Keep believing in kindness.
Kindness is fragile. It survives thanks to the connection and spread of many hearts. We have the right to doubt, the right to question, the right to demand transparency. But please don't let today's disappointment overshadow our faith in the human values that society has painstakingly nurtured.
Phuoc AnhDecember 12, 2025
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I can't remember how many remote villages in western Nghe An province my colleagues and I have visited. The villages of the Mong, Thai, Kho Mu, and O Du ethnic groups are incredibly beautiful, with sunrises and sunsets like magnificent paintings of nature. But behind this beauty, alongside it, lies a heart-wrenching poverty that, despite much attention from the Party and State's policies, the involvement of local authorities, and the efforts of many highlanders, has not been completely eradicated. I will always remember the image of a Mong child in the primary school in Keng Du. Her lunch consisted of a little rice with stream water. The teacher said that on some "luckier" days, it was instant noodle soup. She was small and dirty like a forest monkey, only her eyes were bright and clear, looking at everything with curiosity and innocence. Those eyes haunted me for years, not out of pity, but because deep down, they held a glimmer of hope for something better.
Those eyes, and similar eyes, also appear in the minds of many these days, as they follow the controversy surrounding a charitable project to improve meals for students in mountainous areas. It seems that after all the debate, what still haunts us most is the image of the children, the children's eager smiles when their lunch is a little more substantial, when they have an extra bowl of soup, a piece of meat, a small joy on their journey to school.
Because of their haunting and agonizing concern for the children, it's understandable that many people are so disappointed when questions arise surrounding a charitable project – the numbers, the income and expenses, the controversies that remain unclear. They are disappointed because they fear they placed their trust in the wrong place. They fear their good intentions will be exploited. They fear that acts of kindness could be tainted by a crack in the heart of the project's leader.
Social media is flooded with comments like: "I can't trust anyone!", "Sending eggs to a wolf," "From now on, I'll never send money to charity again," "Those charity workers are all liars"... Being betrayed is never easy, especially when that trust is placed in something good. But it is precisely when people's hearts are most hurt that we need to be most clear-headed. Clear-headed enough to realize that questioning a charitable activity doesn't mean that the kindness of society has suddenly disappeared. Clear-headed enough not to let disappointment turn into pessimism that overshadows all efforts to help others.
It's crucial to be clear-cut. Transparency is mandatory; no one can stand outside that line. And if the investigation reveals wrongdoing, the individuals involved must be held accountable under the law, strictly and fairly. But while awaiting the conclusion, don't let emotions get the better of you to the point of turning your backs on all the kindness that has been cultivated over the years. Because if a charitable activity goes wrong, the responsibility lies with the specific individual or group, not with everyone who contributed to helping the children in the highlands.
I met young people who trekked through forests and streams to carry sacks of rice to the villages. I met mothers from distant places who painstakingly saved a few tens of thousands of dong each week just so a child could have an extra piece of vegetable or an egg. I met teachers who stayed at their schools and in the villages so that their children wouldn't drop out. These people have nothing to do with the commotion today. They were simply doing what they believed was right. And most of what they did, the sentiments they expressed, were genuine, very genuine.
Therefore, seeing so many people sharing the feeling of "from now on, I don't trust any charitable activities anymore" makes my heart sink. Not because of a specific project, but because goodness in society is being damaged in a way it shouldn't have to suffer. We are right to be outraged when injustice occurs, but losing faith in good things is even more frightening.
Kindness is fragile. It survives thanks to the connection and spread of many hearts. We have the right to doubt, the right to question, the right to demand transparency. But please don't let today's disappointment overshadow our faith in the human values that society has painstakingly nurtured. Let reason do its job: wait for the truth to be verified. And let the heart continue to do what it has always strived for: preserving kindness, even when faced with challenges.
This world has never been all darkness. Light always shines in every silent heart, in every quiet effort that goes unnoticed. And as long as we hold onto that light within ourselves, our belief in goodness will never fade.
