Nguyen Sang and his wife Ha Thi Huong have provided free ambulance rides for patients needing urgent care in Lam Dong Province.
According to Sang, the idea came to him after travelling to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment in 2020.
“That experience made us realise how difficult it is for poor patients to travel long distances for care,” he said. “So my wife and I discussed with our son and decided to use our family’s 7-seater car to transport people from our area to hospitals and medical centres, free of charge.”
The couple bought a dedicated ambulance to continue their charitable work a year later.
“In 2021, we bought a used ambulance from a man involved in charity work in Duc Trong District,” Huong recalled. “It was originally worth VND 400 million, but when he learned we intended to use it for charity, he sold it to us for only VND 200 million.”
Since then, the couple has completed hundreds of trips, helping patients access medical treatment. They carefully document every case in a notebook for record-keeping.
“To date, we’ve supported over 200 patients from various communes in Dam Rong District, taking them to hospitals in and outside the province, including destinations as far as Hue, Dak Lak and Ninh Thuan,” Huong said.
In early 2025, with support from their children, the family purchased another ambulance worth VND 1.1 billion to expand their volunteer work. Several drivers from the Dam Rong district have also volunteered to help transport patients.
Le Cong Trong, chairman of Ro Men Commune People’s Committee, noted that the couple, originally from Dong Nai, settled in the area in 2005 and have faced many ups and downs in their business journey. They now cultivate 10 hectares of durian, coffee and avocado, earning an annual profit of more than VND 500 million.
“The couple has built a stable, prosperous life here,” Trong said. “Over the past five years, they’ve provided free ambulance transport for hundreds of patients. It’s a meaningful act, and we propose that the Dam Rong district authorities formally commend them.”
