to support the needy. In 2020, he was diagnosed with liver cancer and had to have part of his liver removed.

During the days at hospital, he saw many people with miserable lives. Many people were living together with pain caused by serious illness. Other people did not have money for treatment. Many people did not have money to book the last bus trip in their lives to return home.

Thuyet decided to buy a car to carry needy patients for free.

Sai Thi Tho, 40, Thuyet’s wife, said her husband bought the car when the family was still owing money. However, he decided to buy a car to do charity work instead of waiting until he could pay his debt off. 

“My husband was lucky to be cured and he wants to take an oath to do good deeds. So, I wholeheartedly support him,” she said. 

In early 2024, Thuyet and his wife spent VND200 million to buy an old car and upgraded it into an ambulance which can carry patients.

Since then, Thuyet has been providing many free trips, which could be emergency trips or the last trips that carry the deceased to their families. All of them are trips full of love.

Thuyet could not remember how many free trips he has provided. Sometimes he has had three trips a day, and sometimes he was idle for weeks. He hopes that he has no client, because this means people are safe and sound.

“In the past, I turned off my phone at 10 pm before going to bed. But since the day I bought the car, I keep my phone on 24/7. Previously, I refused calls from strange subscribers, but now, I receive all calls,” he said.

Sometimes he has to leave when he had just sat down for lunch. On other days, he has to get up at midnight. He feels happy when he can help save an old neighbor who was hospitalized immediately, and his life was saved.

Thanh Minh - Tu Linh