Émilie Petitpas and Enora Richard-Mettay, 19-year-old sophomore students at IFSI IFAS, a nursing institute in La Flèche, France, have coordinated with ESI (a nursing students’ association) to carry out many activities in France, aiming to raise funds worth 8,000 euros (US$9,416) for an orphanage in Vietnam.
It is estimated that Petitpas and Richard-Mettey will attend a five-week internship at a hospital in Vietnam in the next school year. They will take their spare time to join charitable activities at a local orphanage.
Early this year, Petitpas and Richard-Mettey founded ESI au cœur de Bien Hoa (nursing students looking forward to Bien Hoa) to realize their plan. When in Bien Hoa Ward (formerly a city of Dong Nai Province), their board and lodging will be arranged by Mission Stage, an association that has sent students to work at hospitals in Vietnam since 1997.
The two French students will serve their internship 35 hours per week at a hospital. They will take their spare time to help orphans at Hoa Mai Orphanage. Aside from raising funds, they also ask for books, notebooks, toys and necessities for the orphans, vietnamplus.vn reported.
To Vo Gate on Ly Son Island recognized as national heritage
On September 10, Nguyen Van Huy, chairman of the People’s Committee of Ly Son Special Zone (Quang Ngai Province), told tuoitre.vn that the To Vo Gate, a volcanic masterpiece on Ly Son Island, has been ranked as a national heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
To Vo Gate has long been a tourist attraction on Ly Son Island. Formed 3,000-4,000 years ago from the lava eruption of Gieng Tien Volcano. The cooled lava created a thick layer of basalt, which was eroded by sea waves over thousands of years, forming a unique dome-shaped rock that resembles a giant wasp’s nest.
To Vo Gate is about 2,5 meters high and nearly 20 meters long, featuring a natural dome and layers of stacked stones. It is surrounded by black lava rocks of various sizes and shapes hidden under the crystal-clear seawater.
To Vo Gate lies among several tangible heritage sites such as Gieng Tien Volcano, Duc Pagoda, Cau Cave, Thoi Loi Mountain, Xo La Well, An Hai Village Communal House, Am Linh Tu Temple, and houses displaying the skeleton of Ca Ong (Whale) and the Hoang Sa Naval Squadron.
A teacher of young cancer patients
Dinh Thi Kim Phan, 69, was formerly an elementary teacher in HCMC. In the 2000s, she often visited and presented gifts to young cancer patients at the HCMC Oncology Hospital (Campus 1 at that time) with her colleagues and her students’ parents.
In 2009, although still busy teaching at school, Phan agreed to teach young cancer patients at Hoa Huong Duong (Sunflower) class opened in the HCMC Oncology Hospital. Along with teaching these young students, she bought a camera to take photos of her students – their portraits and all their activities in the class. She saved her students’ information and their photos in her personal computer. She also kept as many notebooks of her students as she could to cherish the memory of her beloved students.
The dedicated teacher has taught young cancer patients at the hospital over the past 16 years. When her students passed away, she managed to hand over their notebooks and photos to their parents, many of whom lived very far from HCMC.
Phan told tuoitre.vn that after handing over late students’ notebooks and photos to their parents, she felt as though her mission had been accomplished, and her connection with their families had been strengthened.
Professor receives Lifetime Achievement Award
At the Hospital Management Asia (HMA) 2025 held by the Ministry of Health on September 10 and 11 in HCMC, the organizing board granted the Lifetime Achievement Award to People’s Teacher, Professor, Doctor Nguyen Dinh Hoi, former principal of the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy and former director of the University Medical Center HCMC, for his contributions to the healthcare sector of the country.
Hoi graduated from Hanoi Medical University in 1960. He was appointed principal of the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1993. His contributions to the healthcare sector were recognized through several honorable orders, awards and titles bestowed on him.
According to sggp.org.vn, the 24th HMA 2025 conference in HCMC attracted some 1,500 attendees from 30 countries and territories.
