Kim Lien Commune in Nghe An province is the childhood home of Vietnam's leading revoluntionary and first president. While the outside appears to be a modern Vietnamese town, an ancient village still remains perfectly intact. The simple wooden walls and a thatched roof once housed Nguyen Sinh Cung, the boy who grew up to become Ho Chi Minh and liberate his nation.
Ho Chi Minh's childhood home. Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Walking in the footsteps of Uncle Ho. Photo by Glen MacDonald.
As the son of a Confucian scholar, young Uncle Ho quickly realized the value of education and was instilled with worldly wonder. In addition to his education, Ho Chi Minh's father, Nguyen Sinh Sac, introduced him to national pride and revolutionary activity against the occupying French colonial forces. Freedom-fighting villagers would hide their weapons in the well nearby his home.
Nowadays, as Vietnam enjoys peacetime, Ho Chi Minh's village has been blessed with a bounty of lotus gardens. The lotus flower is emblematic of the struggles and triumphs of the Vietnamese people. Like the flower that grows above muddy areas, the Vietnamese people seem to blossom far above the hardships of the past.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo of Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Dozens of Vietnamese people visit the site to pay homage to their beloved leader. In the lush, natural spot, the words of Ho Chi Minh ring true; “To reap a return in ten years, plant trees. To reap a return in 100, cultivate the people.”
On December 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will assign and coordinate with departments, ministries, branches and localities to organize a national conference to summarize the implementation of Resolution 36-NQ/TW on overseas Vietnamese affairs.
On December 23, the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in collaboration with the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City and CRS in Vietnam held a ceremony to hand over the disaster recovery aid to the people of Gia Lai province.
On December 19, 2025, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, in coordination with Plan International Vietnam and AstraZeneca Vietnam, officially launched the Student-Friendly Health Corner - a healthcare space designed to be approachable, private, and tailored to the practical needs of students.
The Naval Region 4 Command held a ceremony to inaugurate and hand over a house to the family of Cao Ca Yen, a Raglai ethnic minority resident of Ta Giang 2 Hamlet, Tay Khanh Son Commune, on December 22. This is the first house completed after 17 days of urgent construction under the “Quang Trung Campaign”.
The Ministry of Education and Training, in coordination with Room to Read Viet Nam, held the Conference to Review the Library Quality Improvement Program for developing reading habits and a reading culture for the 2021-2025 period on December 19 in Gia Lai province. The program recorded notable results, benefiting more than 3.2 million primary school students nationwide, while setting orientations for sustainable, digital, and equitable development of school libraries in the next phase.
On December 18 in Hue City, the Zhi Shan Foundation held a ceremony to mark its 30 years of operations in Vietnam and received a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister, recognizing the organization’s sustained and effective contributions in the field of child support and community development.
Not merely beneficiaries of poverty reduction policies, farmers in Muong Tung Commune (Dien Bien Province) have increasingly become pioneering actors in the local fight against hunger and poverty.
On December 18, more than 350 poor and near-poor households in four communes of Dak Lak Province received cash assistance totaling VND 1.05 billion, helping ease immediate hardships and gradually stabilize their lives in the aftermath of flooding.
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