(VOVWORLD) - In 2012, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which decreed that the International Day of Happiness will be observed every year on March 20. Vietnam first responded to this global celebration in 2014. The International Day of Happiness is organized by the United Nations to promote the idea that feeling happy is a global human right, and encourage help for those in need.
“There are so many patients out there who desperately need blood to treat their diseases. It’s particularly heart-breaking for me to see how the child patients are suffering. A single drop of blood could save lives.”
“By donating blood, you're essentially giving the gift of life to someone in need in your community. I want to deliver this message so that other people will follow suit. Donating blood is a meaningful act.”
“It’s all about spreading your happiness to your community. It’s tiny but mighty.”
These are the opinions of those participating at a blood donation drive hosted by the Vietnam Electricity (EVN).
 EVN employees donate blood. (Photo: npt.com.vn) |
Acts of kindness are witnessed every single day in our life. One thing that was prevailing in these uncertain times of doom and gloom was kindness.
Ho Ngoc Thanh has initiated two clubs to offer free transfer for poor patients, and free meals to COVID-19 checkpoints in central Vietnam.
“I want to give what I can. Their smiles make me happy,” said Thanh.
This year Vietnam tops Asia, and ranks 5th globally, in the Happy Planet Index (HPI), an index of human well-being and environmental impact introduced by the New Economics Foundation.
The index measures four factors: wellbeing (how satisfied the residents of each country say they feel with life overall), life expectancy (the average number of years a person is expected to live in each country), inequality of outcomes (the inequalities between people within a country, in terms of how long they live, and how happy they feel, based on the distribution in each country’s life expectancy and wellbeing data), and ecological footprint: (the average impact that each resident of a country places on the environment).
Vietnam also joined the high human development group in the 2020 global report released by the UN Development Program.
 Poor patients in central Vietnam are given free transfer from their homes to hospitals and vice versa in order to keep them COVID-secure. (Photo: thanhnien.vn) |
The definition of happiness differs from person to person and from time to time. Money doesn’t guarantee happiness, which, to many people, means reaching out to those in need.
“I think that spreading your positivity is at the heart of the International Happiness Day. Caring and sharing binds us all together. In response to this year’s International Happiness Day, I will participate in a trip to a remote mountain area to donate milk to the poor children there. I want to do more charitable activities for the community,”said Nguyen Hanh Trang, a volunteer of the For Vietnamese Stature Foundation.
193 UN member countries have pledged their efforts to call for happiness to be given greater priority.
In 2013, Vietnam’s Prime Minister approved the celebration of the International Day of Happiness every year to raise public awareness and realize development goals of happy family and happy community.