
Two weeks ago, a young couple from Nghe An Province, both in their early 30s, walked into the Social Work Department at Children’s Hospital 1 in HCMC with over a hundred million dong (US$3,800). The hospital staff provided them with a list of pediatric patients from disadvantaged backgrounds, all of whom had been thoroughly vetted by the hospital and had their circumstances officially confirmed by their local authorities. After learning about each child’s case, the couple decided to pay the hospital fees for 17 children, totaling VND113 million ($4,520).
According to Acting Head Chu Van Thanh of the Social Work Department, the couple had long wanted to do charity work. The recent social media trend inspired them to find a way to help children that was both practical and secure. In fact, over the past month, the department has seen a surge in young donors, from students to recent graduates. “It’s a noticeable shift”, Mr. Thanh noted. “Previously, most of our benefactors were middle-aged or older.”
“Many students told us they had saved up their bubble tea money, pocket money, or asked their parents for a little extra to help sick children”, he shared, clearly moved. “This trend isn’t just providing timely aid; it’s cultivating a deep sense of kindness and empathy among our youth, creating a beautiful wave of compassion in the community.”
At Cho Ray Hospital, Head Le Minh Hien of the Social Work Department is no stranger to stories of compassion, but he is still deeply touched by one particular donor, Tran Thi Long. For the past two years, she has quietly appeared at his department to pay the fees for strangers. Her method is profoundly respectful. She meets each family, listens to their story, and hands them financial aid.
There have been times when she supported the hospital fees for 15 poor patients, helping them through their most difficult hours. It’s not just about financial help; the way she gives the gift with a bow sometimes astonishes the recipients. They feel respect and sincerity, not charity.
“The giver bows in gratitude, the receiver bows in thanks, leaving a warm echo in the hearts of all who witness it. Cho Ray Hospital is fortunate to have many kind-hearted people who trust and are ready to share the burden with poor patients”, shared Head Le Minh Hien.
For years, hospitals across HCMC have had to issue frequent warnings about charity fraud. In a cynical ploy, scammers use heartbreaking images of patients, often children, on fake hospital Facebook pages, directing donations to personal bank accounts. Any comments exposing the scam are swiftly deleted.
In moments of compassion, many well-intentioned people have been deceived, their kindness exploited. The tragic result is that public trust erodes, and the patients who genuinely need help lose their chance. According to Acting Head Chu Van Thanh, paying fees directly through a hospital’s verified system is the most effective way to prevent this.
Donors are given a list of authenticated cases with details about the patient’s condition and family situation, allowing them to choose who to help. Like many small streams forming a great river, their collective generosity made the impossible possible, for instance, for a 19-month-old with a congenital heart defect, who received nearly VND600 million ($24,000) for a life-saving surgery. Many donors choose to remain anonymous, seeking no thanks, only the chance to give a stranger a better life.
To maintain this crucial public trust, hospitals are committed to transparency, offering diverse forms of support beyond just paying fees, including charity kitchens and “zero-VND” stalls, held daily, monthly, or periodically. This is not only an effective way to reduce the burden of daily living costs for patients during their hospital stay but also a seed to spread kindness to the right place at the right time.
“Everyone has compassion”, said Head Le Minh Hien. “We just want to ensure that kindness is channeled to the right person at the right time.”
At HCMC Children's Hospital 2, the Social Work Department helps over 1,000 vulnerable children and works with more than 500 donors each month, as reported by Deputy Head Nguyen Thi Thuy of the Social Work Department. This process is strictly carried out to ensure that it is transparent and that it reaches the needy.
“We provide donors with photos and financial reports to build long-term relationships. Via the hospital’s official channels, our job is to be both a bridge for kindness and a protector against fraud, preserving the integrity of and trust in charitable work”, said the Deputy Head.