Labor Hero Le Van Kiem: Dedicated to the community

Voted by Forbes magazine as the top “charity hero” in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr. Le Van Kiem continued to make positive contributions at the end of the year when he successfully organized the golf tournament “For Beloved Truong Sa – Swing for Truong Sa” raising more than 136 billion VND.

According to Forbes magazine, since 2018, Mr. Kiem and his wife, Ms. Nhung, have contributed 11 million USD to charitable activities in Laos and Vietnam. As a veteran, Mr. Kiem has donated nearly $5 million to support veteran families since the beginning of 2018 through April this year.

Meanwhile, Ms. Nhung in April gave more than $5 million to charities, mainly to support infants with heart failure and financial aid for students.

Since 2009, when he established the scholarship fund, Mr. Kiem has awarded 900,000 USD in scholarships to students studying at Hanoi University of Water Resources, where he studied. Over the past 10 years, he has also donated more than 20 million USD to charity activities in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Japan.

For their tireless contributions, in the 13th annual list of 30 “Charity Heroes” in the Asia-Pacific region by Forbes magazine, Mr. Kiem and Ms. Nhung were ranked 7th in the top 10 most generous philanthropists in 2019.

This year’s list also includes many famous faces such as: Philippine actress Angel Locsin or Australian billionaire Judith Neilson, especially billionaire Jack Ma – who recently received the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award after stepping down as Chairman of Alibaba to spend more time on charity…

Not only has he made positive contributions to the community, he also has made practical contributions to building the country. Most recently, he successfully organized the golf tournament “For beloved Truong Sa – Swing for Truong Sa” on December 21, 2019. The golf tournament was held at KN Golf Links, Cam Ranh, gathering more than 200 golfers and guests.

At the award ceremony, the representative of the organizing committee, Mr. Kiem, shared: “Concerned with the difficulties, shortages and dangers in Truong Sa, we accompanied the Navy Region 4 and the Voice of Vietnam to organize the golf tournament For Beloved Truong Sa. The program chose “Sweet Sea” as the theme with the desire to raise funds to build projects to filter seawater into domestic water for Truong Sa island district, along with many other meaningful contributions.”

The tournament is considered the biggest charity golf tournament of the year at KN Golf Links Cam Ranh. The program brought in more than 136 billion in contributions from benefactors. In particular, Mr. Le Van Kiem and his wife, Mrs. Tran Cam Nhung, agreed to support the construction of infrastructure to serve the protection of the sea and islands of Navy Region 4 with a value of over 100 billion VND.

The organizing unit – KN Cam Ranh Company Limited, of which he is the chairman of the board of members, also supported a total of 25 billion VND, including 12 billion VND to install the “Sweet Sea of Truong Sa” project, 5 billion VND for the Education Promotion Fund – Talent Promotion Fund of Khanh Hoa province and children of Truong Sa officers and soldiers, 3 billion VND for officers and soldiers of Region 4 to celebrate the Canh Ty New Year, 5 billion VND to support the Khanh Hoa Province Humanitarian Aid Fund.

Mr. Kiem used to be a soldier on fierce battlefields. Now in peacetime, he devotes all his abilities to the country’s socio-economic development, humanitarian activities, and gratitude.

Veteran Le Van Kiem was awarded the noble title of Hero of Labor in the Renovation Period by the Party and State in 2008. In particular, on May 6, 2017, Mr. Le Van Kiem received the award “World Record with ethical and humane values – Founder and successful initiator of the largest charity golf tournament” recognized by the World Academy of Creative Sciences.