Dr. Nguyen Van Khai:

In a block of only 70 meters in a densely populated area in Hanoi, he spends part of his land growing vegetables, roaming chickens, and he asserts that he is one of the wealthiest people on the planet.

Dr. Nguyen Van Khai initiated the application of ozone technology in Vietnam. He traveled throughout the countryside to guide farmers to use ozone to protect agricultural products and livestock.

He shared with VnExpress about two things he devoted the most: helping farmers to escape poverty and help children enjoy learning.

People always call him 'old man ozone'. Who was this name given to him?

In January 2003, receiving an invitation from the leader of Dong Van district (in Ha Giang province in the northernmost of Vietnam), I went up there to get people to kill me from corn, but no one agreed. They said that cultivating good corn varieties, now switch to those corns that have not been brought back and have a beetle. The next morning, I went to the commune committee, the students saw me shouting: " Teacher on TV! ". The kids talked to me and one of them told me to go home to kill a corn. And I succeeded.

Children jumped and shouted, " Old man ozone chased a good one ."

In April 2003, when I went to Bac Ha district to preserve plums and tea, seeing that children had a head start, I used ozone water to wash their heads. The children met me and asked, " Old man ozone, please give me ozone water! ". Well, the name of the old man ozone is called by poor children in mountainous areas.

He has two patents on laser receivers, but apparently few people know about this expertise?

When I was 35, I was unemployed. Because at that time, in Vietnam, it was not important to use a laser head job, so far. I was forced to find a way to live for myself. At the same time, I realized that the situation of farmers was really urgent . At that time, I just thought it was important to eat, drink and study. Therefore, I try to help them overcome suffering. I am not hypocritical. In fact, at the end of 1999 flooding in Hue, I and the University students combined for three days to clean 9 million liters of water for people.

What special feelings do you have with the farmer?

Must help farmers because they are poor. If the buffalo does not die in the winter, the pigs and chickens will not die, but the calves and calves will be born, farmers will sell a lot of cattle and poultry feed. Each village died a few children enough to lead this country poor. Even if the revenue of Vietnamese enterprises has increased, but people's lives are still low, it cannot be said that Vietnam is rich.

As long as the farmer calls, I will be there immediately.I am happy to help them.

Dr. Nguyen Van Khai (green shirt) helps farmers keep warm cows in cold weather.
( Photo provided by him )

Do you ever find it difficult to help people, does anyone doubt your way?

In science, the same conditions give the same results. But not in society. At one point, the veterinarian did not want me to treat the cattle, because I did not sell the medicine. However, I do not pay attention to what others say is not true about me.

My point of view is to live and work. Want labor to learn the profession, from then on, improving technology, quantity and quality increase. And also, labor must work with the community.

People often think that people do science poor? Are you a scientist, are you poor?

What is poor? When I help farmers to get rich, they can have a lot of gifts for me. They don't have money, but still treat me well. They still offered me delicious food, let me go to the most beautiful places. I'm rich because of this.

I think a scientist who doesn't make money is not a scientist. Because science originates in life, science returns to life and life to test the quality of that scientific work. So, if you do a good science, there will be people who are in the mood for recovery.

The rich have money, there is another land with rich intellect and rich invisible. I believe, I am one of the rich callers on this planet. I do not have enough money to open a laboratory, but any province in Vietnam and the world has a laboratory, I can come to work there, because they welcome me. That is a rich thing.

This rich is not everyone can buy. I am loved by many people, especially farmers, which is my wealth. Not every dollar, lots of land is rich.

Old man ozone lighted chicken heating lamp to help farmers. ( Photo: NVK )

What about power, do you have the ambition of high right?

How many families have broken up because of high authority, and I just want to be a scientist, using knowledge to help others, especially farmers.

I always keep in mind: eating a lot too quickly will die, playing too much will be broken. Therefore it is best to stay away. Honestly, I always hope for my neighbors to get rich. Because they are rich, they will not be jealous, envy. It is good for them and also good for them. For example, if their neighbors are richer, they will not burn honeycomb coal for cooking, no pollution, better health.

That is the reason why I am nearly 70 years old, but I still feel young and happy. I am not afraid of robbers coming home, not afraid of jealousy, not afraid of anyone asking for debt, there are always happy students around me. Go anywhere I am welcome.

No money, no rights, so what is your great joy?

I have no great joy, only small joys. That is when the thinking of the farmers changes, the streets of the city grow, there is more spacious accommodation, especially the thinking changes, children go to school. My great sadness is that the current education program is limited. Exams make students less reasoning, no need to study.

- So what do you have for today's education?

I have the most disturbing thing now how to make the students like to study. I have taught a lot of places and nowadays, education really does not go deep into the original, the laboratory supplies as well as the missing textbooks. When I was still teaching, I often gave my children to do their own experiments at home with homemade tools. When you do it yourself, you will remember it for a long time.

At a higher level, I see Vietnam's physics industry going downhill despite trying to revive. In order to improve people's lives, the economy must develop. For economic development, science and technology, including physics, must develop.

In order for science to develop in a long term, it is necessary to make children enjoy learning, then let them apply science in life.

I know the laboratory in Warsaw (Polish capital), which used to cost $ 1,500, but made products that cost $ 2,000. Currently in Vietnam, there are tens of billion labs, but not yet created anything of high value.

The ozone technology is now widely used, so what is your next plan?

I plan to conduct an environmental cleanup, clean the air. In me, going on dusty roads, there are often times when overseas. I went to Laos, found that they also made sugar and repaired the roads. Go into the countryside road, the only garbage is just fallen leaves. I went abroad without coughing, but I went home. Air pollution issues have been raised at many workshops, but measures are still not available.

I will also continue to fight so that all schools have good textbooks and reasonable laboratory equipment.

As a teacher, we have to make fun and enjoy working. Knowledge is just groundwater at the bottom of a rocky mountain. Taking knowledge to apply to life is like a new stream in a rushing source. When people apply a lot of knowledge to life, like a river curling heavily in the alluvial grains.