A man devotes to creating family bookcases in Vietnam
By Kieu Giang in HCMC
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| Nguyen Quang Thach at the General Sciences Library in HCMC on Monday - Photo: Kieu Giang |
With the words “English is job, Charity is karma” on his blog, Nguyen Quang Thach, an ordinary man, has carried a great desire to bring knowledge and develop the reading culture for people in rural Vietnam by creating bookcases for 50 families in 15 provinces and cities nationwide with thousands of books and magazines over many years.
Born in 1975 into a poor family with separated parents in Huong Son District in Ha Tinh Province, Thach’s childhood was attached to reading books and he grew up with his thinking fed by lessons and knowledge taken from these books. 
Witnessing children and adults in this poor land mistreating and shouting at each other every day because they lack knowledge and have no chance to read books, Thach hoped one day to bring books to people in rural areas. But the question “how to do that” always existed in this man’s mind.
After graduation from university, Thach started a trip through many rural areas to find the answer to this question. One day, when wandering into a village graveyard, Thach found the answer. Tombs in village cemeteries are built expensively by families and are well maintained. So bringing books to villages and rural people through families is the best way because families have human and material conditions to establish bookcases and help to access knowledge.
Thach moved to Hanoi to work to earn more money to buy books and to have chances to meet intellectuals, writers, journalists, benefactors and publishing houses to ask for more books for these bookcases.
Living in a rented room with a negligible salary together with a wife and child, every day Thach takes the bus to work and to do more jobs to fulfill his ambition-bookcases for families in Vietnam. His dream is not only collecting books but also developing human souls and helping people live honestly.
With each passing day, Thach is like a diligent bee devoted to his dream despite the people who consider him “abnormal” or “crazy” to do such a thing.
Readers who are interested in the project of Nguyen Quang Thach or who would like to contribute books should contact Thach at 0912 188 644 or email sachchonongdan@gmail.com.