By Quốc Phong

For over a decade, Lê Hồng Khanh and his Thiện Phúc volunteer group have been collecting used items such as clothes, wardrobes, tables, and chairs from families in HCM City and donating them to people in need. Khanh speaks to Việt Nam News about his journey of compassion and the motivation behind it.

Inner Sanctum: Can you tell us about yourself?

I am Đặng Hồng Khanh, and I have been collecting used clothes for charity for over 10 years. In 2024, as more people learned about my work, I began receiving other unused items such as wardrobes, tables and chairs to donate to people in need.

Inner Sanctum: What led you to start this work of collecting and giving used clothes to people in need?

I grew up in a large family in Vĩnh Long Province and experienced many hardships. We often shared clothes handed down by wealthier households. Receiving new clothes always made me happy and grateful.

When I relocated to HCM City for work, I realised that many city dwellers purchased clothes on impulse and then left them unworn. Seeing this, I decided to begin my charitable journey in 2014.

In addition, I seek to encourage reuse and sustainability, helping to minimise the environmental impact of discarded clothes.

Inner Sanctum: How do you usually manage your time between your job and charity work?

In the early days, to keep up with my charity work, I often spent nights sorting through the clothes I had collected until 5am. I would then take them to the District 5 bus station to dispatch them to charity organisations in neighbouring provinces in the Mekong Delta.

I used to work at a dental clinic, and I made the most of my time. During lunch breaks, I would continue collecting clothes around District 7 and return to work at 2pm.

Although my job at the dental clinic paid well, my passion for charity led me to make a major decision: to leave my job and dedicate all my time and energy to this meaningful cause.

Inner Sanctum: What difficulties did you encounter in the beginning with mobilising support, collecting and transporting the donated clothing?

When I first started I used traditional methods to call for donations, such as printing my phone number on posters and asking people to give away unused clothes. I had to go from house to house to collect and sort clothes in preparation for delivery trips.

However, this came with many challenges. I was often mistrusted – some people thought I was merely collecting rubbish or even reselling the clothes.

Even my family and friends didn’t always support me. They encouraged me to focus on earning more money first and do charity later. But for me, volunteering should start early because I still have good health. Seeing people’s smiles and happiness has always been my greatest reward.

Transport was another challenge. I had to hire trucks to deliver goods to the Mekong Delta. Things became much easier when an acquaintance offered me a house in Hoà Hưng Ward, to use as a free warehouse. Thanks to that, most people now call ahead and bring their items directly to the warehouse, saving me a great deal of time and effort.

There was also a period of 10 years when I was supported with free transport by the bus terminal in District 5.

​Inner Sanctum: Do you coordinate with local authorities or other volunteer organisations?

When transported to the Mekong Delta provinces, all the clothes are first gathered in Bến Tre Province. From there, my family members help deliver them to nearby provinces such as Vĩnh Long, Sóc Trăng, and Trà Vinh.

I always make sure the clothes reach the right people. For example, in Sóc Trăng, the donations are handed over to monks at local pagodas, who then distribute them to the people in need. In Trà Vinh, the clothes are shared through a “zero đồng” charity store.

In other provinces, I usually send the items through local organisations such as the provincial People’s Committee, the Women’s Union, or the police.

Recently, since more people have learnt about my charity work and offered more donations, I decided to form a small volunteer group called Thiện Phúc. Most of the members are people who once came to donate and later wanted to help. They assist me with sorting, organising and packing the clothes.

Inner Sanctum: Besides collecting clothes, are you carrying out or planning any other charity activities?

I have recently been doing more charitable activities such as cooking and distributing free meals to patients every Wednesday and Sunday morning. VNS