For the past 17 years, regardless of the sun or rain, the charity herbal medicine team of Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Mai in Lich Hoi Thuong commune, Can Tho city has been tirelessly searching for and picking medicine to send to charity clinics across the West.
Ms. Mai said that starting from a time when she accidentally saw her sister and her neighbor drying medicine in the yard, she realized that this was very meaningful so she started working. At first, it was just me, then gradually everyone joined in. Up to now, her team has had more than 30 members, most of whom are over 50 years old, some of whom are over 70 years old. Everyone voluntarily participates, no one waits for anyone to invite them, just for a simple but profound reason: "Do from heart, do until no longer have the strength".
The team's work is not according to a fixed schedule. The dry season is when they are busiest, sometimes collecting a few tons of medicine a day. The members sometimes travel dozens, even hundreds of kilometers, sneaking into the forest to find precious medicinal plants. But no matter how far or near, if any pagoda calls for medicine, the team is willing to bring it to the place. Mrs. Mai said: "It's really hard to drink, but it's a great joy to see people who are sick."
Ms. Mai said that after harvesting, the medicine will be chopped, distilled and dried in 4-5 days to make it dry, then screened, packaged and transferred to the pagodas. Drying medicine in the rainy season is also very difficult, requiring skill to avoid mold, so the group had to set up a tray and cover it with rubber. On average, the group can provide about 2 tons of dried medicine and 10 tons of fresh medicine to pagodas, pharmacies and charitable organizations each month.
It is worth mentioning that most of the team members are old and have limited health, but the grandparents are still diligent in finding herbal medicine. Everyone in the pharmacy team has their own story.
Mr. Quach Giang Phuoc, 53 years old this year, and his wife have been making charity medicine for 13 years. "It's hard to get serious, but it's fun. Set an example for your children and grandchildren to learn from," he said.
Ms. Thi Nhan (67 years old) shared: "As old as I am, I follow the team to find herbal medicine and am very tired, especially in the hot weather. However, everyone wants to participate in useful and charitable work. I usually take a break when I'm tired, and when I'm healthy, I go work with my sisters."
Ms. Do Thien Ngoc Vang (41 years old), who has been in the team for 6 years, shared: "I dream of working meaningfully. After worrying about housework in the morning, I run to the pharmacy to work until the afternoon. As long as the drinker is happy."
Not only collecting medicine, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Mai also personally built a herbal medicine garden of up to 17,000 m2, mostly land lent by local people because she trusted and admired her heart. In which, she grows hundreds of precious medicinal plants such as: cat's cloves, mulberry, flooded worms, apricot trees, apricot trees, etc. These 7 medicinal gardens are now the main source of supply for charity clinics in Can Tho, Ca Mau, An Giang, Ho Chi Minh City and many other places.
