Early every morning, Hoang Ngoc Tung and his friends in their volunteer club go to the vegetable gardens of farmers in the suburbs of Hanoi to pick up vegetables for people in locked-down areas.
Everyone hopes they can offer a helping hand during this difficult time. While members of the club can contribute money, time and effort, farmers can offer their vegetables.
Bac Ninh, Thach That, Ha Dong, or Van Giang – no matter where, if there are vegetables, members of the club go out to pick them up and deliver them to those facing difficulties.
Club members include officers and while-collar workers and all were born in 1981. They hope to join hands with the wider community to fight the pandemic.
They also encourage family members and friends to help in collecting and packing the vegetables so there are enough for everyone.
Having worked as a street vendor for many years, Nieu is currently living in a 10 square metre hostel in Me Tri ward in Hanoi’s Nam Tu Liem district. She became jobless due to Covid-19 and can’t afford to cover any of her regular expenses. The pandemic has made her life more difficult than ever. Free bags of vegetables from the club therefore help her get through these tough days.
For more than half a month, the Red Cross Society of Tay Ho district has regularly received fruit and vegetables from the club, which are then distributed to the needy in the locality.
The good deeds of volunteer team members have spread to others. Every day, tonnes of vegetables are delivered to the poor, workers stuck at construction sites, freelance workers in hamlets, and needy people citywide./.
