Amidst the chill of the year-end morning, the “Bus of Love” organized by the Club for Children’s Smiles No.72 and the “Loving Rice Fund” Group in HCMC departed, carrying spring to difficult circumstances.
Fifteen members participated in the trip, including many students from schools in Vung Tau Ward and Tam Thang Ward. Since 7:00 a.m., the students were present to help load 370 gift packages, carefully handling over 100 peach blossom branches to load onto the bus.
Head of the Club for Children’s Smiles No.72 Le Khac Dung said the group would visit six locations to deliver gifts to lonely elderly people, the disabled, orphans, lottery ticket sellers, and scrap collectors. “We hope the support reaches the right circumstances so that no one is left behind when Tet arrives and spring comes. The gift may not be large materially, but it is a source of spiritual encouragement, helping people gain more motivation to overcome difficulties and feel the community’s sharing,” he shared.
The group’s first stop was the old Phuoc Co landfill in Phuoc Thang Ward, where 80-year-old Nguyen Van Lua lives in a makeshift house surrounded by scrap. His dark home brightened significantly when decorated with a gifted ornamental peach blossom branch.
Living there nearly 30 years, Tet has always resembled ordinary days for Lua’s family with neither flowers nor feasts. Despite their advanced age, the couple raises three parentless grandchildren by selling drinks.
Holding the peach branch, Lua’s eyes turned red with emotion: “My family’s Tet is no different from normal days. The kids say: ‘We won’t go anywhere for Tet, our old clothes are fine, Grandpa...’ This Tet, for the first time, the house has an ornamental peach branch to celebrate.”
Director Tran Cong Hieu of Co.opmart Vung Tau (a sponsor unit of the program) informed that the supermarket brought over 50 items to the “0-dong market,” ranging from necessities to household goods, helping people have more choices. All are high-quality Vietnamese goods, in response to the campaign “Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods.”
After leaving Phuoc Co landfill, the group arrived at Ba Ria Park, where Le Thi Yen waited early beside her rusty bicycle laden with scrap. Sweating from her morning work, she paused her scavenging to receive a gift before continuing her struggle to earn a living.
Homeless and originally from Nghe An Province, Yen has drifted through rentals since her husband died of a stroke four years ago, leaving her to raise her 10-year-old twins alone. Her Tet celebrations are usually meager, affording only a little extra meat and eggs. For this struggling widow, the charity gift provides not just essential material support, but vital encouragement to find the strength to keep moving forward.
The “0-dong market” in Tam Thang Ward took place bustlingly with about 1,000 participants. Upon arrival, 68-year-old Pham Thi Quy was attracted by the colorful Ao Dai stall. A hard life made her never think of shopping for herself every Tet.
Trying on an orange floral Ao Dai, Ms. Quy’s face was radiant, but her eyes were teary. After choosing the shirt, she continued to receive rice, detergent, cooking oil, and household items. “This Tet lacks nothing. For the New Year, just buying a little more vegetables and meat is enough for me,” Ms. Quy said emotionally.
Amidst the busy footsteps of the “0-dong market,” Co.opmart Vung Tau staff and Tam Thang Ward youth union members were constantly busy helping buyers choose each bag of rice and bottle of cooking oil, carrying bags that smelled of Tet for them.
In the late afternoon of the year-end, the dry sunlight poured down on the temporary market roof, soaking the backs of shirts with sweat, but bright smiles remained on the faces of the volunteers. “What would you like to buy? I wish you a happy Tet!” were simple wishes ringing out as each customer left the counter, making the year-end afternoon even warmer.
Leaving the “0-dong market,” Pham Van Loi went home with rice, soy sauce, a frying pan, and a new set of drinking glasses. On the crowded street, the limping steps of the disabled old lottery seller seemed lighter.
Sharing the meaning of the “0-dong market,” Chairman Nguyen Cong Thanh of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Tam Thang Ward said that if gifts are given in a “take what is given” format, there will be many items not truly suitable for each family’s needs. From that concern, the “0-dong market” was born so that those in difficult circumstances could go to the Tet market themselves and choose the most necessary items for themselves.
