A 42-year-old South Korean man has been repatriated after a year-long stay at FV Hospital in HCMC, where he was treated following a stroke that left him in a deep coma for 80 days.
The patient was found unconscious in his apartment after failing to show up for work. Despite having no next of kin or financial guarantor, FV Hospital chose to proceed with life-saving surgery. Medical staff from various departments, including neurosurgery and intensive care, provided round-the-clock care during his recovery.
After nearly three months in a vegetative state, the patient gradually regained consciousness and basic communication abilities. The hospital worked with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in HCMC to arrange his return once a receiving facility in Korea was secured. On May 12, the consulate formally thanked FV Hospital, praising its commitment to patient care and humanitarian values.
Hot meals for low-income residents
As monsoon rains sweep across HCMC, a small noodle shop in Phu Nhuan District offers warmth and relief to low-income residents with hot meals priced at just VND1,000.
Unlike other charity kitchens, the shop is staffed by officers from the People’s Committee of Ward 8, Phu Nhuan District. From Monday to Thursday, they prepare 80 to 100 portions of noodles, served with eggs, vegetables, and hot broth. On Fridays, the team distributes 100 free rice meals outside the ward office.
On rainy days, the shop still draws regulars, including ride-hailing drivers, lottery ticket vendors, and scrap collectors, many of whom brave the downpours in raincoats to collect their meals.
There is no extra pay for the officers involved. “The smiles and thanks from the people are all the reward we need,” Vo Duy Phuong, vice chairman of Ward 8’s People’s Committee, told the Tuoi Tre news site.
Cheap vegan eateries in town
The vegetarian eatery run by Vuong Kim Long, 38, on Kenh Tan Hoa Street, Tan Phu District, HCMC, serves guests from 11 a.m. every day, Monday to Saturday a week. The eatery serves about 300 vegetarian dishes a day at VND5,000 per dish for on-the-spot diners (or they can pay any sum at will), and VND15,000 per dish for takeaway.
Long told thanhnien.vn that nine years ago, when taking care of a cancer patient at hospital, she had free meals offered by benefactors for three months. She thought of opening an eatery serving cheap meals for the needy ever since. In 2020, she and her husband could open their vegan eatery. Over the past five years, although having to relocate their eatery five times, they have continued to serve cheap vegetarian meals for those in need.
Meanwhile, another vegan eatery on Nguyen Van Cua Street, District 8, HCMC, serves vegetarian dishes from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays every week. Opened for over one year thanks to the contributions of organizations and individuals, the eatery also serves vegetarian dishes at VND5,000 a dish for diners to have on the spot, and VND15,000 a dish for takeaway.
“Happy Shops” for those with autism
Nguyen Duc Trung, 40, a businessman in Hanoi, has launched the Vietnam Autism Projects (VAPs), opening a grocery store, a café, a bookstore and a homestay facility in the capital city to create jobs for those with autism to make their living.
Twelve years ago, Trung was hit in the head by a child when he was in a resort. The child’s mother asked for his pardon for her autism child. The incident urged him to think about ways to help those with autism. He decided to open the aforementioned facilities as workplaces for children and young ones with autism.
Over the past nearly 10 years, all the VAPs’ facilities have been wide open for people with autism to learn how to live, to work and to integrate into society, serving a total of 10,000 clients. Twenty-three young people with autism came to work at these facilities. At present, 10 people aged from 18 to 31, have still been working there.
Director Nguyen Duc Trung told vnexpress.net that he hopes such models will be expanded to support more people with autism.
