Touching story of a man who repairs cars for free in Thanh Chuong

That is the meaningful work of Mr. Le Dinh An (53 years old), residing in Hamlet 2, Thanh Van Commune (Thanh Chuong - Nghe An, Nghe An).

For nearly fifteen years, Mr. Le Dinh An has been involved in the motorbike repair business. Despite his advanced age, he is still dedicated to his work of repairing bicycles and motorbikes. His dream is to open a charity motorbike repair shop to help people.

Although he knew he would face many difficulties, with his enthusiasm, he was still determined to do his charity work. For him, this was a joy in his old age.

Mr. An shared: “My family used to be poor and had a hard life. So now that I no longer have to struggle for every meal, I always want to do something to help people, especially the poor. I decided to open a free motorbike repair shop to help people travel more safely. Although it is not a big deal, for me, just a small part to help people in need makes me very happy.”

Mr. Le Dinh An repairs cars for free for people in the district. Photo: Cam Nhung

Every day, Mr. An gets up early in the morning, and whenever someone brings him a broken car, he is ready to help. On average, he repairs and patches about 6-7 cars for free each day, and for cars that need to have parts replaced, he only charges the price of the parts.

Gradually, the good news spread far and wide. The story of Mr. An repairing motorbikes for free not only stopped in the village, but people from other places also came to his shop to ask him to help them fix their motorbikes.

Mr. An added: “After opening a free car repair shop, I realized that there are many people whose cars have been broken for a long time but do not have money to fix them. When they hear that I fix cars for free, no matter how far away they are, they will travel to me to fix them. This is the motivation for me to continue to hone my skills to be able to diagnose all types of cars.”

Not only does he do charity repairs at the shop, when people have broken down vehicles on the dike, along the road, or outside the village, and they cannot bring their vehicles to the repair shop, Mr. An immediately brings the parts to their place to help them fix them. Many people whose vehicles he repaired wanted to offer to give them some money for the work, but he never accepted it.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Nga - who had his car repaired by Mr. An shared: “That day I came home late from work, it was around 10pm, my car suddenly had a flat tire while I was still more than 5km from home. I was confused and didn’t know what to do, because all the shops were closed at that time. A passerby told me, so I immediately called Mr. An for help.

Less than 15 minutes later, he was there to help me. After fixing the tire, I offered to pay him for the work, but Mr. An refused to take it.

Not only does he do charity repairs at the shop, when someone's car breaks down on the road, Mr. An immediately brings the item to their place to fix it for free. Photo: Cam Nhung

To realize his plan today, it is impossible not to mention the encouragement and support of his family. Alongside him, his wife and two sons always share and support their husband in fulfilling his wishes.

Mr. Le Dinh Truong, Mr. An's eldest son, said: "My father has always been a person who likes to help others without fear of difficulties. The plan to repair cars for free has been in my father's mind for a long time, but when my family was still poor, he could not carry it out. Now seeing my father happy because he has done what he wanted, I will always support him with all my heart."

Despite helping others like that, his family still has many difficulties. Mr. An's second son has been sick for a long time, the whole family has been worried about treatment but still can't get better. The eldest brother has to stay home to take care of his younger brother so he can't go to work. This is the most painful thing for him.

Mr. Tran Dinh Toan, head of Hamlet 2, Thanh Van Commune, added: “Speaking of Mr. An, I am very proud that my hamlet has such a good person. Although Mr. An’s family is facing many difficulties, Mr. An is still actively doing charity work to help people.