In Cau hamlet in Lac Dao commune in VanLam district in HungYen province, Do Thi May is well known by locals as an energetic woman who has overcome difficulties and inspire others.

After giving birth to three children, May and her husband began quarreling. As her husband was abroad, May alone had to take responsibility for raising the children. Despite pains and hurts, she tried to hold on to her family to protect the children. But she decided to divorce her husband after realizing that her efforts were in vain.

May became a single mom two years ago. To give her children a good house to live, May, who then had only VND200 million, took the risk of borrowing money from a bank and relatives to buy a small house in the commune.

“Previously, I took any job I could find to make money, from selling scrap metal and rice balls to processed food. However, the money was so modest that it could not feed the family. So, I decided to take over the wooden pallet workshop from my parents, a job for men,” she recalled.

At first, her parents disagreed, saying that the job was too hard for a woman, especially someone with three children. However, her determination persuaded the parents. They retired and handed over the workshop to her.

Now May runs the workshop and gives part of the profits to her parents every month to help support them.

Every day, at 6 am, after driving children to school, May goes to her workshop, where she works as both a boss and a worker. In addition to managing the workshop, she drives a forklift and trucks to share the workload with the only driver at the workshop.

“Sometimes the driver asks for leave and the workshop lacks a driver, which makes me suffer from constant anxiety. So, I decided to learn how to drive a truck,” she explained.

“If the official driver takes leave, I will drive the truck and carry goods to partners. I once drove an 8-ton truck to Hai Duong, Ha Nam and Nam Dinh, and even to Yen Bai,” she said.

May is always busy at work, but she still finds time for charity work. She is a member of the commune’s charity group which delivers rice to the needy every month.

Tu Linh - Thanh Minh