The simple, diligent, patient and hard-working image of war veteran Vo Van Duc, who is Vice Chairman of the chapter of the Da Nang Association of Charities and Children's Rights Protection in Lien Chieu District and in charge of the Charity Kitchen of the city’s Mental Hospital, has become close to not only medical staff and patients of the hospital but also small traders at wet markets citywide.

War veteran Vo Van Duc, Vice Chairman of the chapter of the Da Nang Association of Charities and Children's Rights Protection in Lien Chieu District, receiving necessities to cook free-of-charge for mental patients at the Da Nang Mental Hospital

After retiring as an employee at the Da Nang Party School, currently known as the School of Politics, Mr. Duc worked as a carpenter and participated in local social work.

Despite his old age, Mr. Duc is very active in social welfare activities, especially the opening of free classes for poor children.

Also, he gets actively involved in appealing for benefactors and sponsors to provide financial support to bring unfortunate cases of death due to traffic accidents back to their hometowns for burial.

For the benefit of the community, in 2021, the kind-hearted man was elected Vice Chairman of the Association of Charities and Children's Rights Protection of Lien Chieu District and in charge of the Charity Kitchen of the Mental Hospital.

To ensure thoughtful and nutritious meals for mental patients, the 75-year-old man has to wake up early every day to arrange personal and family chores. At 5:30 am, he rides his motorbike to local markets to collect donated food for cooking for the patients.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh, who is selling vegetables and tubers at the Hoa Khanh Market, said that Mr. Duc and small traders were like a family. He understands that they are busy wholesalers, so he is always willing to run to the market to bring food back to the charity kitchen.

Like Ms. Thanh, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, a small trader at the Hoa Khanh Market, also regularly donates eggplants, cabbages, carrots and potatoes to the charity kitchen.

Sharing about the fate that brought him to the charity kitchen, Mr. Duc confided "In 2016, I and other volunteers many times brought free food to patients being treated at the city’s mental hospital. I saw that the patients only are half of the food and saved the other half. From there, I proposed to the leaders of the city’s Association of Charities and Children's Rights Protection to build a charity kitchen right in the hospital to better serve patients”.

As a result, the Charity Kitchen of the Da Nang Mental Hospital was officially put into operation in November 2016 in the form of 100% socialisation.

Currently, the kitchen managed by Mr. Duc is in charge of receiving daily food supplies for patients.

Over the past 8 years, the charity kitchen has been regularly maintained as preparing 80-100 meals for dozens of patients twice a day, including Saturdays and Sundays.

The journey of love of Mr. Duc and many others will continue forever to bring warm and meaningful meals to the needy, thereby contributing to alleviating the pain of illness for mentally ill people and multiply beautiful gestures in the hospital.

Reporting by THIEN HA - Translating by M.DUNG