Nguyen Tu Hung was an orphan. At a very young age, he joined the anti-US war and the 1979 border war. He was appointed to the Tan Lap communal People’s Council for the 1994-1999 term.

Hung and his family have donated more than 120, 000 USD to renovate the village’s pagodas and communal house, and build public facilities in their locality.

“The village’s old pond was filled with rubbish. I urged local authorities to clean it up and refill it. The new pond was inaugurated in 2017, to mark 55 years since President Ho Chi Minh visited Tan Lap commune. We also donated money to upgrade village roads and install a lightening system,” Mr. Hung said.

Other villagers followed Mr. Hung’s good example to build a greener and cleaner village. Many helped plant trees, clean the pond, and install benches for people to relax on. Tan Lap commune is now planning to renovate an historical relic which President Ho Chi Minh visited.

“I will contribute money to the plan to build a road to the historical relic. Every thing that I have done comes from my love for my home village,” Mr. Hung added.

In 2017, Mr. Hung was given granted a certificate of merit by the Prime Minister and the Chairman of Hanoi’s People’s Committee for his great contribution to new rural development.