Vu Thi Hoai, 33, a mother of three, accidentally dropped her handbag at around 4 p.m. on Dec. 11 while making deliveries in Thanh Chuong District in Nghe An Province. The bag had contained VND20 million in cash she collected on behalf of customers as well as Hoai’s own phone.

Having started the delivery job just a week earlier to help support her husband financially, Hoai often has to take along her youngest child, 10 months old, leaving her seven-year-old daughter at home to care for her four-year-old sibling.

After discovering the loss, the distraught woman searched the roads she had taken until late in the evening, but to no avail. Calls to the missing phone went unanswered.

“VND20 million is an enormous sum for my family, equivalent to two months of my husband’s wages, and we have no savings to make up for it,” Hoai said.

Footage of Hoai clutching her child and crying while searching in the dark were shared on social media, drawing widespread attention. After learning of her situation, many people offered assistance.

On the afternoon of Dec. 16, an anonymous benefactor, through a representative, presented Hoai with VND20 million to cover the lost customers’ money. Hoai said the unexpected gift lifted a heavy financial burden.

Regarding other help offers, Hoai said: “I am grateful for everyone’s help, but I only wish to accept enough to cover what I lost and leave the rest for others who are in greater need.”

She added that her biggest hope now is to recover her phone or borrow one from a relative so she can continue working.

Le Van Ty, vice chairman of the Hoa Quan Commune People’s Committee where Hoai’s family resides, confirmed that the family is classified as disadvantaged. Her husband works far from home, leaving her to care for and support their three young children on her own.