For many days, Ho Thi Don of Ca Dong in the mountainous Khe Chu village, Nam Tra My district, and her two teenage-children woke up earlier than usual to walk 6 km to the fields deep in the forests to collect vegetables for the people in areas hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Đón said: We are not rich and many households here are very poor. We have nothing but fresh vegetables we grow ourselves. We want to do something to help those in areas hit by the pandemic and hope that the pandemic will soon disappear. 

Ca Dong ethnic people collect vegetables for the people in areas hit by the COVID-19 (VOV)

People of Khe Chu village still grieve about the loss of loved ones during flashfloods 3 years ago that destroyed everything, killed 4 people and injured 13 others. Back then, they got huge support, both physically and spiritually, from their fellow countrymen in Da Nang and Quang Nam to help them establish a new village. Khe Chu has now become a resettled village in themountainous district of Nam Tra My. The village is now connected with the newly opened Dong Truong Son road and the villagers no longer fear beingisolated like before. Each household in Khe Chu was provided with 3200 USD from donationscollected in Da Nang and Quang Nam to rebuild their houses, said Ho Van Huyen, Chairman of Tra Van communal People’s Committee in Nam Tra My district: Tra Van commune was severely damaged by storm No. 12 in 2017. Donors across Vietnam, including those in Da Nang and Quang Nam, sent us everything necessary, from food to money to help us overcome the disaster. And now people in Nam Tra My want to do something to pay it forward. They collect their home-grown vegetables for those in need. 

Ethnic minority people of the Nam Tra My district collect vegetables for those in need (Photo: VOV)

Images of Da Dong ethnic children at only 7 or 8 years of age walking into the forests after school to pick bamboo shoots and vegetables for people in the epidemic-hit areas have flooded social media, touching the hearts of people nationwide. Although they are struggling with their own difficulties, they try to do something to support others in need. Nguyen Thi Hue is Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nam Tra My District: We want to uphold the Vietnamese’s tradition of the have helping the have-nots. We’ve received a lot vegetables. We were moved to tears when they told us that they are always ready to donate whatever they have to help others in need. 

A group of young volunteers from Da Nang drove up to Nam Tra My to carry vegetables to people in cities and towns (Photo: VOV)

A group of young volunteers from Da Nang drove up to Nam Tra My to carry vegetables to people in cities and towns. They also brought medical masks and sanitizing gels for the ethnic people in Nam Tra My. Tran Dang Vinh, a coordinator for the group, told VOV that on a recent trip to Nam Tra My, they gave 5000 USD and 5 tons of rice donated by organizations and individuals for the poor people there. "Nam Tra My people were ready to do whatever they can to help others in difficulties. Young volunteers like us try to do our best to bring the fresh vegetables they have collected to people in Da Nang as soon as possible."