“His house was so small that we did not have enough space to sit down,” Tam recalls.
For the 60-year-old successful businessman from the southern province of Vinh Long, that visit changed the way he thought about a lot of things.
The resident of An Binh Village had 4,000 square meters of land passed down from his grandparents that he would never dream of selling.
The land was precious not because it was worth more than VND2 billion (US$121,000), but because it had been in his family for generations.
But now, Tam was certain he knew what he wanted to do with the land.
He approached the village’s People’s Committee with a proposal to use the land for building homes for the poor.
Well aware that many poor residents did not have any money to build new houses, Tam launched a fundraising campaign, seeking donations from friends, relatives and other donors.
Last month, the ground breaking ceremony for the apartment block was held.
Tam has asked those who received the free homes to contribute their labor to build the houses – to save the cost of hiring additional workers.
Still, the poor residents find it difficult to believe that they will be able to sit in their own homes.
But Tam thinks more can be done.
After finishing this project to build 12 houses, he is thinking the next one could build playgrounds for poor children.
Tam’s story is heartwarming, but it also has many pertinent thought-provoking elements that should be kept in mind.
One happy fact is that the tradition of kindness still flourishes in the country, especially in remote areas.
However, the real lesson of the story is what a compassionate outlook can accomplish when it is acted upon.
It sets off ripples of positive, co-operative action that benefits the community as a whole, and proves that even in the market economy, one does not have to be greedy and selfish to be successful.
Most of all, it shows that real success does not have to do with earning a lot of wealth, but that it stems from how wealth is used.
By Thanh Dung |
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