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A volunteer supports passengers on coach No.7. (Photo: SGGP) |
"Coach number 7" is a volunteer project implemented by the TES sponsor fund, formerly the VNO Organization.
The coach brings poor people to their hometown for free, departing from Ho Chi Minh City to central provinces such as Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Quang Tri, and Quang Binh.
Huynh Thi Thu, who lives in District 8, has received a ticket for Coach No.7. She has sold lottery tickets in HCMC for ten years.
"It's been almost ten years. I haven't been able to enjoy Tet in my hometown with my family. Living in HCMC and do not have money, I stay in my boarding room, waiting for Tet to pass so I can return to work," she said.
Nguyen Hoang Anh, a student of Thu Dau Mot University in southern Binh Duong province, was pleased to receive the coach ticket.
Anh said that his family was poor, so he intended not to come back home this Tet.
"My mother had a traffic accident two years ago, weakening her health. Then she suffered from Covid-19 and needed treatment at three hospitals at much expense. As a result, my family had to mortgage our house. Now I'm thrilled with the free-of-charge ticket," he said.
In a small boarding room in district 12, Bui Thi Khue, from Quang Ngai province, said that with the work of selling lottery tickets, she did not have any savings.
She walks for more than 20km each day and earns about VND200,000 (US$8), just enough for the daily expense.
As for Khue, returning home on Tet was a distant dream.
"Honestly, I'm very moved by the free ticket. This year I do not have to worry about travel expenses. I hope to return home with my family soon after eight years of living in HCMC," she said.
It is scheduled that Coach No.7 will start in the middle of January next year. As many as 300 people will benefit from the project.
VNO Organization was founded at the end of 2016 by Nguyen Hoang Khai, who lives in District 12.
He said that he founded a charity team in 2013 with 20 members. Most of them are high school students in Tan Phu District.
The team delivered gifts for poor children, people in sponsor centers, lottery ticket sellers, and motorbike taxi drivers in HCMC.
In 2016, Khai decided to cycle from HCMC to Hanoi to understand more about people's life and culture in different regions.
While passing central provinces, Khai saw residents had to cope with natural disasters. Many properties they saved all their lives were swept away by flood water.
Back in HCMC, Khai founded the VNO Organization, which conducts charity programs and supports workers and students from central provinces who live in HCMC.
The first coach was organized in 2017, taking 70 people to central provinces from HCMC.
So far, more than 20 such coaches have been organized with nearly 1,000 beneficiaries.
Volunteers will come to their houses when receiving the poor's register to study whether they need the free tickets.
The volunteers also help bring luggage and take the people's health home.
Khai said that seeing the people's smiles and hearing their thanks were a great experience, giving him more motivation to continue his charity work.
The HCMC Labor Union said that the union's tickets of love program planned to give 35,000 free-of-charge coach, train, and plane tickets to poor workers this year.
The HCMC Youth and Worker Support Center will also present 1,500 tickets during the Tet holiday. The center's program is scheduled to start on January 17 next year to take poor workers to their hometowns to enjoy the holiday.
