Working hard to build rural bridges
Born and raised in the poor countryside of An Hung hamlet, Dinh An commune, Go Quao district (Kien Giang), seeing people having to cross canals on slippery monkey bridges made Mr. Hung worry. Since then, he wants to contribute to the construction of the bridge so that people can travel more easily.
Mr. Danh Hung (middle) on the bridge designed and built by himself
In the late 1980s, Mr. Hung often followed his father, Mr. Danh Hon, throughout the Go Quao countryside to bridge and build rural roads for charity. In the days following his father, he learned from experience in designing bridges with low cost but ensuring quality.
From 1985 to present, Mr. Hung has mobilized benefactors at home and abroad, coordinated with local authorities to build 40 bridges in Dinh An commune, costing 40-100 million VND each. When building a bridge, he mobilized about 12-13 people to work in a normal day and from 50-100 people to participate in the day of construction, pouring concrete pillars. All working days, meals, and meals are donated by him to his relatives and local people to enjoy the work.
Mr. Quang Trong Dung, Vice Chairman of Dinh An Commune People’s Committee, said that over the years, Mr. Hung has made many contributions to building new rural areas in the locality, especially building bridges, rural roads, and building houses for poor households. . Dinh An commune has many canals and canals, people face many difficulties in traveling. Thanks to Mr. Hung, the concrete bridge gradually replaced the monkey bridge.
Ms. Luu Thi Hanh (living in An Phuoc hamlet, Dinh An commune) said: “People here love Mr. Hung and affectionately call him “unpaid engineer”. He is diligent, honest, kind, He often does charity work to help poor people.Every time a bridge is built, he clearly reports the construction cost for people to monitor.The bridges he designed and built were low-budget but very solid.”
Mr. Danh Hung (centre) at the Soc Ven temple, he paid for the restoration by himself
Focus on charity
Life is stable, from 2000 to now, Mr. Hung has left all his land to his 4 children to produce so that he can focus on building bridges and building charity houses. In addition, on the occasion of Dolta and Lunar New Year every year, he also mobilizes relatives and benefactors to give gifts to the poor, the lonely elderly, the disabled, the accident victims…
At the end of last April, Mrs. Thi Nham (63 years old, living in An Thuan hamlet, Dinh An commune, Go Quao district) was allowed to live in a new house worth more than 70 million VND. Nham’s three sisters live alone, belong to a near-poor household, work as hired laborers to earn a living, so they do not dare to dream of having a spacious house. In early 2023, Dinh An Commune People’s Committee mobilized benefactors of 40 million VND to support Ms. Nham to build a house. However, with this amount of money, it is very difficult to build a decent house. Knowing the story, Mr. Hung stood out and covered the entire labor day and compensated for construction costs. “The house was completed, generating more than 30 million VND, all of which was spent by Mr. Hung. My sisters and I are very grateful to him”, Ms. Nham confided.
In particular, Mr. Danh Hung has spent many years designing and restoring Soc Ven pagoda in An Loi hamlet, Dinh An commune, all the funds are self-funded. Each motif on the main hall, the 2-storey sala and the fence gate are delicately carved, beautifully colored, solid…
In addition to the two bridges in Dinh An commune, which he designed and completed in June, Mr. Danh Hung said he is preparing to build a new Congregation 4 bridge connecting Dinh An and Vinh Hoa Hung communes. Nam, H. Go Quao, with a budget of nearly 100 million VND sponsored by benefactors in Ho Chi Minh City.