As is natural, where there are difficulties, there are also compassionate hearts. The rides of love for poor patients emerge one after another also for that cause.

Free buses take poor patients to the hospital, discharged patients back home, and transferred patients to another hospital. Photo: L.P

Without hesitation all the clocks

Early in the morning, Mr Ho Ngoc Thanh, Head of the Red Cross Volunteer Club - "Zero-VND Charity Rides", quickly responded to an emergency message from Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital and immediately prepared to hit the road to provide support. This marks the 708^th ride that Mr Thanh and club members have undertaken.

On the occasion, the patient was Ho Thi Thu May, born in 2014 in Tra Van Commune, Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam province, who was discharged home.

Over the past four years, May has regularly taken by her parents to the Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital for medical examinations because of her cerebral palsy. The poor parents had to borrow money from various sources within the village for each trip to Da Nang, but it was not still enough.

Caressing her daughter's head, Mrs Truong Thi May, May’s mother, shed tears, saying "The road from here back home is very far, and there are few vehicles. When we heard the hospital offered free transportation to get home, we were very happy. Not only did we save some expenses, but we also avoided carrying the child up and down the vehicle multiple times, as our cerebral palsy child cannot move on her own".

Talking about the fate that led to the establishment of the "Zero-VND Charity Rides" Mr Thanh said that in 2016, he took five children from Nam Tra My District to Da Nang for heart surgery. After treatment, all five were discharged at once. At that time, transportation was very limited, especially to remote mountainous districts.

With the thought of "if helping, then help fully," he spent his own money to rent a 16-seat vehicle to take the five children and their families back to their homes.

After that, Mr Thanh fostered the idea of providing a free car service specifically for transporting patients from remote mountainous areas.

In September 2019, the "Zero-VND Charity Rides" was born. Since then, his team have carried out over 700 free trips to transport patients in difficult circumstances to hospitals for admission, discharge, and transfer.

In a similar vein, another "Free Charity Rides" team led by Mr Le Tu Hoang Tuan, 37, has so far provided free transport service for nearly 750 disadvantaged patients to hospitals.

After completing a special trip to transport two child patients from the Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital to the Children's Hospital 1 and Children's Hospital 2 in Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously, he also assisted them with paperwork and admission procedures before returning.

"They are ethnic minority people in very difficult circumstances, and they are not fluent in Vietnamese language, so if I can help them in any way, I will do so immediately without hesitation. This is also the aspiration and purpose of the whole group when establishing the "Free Charity Rides" he shared.

A 'zero-VND car' picking up poor patients. Photo: L.P

Proof of kindness

Mr Truong Vinh Phuc, born in 1973, Head of the ‘Da Nang Zero-VND Charity Rides’ Team, recounted that to meet the requirements of transporting patients, each vehicle must be equipped with necessary equipment such as stretchers, intravenous drip stands, first aid supplies, and signaling devices.

Additionally, the owners of these vehicles must strictly adhere to maintenance schedules to ensure that each trip is a safe journey for patients. To ensure that the "Zero-VND Charity Rides" serves those in need as per the criteria, his team only accept support for cases provided by the social work department of hospitals or confirmed by local authorities where the patients reside.

Most hospitals in the city such as the Da Nang Hospital, the Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, the 119 Hospital, the Oncology Hospital, and the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital are connected to the "Zero-VND Charity Rides" to support patients. The beneficiaries are not limited to any particular locality, as long as they are patients from poor households or ethnic minorities facing difficulties, or long-term treatment patients.

The Social Work Department of the Da Nang Hospital stated that to share with disadvantaged patients, the department regularly calls for assistance from units implementing the "Zero-VND Charity Rides" to support discharged and transferred patients, with about 20 trips per month. This helps patients save a considerable amount during their treatment process.

Meanwhile, According to Mr Tran Cao Thanh Binh, Head of the Social Work Department of the Da Nang Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, the Zero-VND charity trips are very meaningful for disadvantaged patients, especially those who have undergone long-term treatment and have exhausted their finances. Not only do they help disadvantaged patients have the opportunity to be admitted or transferred to hospitals in time for treatment, but they also provide comfort and encouragement to patients and their families.

Out there, while people are busy striving for a better life, the drivers of the zero-VND rides are tirelessly steering their way through the roads all the clocks to support impoverished patients. It seems that for them, joy lies simply in completing a ride, either rushing a patient to the hospital in the "golden hour" for treatment or welcoming a patient back home after completing their treatment. Thus, wherever there are patients in need, they are there, serving as evidence that acts of kindness and compassion still exist in our daily lives.

Reporting by LAM PHUONG- Translating by T.VY