Worries from a worker's life
Hoang Quang Khai (born in 1996, Doan Khe village, Lac Dao commune, Hung Yen) is currently the Secretary of the Doan Khe Village Youth Union and a customer care staff at BeeStars English Center. Despite being busy with many roles, he still dedicates his heart to maintaining the "Happiness Library" - a free reading space built by himself.
Previously, Khai was a worker at Pho Noi A Industrial Park. After completing his military service, he returned to his hometown, working at JP. Corelex Co., Ltd. The days of working as a worker helped him realize a gap in the spiritual life of many workers: lack of reading space and opportunities to improve knowledge.
Coming home from work, many people only eat, rest and entertain with phones. Few people read books, partly because they do not have the conditions, and partly because they do not realize the value of reading. That makes me very concerned" - Khai shared.
For him personally, books are a spiritual support. "Sometimes after work late, tired, but just opening a book makes me feel lighter. I think if I need books, surely many others will need them too," he said.
Spreading reading culture from the community
From those concerns, Khai decided to take a break: quit his work as a worker to build a free library. This decision was not easy, when his family was worried about the economy, friends also told him to take risks. "But if I don't do it, I will always feel remorseful" - he confided.
In August 2018, he started renovating the old attic into a reading room. Without many resources, Khai did most of the work himself: designing, buying materials, constructing and arranging. After 10 months of perseverance, from the estimated amount of 60-70 million VND, the total cost amounted to 120 million VND. In June 2019, the "Happiness Library" officially opened in a 16m2 space, bright and tidy.
The happiest moment was not when it was completed, but when someone came to read the book. Looking at everyone flipping through each page, I see that all efforts are worth it" - Khai shared.
The library quickly became a familiar destination, especially for local students. Nguyen Trang Nhung, a 9th grade student at Lac Dao Secondary School, said: "Before, I rarely read books outside of textbooks. Since coming to the library, I started borrowing stories and science books to read. I feel that I understand more knowledge and think much more positively.
Khai does not expect anything too great, just hopes that everyone will spend time reading books to improve their knowledge and open up new opportunities in life.
In his role as Secretary of the Youth Union of Doan Khe village, he also links library activities with youth movements, creating more useful playgrounds for the community.
From a simple worker, Khai chose to quietly "sow words". That journey is not noisy, but persistent - like pages of books silently nurturing people over the years.
