A clip recording the scene of a woman collecting scrap metal to help a foreign guy find his forgotten shoes in Ho Chi Minh City is being widely shared, receiving hundreds of comments and thousands of shares. The person who shared the story is Joe Brady (28 years old), a British content creator currently living and working in Thailand. The clip was posted by him on Instagram in early July, during a trip to Vietnam. After more than a month, the video suddenly became viral again.
On the posted video, Joe Brady wrote: "She doesn't say a word in English. No Google Translate. Nothing. She has no reason to help me, yet still doesn't give up".
On August 18, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters contacted Joe Brady to find out about the incident. Joe Brady said that before that, he had just bought a new pair of shoes and was very excited to film a video introduction. He wore a new pair of shoes, and put the old pair in a shoe box.
While filming in a small alley near an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City, Joe accidentally forgot a bag containing old shoes. A few hours later, remembering it, he turned back but the item had disappeared.
Reviewing the video to locate, Joe met some people working in front of the store and used ChatGPT to translate, asking if they had seen the bag. These people then pointed him to a scrap collector to ask. Although she could not speak English, the woman quickly understood that Joe was looking for things and signaled him to follow. While pushing the cart, she called and asked other scrap collectors.
She was like performing an extremely important task, extremely focused on finding shoes for me," Joe told Lao Dong reporters.
Throughout the journey, the woman always smiled and even burst out laughing when she saw Joe constantly pointing his phone to use ChatGPT. She led him through crowded streets, meeting at least three other scrap collectors to inquire.
While asking to find the shoes, another scrap collector misunderstood that she was suspecting her of taking things, so she reacted. Thanks to ChatGPT translating the exchange, Joe understood that she was only explaining his situation and asking everyone to help search, not accusing anyone. After about 40 minutes, the shoes were found. At that time, Joe's phone only had about 5% battery left.
Joe said that initially he only thought the chance of finding the shoes was about 50%. However, when he saw that she did not give up but continuously searched, called and asked other people and led him through many streets, he began to believe that the item could be found.
After finding the shoes, Joe wanted to send a thank you money. Initially, the woman resolutely refused. He had to persuade her to accept the money before leaving with peace of mind.
For Joe, the memorable thing after the story is not only finding his shoes but also the kindness of a stranger. "There are people who are willing to help even if you are not from their country, even if you don't speak the same language," he shared.
Joe said that if he had the opportunity to meet the woman who helped him find his shoes, he would want to directly say thank you and give her a hug. For him, her help is a memorable act of kindness, becoming a special highlight in his trip to Vietnam.
According to the reporter's investigation, the incident is said to have occurred in the area now belonging to Cho Quan ward, Ho Chi Minh City.
Under Joe's video, many foreigners who have been to Vietnam share similar memories of help from strangers.
Account @ Kevinsullivanart9233 said that in 2004, when in the Central Highlands region, this person dropped a wallet. A Vietnamese man ran after him for about an hour to return the wallet, in which the money was still intact. "He is a poor farmer but still tried to find me to return it," this account wrote.
Account @tantan. green again recounted two times his motorbike gas ran out in Ho Chi Minh City and both times he was helped by strangers. "They quickly left as soon as we arrived at the gas station, without asking for money or waiting for a thank you. There are always such people in Vietnam," this account shared.
