Vietnamese Residents From Rural Mountainous Areas Donate Veggies To Help Đà Nẵng Residents In Pandemic

Vietnamese from rural areas donate veggies to help Đà Nẵng

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Many people from rural mountainous areas of Vietnam lead a harsh life due to limited access to infrastructure and education. Often, it is them who receive aid from us city folks.

But if there is one thing we Vietnamese are known for, it is our strong social unity. When we see someone in trouble, we always do what we can to help regardless of our own situations. So, when the central city of Đà Nẵng was hit by the second wave of COVID-19 community infections, it was mountain dwellers from the rural Nam Trà My District nearby who came to the city’s rescue. Within just a week, they have donated literally tons of vegetables to help Đà Nẵng residents pull through the pandemic.

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The donated goods were gathered from the mountains

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Image credit: Trần Vỹ Nguyễn

Over the weekend, nearly 10 tons of donated vegetables made their way to Đà Nẵng City, the epicenter of Vietnam’s second COVID-19 outbreak. The donated goods were courtesy of residents living in Quảng Nam Province’s Nam Trà My District, a rural mountainous area located 180KM away from Đà Nẵng.

As one of Vietnam’s poorest districts, Nam Trà My is home to 27,000 people, nearly 40% of whom are classified as belonging to poor households. However, the financial difficulties haven’t seemed to deter the district’s residents from chipping in what they have to lend a helping hand to Đà Nẵng city dwellers.

Most of the veggies were home-grown
Image credit: Trần Vỹ Nguyễn

Pictures shared online of these humble folks carrying huge baskets full of vegetables to the gathering point to make their donations have moved netizens. From what they said, most of these veggies were collected from the mountains, or from their own gardens.

Image credit: Vinh Tran

“I grew these veggies myself. Every time we suffer from floods or avalanches, people in the city would send clothing, rice, and other groceries over to help. It’s time we returned the favor,” Hồ Văn Hùng, one of the donors, told Quảng Nam News.

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8-year-old boy walked barefoot for 30 minutes to make his donation

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Image credit: Trần Vỹ Nguyễn

One particular donor that has captured the attention of the community is Hồ Ánh Khiết, an 8-year-old boy living Trà Tập Village, Nam Trà My District.

Like most people in the area, Khiết came from a family with a financially challenged background. However, seeing the adults collecting veggies to send to Đà Nẵng, the boy was determined to do his part. On the morning of 20th August, he walked 30 minutes over mountainous tracks on his bare feet to get to the gathering point just to donate a young bamboo stick that he had found in the mountains.

Image credit: Trần Vỹ Nguyễn

Photos of the barefoot boy carrying a bamboo stick almost as tall as himself have been widely shared online, melting netizens’ hearts left and right.

Netizens are dropping heart emotes to praise the boy’s action
Image credit: Ngô Nam Bi

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Rural Vietnamese donate veggies to Đà Nẵng

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All of us have suffered economically due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and surely, these people from rural areas haven’t had it easy either. It is heartwarming to see that even then, they are still looking out for us.

Their efforts show that community spirit really does shine in times of hardship, and they no doubt deserve all the recognition and praise.

For more stories, check out:

• Saigon Zoo staff takes pay cut to leave more for the animals
• HCMC residents donate to Saigon Zoo
• Saigon man uses his own money to buy firetruck to help the community
• Saigon boy hands out free meals to the underprivileged
• Đà Nẵng volunteers set up charity kitchen to provide food to quarantine facilities

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Cover image adapted from Vinh Tran and Trần Vỹ Nguyễn

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