The 1.2-Meter Tall Girl Strives to Teach Paper-Curling Art to Others in Similar Circumstances
The first character of "Kind Deed" in March is a flower that is both radiant and humble: Ho Thi Lang.
Lang was a healthy and lovely girl birth, but her life took an unexpected turn when, at the age of 12, she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Since then, this "tiny girl" has grown to only 1.2 meters tall. Yet, life’s cruel fate continued to bring challenges to this small flower. Lang’s father suffered from heart disease, and her mother had to sell scrap to make ends meet. Throughout her school years, Láng struggled to fit in with her classmates and was even a victim of school bullying.
Despite these hardships, the storms of life did not break her spirit. Despite her small stature, Lang, with her tenacity and resolve led her to relocate to Hanoi to learn a craft: paper-curling art, hoping to support herself and help her family. She revealed that she originally decided on paper-curling art because it was a suitable job for her ability and physical condition. However, her love for the craft grew into a passion over time. With the support and companionship of her friend Hoang Kim Nhan, whom she met online, Lang overcame her challenging years away from home and became proficient in her craft.
But what makes Ho Thi Lang makes is that she didn’t keep this passion to herself. Instead, she has shared her love for the craft with many others in similar situations. Her art class, called "Suong Ban Mai" (Morning Dew), is where she teaches paper-curling to people with disabilities.
Through this class, many individuals with disabilities have acquired a skill to support themselves and have found joy in life.
Ms. Le Thi Mai and Her Nearly 10-Year Journey as a Teacher for Cancer Children
Ms. Mai can still clearly recall the first time she walked into the Oncology Department at Children’s Hospital No. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City. The sight of children with bald heads, their hands covered in bandages, and their sobs after each round of chemotherapy echoed in the halls, leaving an indelible impression. Love and compassion in her heart were sown in her heart at this very instant. Since then, Ms. Mai has continuously supported and donated to cancer-stricken children.
However, one day, Ms. Mai realized that her love for these children needed to grow larger and be more practical. In 2017, she sought permission from the leadership of Children’s Oncology Hospital No. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City to establish the "Happy Class" under the "Beautiful Writing" Club.
The “Happy Class” provides cancer children with education, skill development, piano lessons, and singing opportunities.
Ms. Mai founded this class because she understood that, in addition to physical pain, these kids were also denied a normal upbringing. They couldn’t study or play like their peers. The class not only helps them learn new things but, more importantly, every time they attend, they find joy and forget about their illnesses.
Now, nearly 10 years later, the class is still going strong thanks to the support of many volunteers, organizing both learning and recreational activities for the children.
The effort has finally paid off. Many children who were once students of the "Happy Class" have completed their treatment andare now on their way to a bright futures. One of them, Tran Cao Thuy Ha, is an example. After more than two years since she left Ms. Mai’s class, Thuy Ha reunited with her teacher on the stage of Kind Deed. Thuy Ha has grown and changed, but she has never forgotten the memories of the "Happy Class" that Ms. Mai and the volunteers created.
Mrs. Dao Thi Thanh An – The Teacher of “U80 Students”
Learning paper-curling to gain a skill. Learning joy and skills to bring hope to cancer patients. The classes of these two individuals in the Kind Deed in March remind us that learning always brings value. In the southernmost region of the country, in Nguyen Viet Khai commune, Phu Tan district, Ca Mau province, there is a class that has been in existence for ten years. In this special class, the teacher is younger than the students, as the students are elderly people over 60 or 70 years old. They are illiterate, some because of the war that prevented them from going to school, and others due to extreme poverty that kept them from attending.
The teacher of this special class is Mrs. Dao Tha Thanh An, Chairwoman of the Women's Union in Nguyen Viet Khai commune, Phu Tan district, Ca Mau province.
The idea of founding a literacy class for the elderly came to Mrs. An when she noticed many elderly people, especially women, who couldn't sign their names but instead left fingerprints at the end of loan documents due to their illiteracy.
Mrs. An shared that she felt deeply sorry for these people. To her, one of life’s greatest disadvantages is being illiterate. Therefore, Mrs. An devoted all her love, patience, and perseverance to help the people in her hometown overcome this obstacle.
The literacy class started with only three students, as many were initially shy and self-conscious. However, Mrs. An kept persevering, and after more than eight years, her class has successfully taught nearly 100 elderly students, many of them are over 70 or 80 years old.
Not only does Mrs. An teach, but she is also a godmother to 36 underprivileged children in Nguyen Viet Khai commune. She explained that, because the area is a coastal region with many migrant families, the community experiences numerous challenges, and the number of families needing help is greater than in other areas. She recalls the first three children she took in in 2021. These children, three siblings, had lost their father to COVID-19 while he was working in Binh Duong, and their mother had to return to raise them under extremely trying circumstances. Upon learning of their predicament, Mrs. An immediately supported them and became their godmother. Now, she has taken in 36 children from difficult backgrounds in her community.
But Mrs. An is not alone in her path of compassion; she receives much support from her family, local authorities, and colleagues. Upon hearing that Mrs. An was invited to Hanoi to film the Kind Deed in March, her family, relatives, and colleagues quickly formed an "escort team" to accompany her to the capital.
These three individuals represent many beautiful flowers of kindness that are blooming. On this special day for women, Kind Deed in collaboration with THACO - Truong Hai Group, extends its heartfelt gratitude to the women of the world.
Tune in to the Kind Deed in March: Flowers in the Sun program, airing at 8:10 PM on March 8, 2025, on VTV1 and the VTVgo app.
