"Living Is Not Just Receiving"

Ms Dinh Thi Lien is not only known for her charitable activities but also for her business success with bare hands. Her business start-up path was really thorny. She used to be a young wartime volunteer full of passion and energy. After she returned, she was assigned to work with business affairs. After she got married, she followed her husband to work in a factory at Geological Engineering Factory 2 based in Quang Ninh province. Without official academic training, she had to learn tool making at the factory site. With her effort and creativity, she always did better than a second-grade technician (a technical worker with seven grades of expertise and skills). She always bore in mind that whatever she did, she had to devote herself wholeheartedly to it to be successful. During this time, she single-handedly brought up four children for her husband to follow his career while she was still well performing her tasks at the factory.

 

Growing working pressures and family circumstances forced her to file for early retirement. She decided to do small business to earn a living, although she could only expect to live hand to mouth. Luck smiled to her when she made acquaintance with a nurse who introduced her to a trade company. Her career started from that time. She began to accumulate experience and look for new products such as agricultural products, pharmaceutical materials to meet customer needs. Her products had guaranteed good quality and she thus gained the trust of customers. Her business grew strongly.

 

In the early 1990s, Vinh Phuc province deployed an open-door policy and called for tourism investment in Dai Lai Lake. In reality, negative impressions on private business sector caused many obstacles for her at that time. She applied for a business location and became one of the first tourism companies in this romantic but out-of-the way site. In January 1993, she established Trung Vuong Trade and Tourism Services Centre where she was the CEO. She also ran Hung Hai Hotel in Dai Lai, Phuc Yen Town. Her idea, once called “crazy”, was now a reality. Until now whenever she recalls that time, she still feels her daredevil but correct decision. Indeed, most successful businesspeople dare to bet on challenges.

 

By gradually building infrastructure and running hotel business to grasp every opportunity of development, plus the high quality of services and the sensitivity and dynamism of the leader, the centre’s capital is hundreds of times the original. The centre also creates stable, high-paid jobs for nearly 100 employees.

 

Although years elapsed, she has been unable to conceal her emotion when she recalls the first act of altruism. The image of a 4-year old child in a thin shirt tremblingly lying in a twist shape by the fire in Sapa in 1991 is always in her mind. There are a lot of very pitiful kids out there. This inspires her to do something meaningful for them. She said at that time, the Lunar New Year was coming. She went to the Mother and Child Protection Centre to make a donation to help unlucky people. Sometimes, she could not meet persons in charge to make this meaningful wish. Fortunately, one time, she came across the chair of the district women’s society. She was very happy because she could take part in more charitable works then.

 

Besides, she often asks other organisations and individuals to join benevolent activities. For her, giving is not just for receiving, as helping others makes her feel more peaceful and relaxing.

 

Now, after experiencing ups and downs in life, she is most proud and happy about her family’s support. This is great motivation for her to have today success. As a wife, she always keeps traditional virtues of a Vietnamese wife; ingenuity, humility, filial duty, attentiveness and sharing. Hence, she gains the respect of her entire family. Her family was honourably named an exemplary family.