In April 2022, along with 62 doctors, nurses, and medical staff selected from the entire military medical force, Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong boarded a flight leaving Vietnam for the distant country of South Sudan.
Before leaving for their mission, the Vietnamese blue beret soldiers underwent special training courses, during which they were updated with information about the country where they would be stationed. The Republic of South Sudan (separated from the Republic of Sudan in 2011) is the youngest country in Africa; people's lives are very difficult due to the negative impact of civil wars; weather and climate conditions are extremely harsh. Having had a preconceived idea, from the first moments of setting foot in South Sudan, Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong and his teammates were mentally strong, ready to overcome difficulties and complete all tasks well.
The Vietnamese field hospital is located in the core area of the UN Peacekeeping Mission base in Bentiu, South Sudan. The base is home to thousands of people from various national forces, not to mention staff from other civil organizations and the UN Protection of Civilians (POC) with more than 100,000 South Sudanese refugees.
The hospital began its mission during the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic, but with the spirit of solidarity, unanimity, and indomitable will of Uncle Ho's soldiers, Vietnamese doctors, medical staff, and military medical staff actively overcame difficulties and performed well the assigned tasks. Many complicated surgeries such as obstetric surgery, appendectomy, foreign body removal surgery, etc. under the conditions of limited specialized equipment were successfully performed by the hospital's doctors and medical staff. In addition, the hospital also organized many training sessions to update professional knowledge for level 1 field hospitals of the Ghana Infantry Battalion, the Pakistan Engineer Force, the Mongolian Infantry Battalion, the Ghana Police Unit, and level 1 hospitals of the United Nations; propaganda on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of monkeypox, Ebola, etc.
Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong said that after nearly 15 months of medical duty with his teammates at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, he clearly felt the respect, trust and affection that the forces of other countries had for Vietnamese military medics. The professionalism in expertise, the open and friendly personality in lifestyle, the spirit of sharing and friendship in every small action in daily life... have engraved a beautiful image of Vietnamese soldiers.
“Many people told us that they have only known Vietnam for its war stories, but over time, they have come to understand more about a country that loves peace and has an increasingly developed economic and social life. They also expressed their admiration for the indomitable will of Vietnamese soldiers. Although they are shorter than soldiers from other countries, they are always confident, self-reliant, and do not yield to any mission,” Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong shared.
This was the first time he had been on duty in a country so far from home, so like many other comrades and teammates, Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong missed home very much. Unfortunately, the telecommunications infrastructure in South Sudan was very poor, the Internet was unstable, making it difficult to make regular, uninterrupted video calls. Therefore, the young officer used TikTok to post a number of videos of his daily life and activities for his family in his hometown of Do Luong to watch, thereby better understanding his working situation. He himself did not expect that after only a few clips, the TikTok channel had attracted an incredible number of followers, and the number of followers, likes, and comments increased day by day. By the end of August 2023, the TikTok channel Uncle Bo Doi Vlog had more than 102,300 followers, more than 2.1 million likes, and some clips had more than 6 million views...
The clips on the TikTok channel of Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong attract the public by the simplicity, honesty, optimism and warm, kind heart of a soldier of Uncle Ho's army for poor children in South Sudan. Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong said that living conditions in South Sudan are very backward and poor; in particular, children here are always in a state of hunger and lack of clothing. The young officer was extremely sympathetic and moved by the image of skinny children, with bewildered eyes, illiterate, always standing or sitting huddled by the fence of the refugee area.
“I love children. When I was in Vietnam, I often went to some pagodas or centers for orphans and disabled children to help take care of them and play with them, so when I came to South Sudan and witnessed such a difficult life, I felt very sorry for them. Therefore, I took advantage of my off-work hours to visit the children. Gradually, the children became familiar with my face and name. Every day, they stood by the fence waiting for Mr. Cong to come!” – Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong confided. There were days when he finished work late, it was already dark or it was raining, the young officer still tried to walk a long distance to meet the children for a bit, because he knew, “no matter how late it was, they would wait!”.
Watching the clips on the TikTok channel of Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong, one cannot help but be moved by the "gifts" he brings to the children. A bag of peanuts, a few packages of cakes, a piece of bread, coconut jam "made in Nghe An" made by his mother, a bottle of diluted milk, even a few ice cubes... For most children in South Sudan, a full meal is a rare thing, any food is precious. Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong saves his food rations and becomes a famous "beggar" at the base, because he always offers to ask for leftover food when people don't finish it, wraps it up and gives it to the children.
The young officer choked up when talking about unforgettable memories. One time, when he brought out a bag of peanuts for the children, the bag accidentally tipped over, spilling the peanuts on the ground. Before he could bend down to pick them up, the children rushed over and hastily scooped up the peanuts and put them in their mouths. Or a few months ago, he saw a group of children walking barefoot, some wearing sandals with worn heels. He returned to the base to ask for used shoes and sandals that were still in relatively good condition, cleaned them, and brought them out to the children. Looking at the bright smiles on the faces of the poor children, Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong felt relieved.
“Many people say how can we help them all, there are millions of children like that in South Sudan. But I think differently, within my ability, I will help whoever I can. If that small help can contribute to changing even a little bit of their difficult lives, then to me that is great happiness” – Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong confided. The “gift” that the young officer sent to the children, in addition to food, is also English lessons, because Cong hopes that once they know a foreign language, when they grow up, they will have the opportunity to change their lives with better jobs. Viewers of the channel also smiled at the lessons of singing in Vietnamese and Nghe An to the people of South Sudan, and loved the young officer even more because of his pride and spirit of spreading Vietnamese culture and identity in a distant country. Together with his comrades, Lieutenant Nguyen Sy Cong has lived and worked to the fullest as a messenger of peace and friendship in South Sudan.
