Private charity moves US veterans One US veteran has chosen a Vietnamese charity that provides vocational training and job placement for disabled people in Nghe An Province as his last resting place. The Nghe An Charitable Vocational Training Centre in Do Luong District was set up by a local man named Le Trung Thuc, who has devoted his life to the work. Thuc was born in 1964 in Viet Tri City in the northern province of Phu Tho. He moved to Vinh City in the central province of Nghe An to provide training in garment and fashion design in 1993, after graduating from the Hanoi Engineering, Art and Culture College. His affinity for disadvantaged children started during a business trip to provide free training for 20 disabled children and children from families with who have contributed to national liberty in Do Luong District. “After a three-month training session there, I could not hold back my tears at seeing disabled and underprivileged children living in desperate conditions without a vocation. I decided to rent a house and stay to provide free vocational training for them,” Thuc recalled. In order to survive in such a poor rural area, apart from his teaching time in the morning, he spent all his other time working. He earned a living by doing anything he could, including growing vegetables, raising pigs, collecting rash and making tofu. Over time, more and more children from the neighbourhood came to ask for his help to learn a career, which inspired him to set up his vocational training centre. In 1998, he decided to sell off all of his valuables, including a motorbike, a gold ring and a guitar to get the funding. The centre gradually built in prestige. In 2001, the Nghe An provincial government decided to name the facility as the Centre for Charitable Job Placement and Vocational Training, under the direct management of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs. The centre has since organised three training courses a year, attracting many students from the south.   Thuc and his adopted child at the centre The people of the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh gave him the nickname of “Thay Thuc Nhan Dao” or “Charitable Thuc Teacher”. Mutual understanding moves US veteran     US veteran’s last resting place The centre has been recognised not only domestically, but also among foreign organisations. In 2002, the Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project (VVRP) and East Meets West Organisation visited the centre. Admiring the devotion of Thuc to disadvantaged children, VVRP gave USD16,000 for the construction of a three-storey building for the centre. Joel Peterscotti, a US veteran, said, “I and Thuc have grown up with vastly different backgrounds. While I wasted my youth in a meaningless and deplorable war, Thuc devoted his youth to disadvantaged children. I feel ashamed.” The US veteran made out his will so that remains would be placed in the centre after he dies. In June 2006, the veteran’s father took part in a ceremony at the centre. Thuc set up a small building to house his ashes near the peaceful Lam River. LĐ