On the evening of the 29th of Tet, we had the opportunity to follow Mr. Nguyen Van Be Thanh - an environmental worker (Can Tho Urban Joint Stock Company) - to record the New Year's Eve of the street cleaners. Tonight, Mr. Thanh had to clean the alleys of Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street and Nguyen Van Cu Street, Ninh Kieu District.
Having worked at the company for more than 8 years and every year "sticking to the road" with his colleagues during Tet, Mr. Thanh never hesitates. He said that this is both a job and a responsibility to the people of Can Tho.
At 7:00 p.m., deep in alley 14 of Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street, as usual, Mr. Thanh quickly collected the trash to clear the way for people to live and play. However, what surprised him (and even us) the most was receiving lucky money from a foreigner.
Despite the difficulty in communication, Mr. Thanh was still happy and warmed when he understood the words "Happy New Year" from the man.
Mr. John - the person who gave Thanh lucky money - happily told us: "The new year is coming but he works very hard, I really appreciate it. Therefore, my family also wants to give him lucky money as a traditional beauty of Vietnamese people. I really like Tet in Vietnam".
When Mr. John returned home to join his family for dinner, Mr. Thanh turned to us and confided that this was the first year he had received "luck" from a foreigner. This wonderful and rare moment would be the motivation for him to have more energy to work.
"Before, I received lucky money from my fellow countrymen, and I was very happy because I felt the respect for us cleaners. Now I also receive lucky money from foreigners, I am really surprised and happy. I will never forget this beautiful memory" - Mr. Thanh said brightly.
