Meet Minh. My driver for the ha giang loop in northern Vietnam and a new close friend of mine. The same age as me (25), however with very different circumstances. We had been having the most incredible time laughing and communicating through silly dance moves and high fives for a 4 day trip. On the final night, after a long hard rainy day of riding we sat down for a beer and some shots of ‘happy water’ and began talking through google translate. It was then I was let in to his world in its entirety and came to know of the hardship he has faced.

A little under two years ago, while working on the loop, a customer had been incessantly asking to drive a portion of the journey. Minh in his kindness found an appropriate safe place to let the man drive, however, the customer lost control and slid out. The customer was unharmed but Minh suffered severe injuries including busted teeth, a broken wrist, a shattered shoulder and femur in many pieces. He had to undergo many surgeries and relearn how to walk. This left Minh with a full year off of work unable to care for his wife and his newborn son.

Minh received no help from this man at the time and was told he just rushed off back to his home country. Minh reached out to the man who crashed his bike 2 months after the incident, and in true Minh style it was a lovely message hoping that he was ok and saying not to blame himself. If it had been me in that situation I can only imagine the words I would have said.

Minh, after recovering enough to learn how to walk again, rejoined the workforce and his newfound extra caution on the bike was evident in every corner and on every road as we were passed constantly (I was not complaining because I genuinely felt so safe the entire time).

Now unfortunately Minh has to go for another round of surgery in two months time and estimates he will be out of work for another 6 months. I couldn’t sit there and listen without doing something to help. And I hope his story inspires you to do something too. Any amount you can spare with to help Minh care for his family in this hard time would be immensely appreciated. I am aiming to cover his wages for the time he cannot work and hopefully help a little with the medical bills.

Please give as generously as you can as even a few dollars can help this incredible human. All funds will be transferred directly to him.

Read Minh’s message below if you still don’t feel inspired. This came directly from him and has been translated from Vietnamese.

“My incident happened on October 4th, 2024, after participating in a loop trip in Ha Giang. I was driving for a friend named ——. Everything was fine during the trip, but my passenger kept asking me to drive. I refused because I was worried about safety. On the third day of the loop trip, he asked again. I found a good stretch of road for him to drive, but after returning for lunch, he drove while I sat in the back. He couldn't handle the vehicle and caused an accident. I was in the back and couldn't control the vehicle, falling heavily to the left side of the road. After the fall, I broke my femur and fractured my wrist. My passenger, the driver, was unharmed. It took 4-6 hours to get back to the city for emergency treatment. At that time, I was in a lot of pain and didn't know anything. When we arrived in the city, my passenger abandoned me and left that night. The tour company only told me they had left, and I was solely responsible for all the mistakes and incidents. I was really sad at that time, and I sent a message. For that customer, I didn't expect help from him, but I wanted...

But almost everything has changed so much. I feel like I've lost everything, I can't be confident anymore, I'm constantly haunted by that incident. And today I'm strong enough to tell you. I'm very worried, but you comforted me, shared my feelings, and sympathized with me. Thank you so much.

I will try and come back. Now I have two months left to work, and after that I will go back to the hospital for another surgery to remove the metal from my leg. It will be very painful and take a lot of my time again, but I've managed to get this far. I will try to be able to walk again as soon as possible and as healthy as possible so I can serve the customers who come to my hometown. Once again, thank you so much for listening to me and sympathizing with me. Thank you very, very much.”

On talking with Minh asking if he was ok with me sharing his story publicly he agreed on the terms that he wants no blame on the customer so I have removed all names from the story.