This article by Mr. Dinh Hong Ky was published in the ‘Perspective’ section of VnExpress.net on February 8, 2021. For the past 15 years, we have not accepted congratulatory flower arrangements for hundreds of our company’s events.
More than 15 years ago, as we were preparing for our company’s 15th anniversary celebration in Hanoi, I realized something was off — guests were sending hundreds of congratulatory flower arrangements that were displayed for just a few hours and then discarded.
I wondered whether we could do something different from that norm. At the time, the economy was still modest, and most people were struggling to get by. A simple bowl of pho in Hanoi cost only 15,000–20,000 VND. Yet even a regular flower bouquet cost several hundred thousand dong. At events, fees for singers, MCs, and those flower arrangements were among the most wasteful expenses.
I still remember hotel staff lugging away the flower stands for disposal after just a few hours of display. That sight prompted me to raise a question to our management team: Why don’t we ask our guests to donate — instead of bringing flowers and gifts — to a charity fund to support the poor and orphaned children? Those would be the real “flowers” and blessings for the business, while also bringing tangible benefit to society. Right outside that hotel, many people didn’t even have a decent meal.
So we included a note in our invitations, asking guests to donate to charity instead of sending congratulatory flowers. A significant amount of money was raised right at our company’s anniversary event and donated to the Hanoi Children’s Protection Fund. Our guests, partners, and customers later told me they were touched and happy with the gesture. Over the past 15 years, I’ve been even more pleased to see many other organizations and businesses adopt this idea.
Last week, my son, who is studying in Canada, called to say that the government there had secured enough COVID-19 vaccines for everyone — in fact, there was surplus and plans to aid poorer countries. He then asked when our family in Vietnam could get vaccinated, and how much it would cost.
Canada, along with several European countries and the U.S., had quickly mobilized large sums from corporations and billionaires not only to fund vaccine research but also to subsidize vaccine costs for the entire country. Meanwhile, according to Fortune magazine, only about 10% of the population in poor countries would have access to COVID-19 vaccines in 2021. Developing countries simply don’t have the budget capacity to pay for vaccines for their entire populations.
Last week, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc declared: “Urgently import COVID-19 vaccines using both state budget and socialized funding.” Personally, I welcomed this timely response, but also wondered: Where will Vietnam find the money to vaccinate nearly 100 million people?
Although there are private enterprises handling vaccine imports, they will of course resell the vaccines to the government and the public. The state budget, already stretched thin by pandemic control efforts, will face a monumental challenge in covering vaccination for everyone — especially since we don’t even know the vaccine price yet. That’s when I thought of the spirit of giving we practiced with the “flower fund.”
We can “socialize” trust — and that could be a key solution to mobilize resources for COVID-19 vaccines.
There’s a lot of money circulating among the public right now, flowing into the stock market, real estate, and charity. Could we immediately launch a campaign to encourage individuals and businesses to contribute to a national vaccine fund?
It’s clear that we need to concentrate every resource to fight the pandemic and protect public health — to save lives. This mission calls for a spirit of charity that goes far beyond the usual. And I believe that spirit exists in every person and every business.
As Lunar New Year (Tết) approaches, many funds are being spent on festivals, parties, fireworks, and entertainment. If this is from the state budget, perhaps these activities should be reduced — both to limit crowd gatherings and to free up money for pandemic response. If the money comes from businesses, instead of lavish year-end or new-year parties, they could donate to the government’s vaccine fund.
At the beginning of each year, individuals and organizations across the country spend tens of trillions of dong on religious offerings. If the government were to call for reduced spiritual expenditures and redirect those funds toward the vaccine fund — for the sake of saving lives — the meaning would be profoundly greater.
There is a Buddhist saying: “To save one life brings blessings equal to a river of sand.” Instead of spending on spiritual practices, using that money to buy vaccines means saving your own family, your employees, those around you, and shielding the economy from collapse.
What remains is for us to build a credible, transparent, and ethical fund — and persuade the community to contribute alongside the state. We must remember: decades ago, hundreds of people donated money and even gold to support the government.
After the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party, one of the first and most significant challenges for the new Party and Government leadership will be to successfully combat the third wave of the pandemic. Building enough trust and credibility to “socialize” the vaccine rollout — and sustain the spirit of pandemic solidarity — is also a matter of national reputation in the eyes of the world.
Dinh Hong Ky
