The Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien-Hue province has received a big collection of the President's legacy donated by local people. (Photo: bthcm.thuathienhue.gov.vn)

Kan Lich, a heroin of the armed forces who met the President seven times, recalled: “The Pa Ko ethnic minority group can not become what it is today without President Ho Chi Minh. Most of the Pa Ko people surname themselves and their children ‘Ho’. They all worship the President and offer him incense on his birth anniversary and other festivals in a year. They all ask their descendants to follow President Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples.”

Ethnic people of the Pa Ko, Ta Oi, and Van Kieu groups living in A Luoi district set up altars to remember President Ho Chi Minh’s enormous devotions when he passed away in 1969. “Ho” was chosen as the surname for all ethnic people living on the Truong Son range, in the west of Thua Thien-Hue province.

Le Anh Mieng, a war veteran of A Luoi district, said: “Ethnic people here held a funeral and cried a lot when the President passed away. They voluntarily took ‘Ho’ as their surname. Nowadays, most ethnic people in Thua Thien-Hue province still have their ‘Ho’ surname.”

During Vietnam’s resistance wars, Uncle Ho’s documents, photos, and  memorabilia provided great source of encouragement for local people to overcome hardships. Nguyen Luong Hot in Hue city has, for decades, preserved a collection of 10,000 stamps about Uncle Ho. “Lessons learned from President Ho Chi Minh’s life and his search for national salvation are valuable to not only Vietnamese people but also all human beings. I respect the President so much that I have fully collected stamps about him”, Hot said.

A large number of artifacts featuring President Ho Chi Minh’s life and career have been donated by locals to the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Thua Thien-Hue province.