At 4am on the first day of September, a bus of more than 200 young people from the Smile Station volunteer group, departing from Da Nang City, began a journey up the mountain of more than 150km, to Tra Cang commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam province.
The group stopped at Tak Ran school - one of the most remote schools belonging to Tra Cang Ethnic Boarding School, Tra Cang commune. The school is located high in the clouds, surrounded by high mountains and deep forests. For many years, the Xe Dang children here have never heard the sound of lion drums or the full moon festival.
Here, the group organized many meaningful volunteer activities such as dental examination and treatment, haircuts, manicures, buffet parties, giving away school supplies, playgrounds, new uniforms, breaking the mid-autumn festival, showing movies on the mountain... for more than 660 students. The total value of the program was nearly 1 billion VND.
Ho Thi Thu Trang (18 years old, Xe Dang ethnic) led her 6-year-old brother, holding a homemade lantern made from a beverage can and colored paper, shyly standing outside the gate, looking into the school yard where many volunteers and children were happily receiving gifts of cakes and brand new lanterns...
“Due to difficult conditions and parents busy working in the fields, children here only play with simple, homemade Mid-Autumn Festival items. Today, I am very happy that a group of volunteers came to examine patients, give out medicine, and organize an early Mid-Autumn Festival for the children in my village,” Thu Trang honestly shared.
Nguyen Cam (Da Nang) shared a memorable memory of his first time participating in a volunteer activity with children in the Nam Tra My highlands: “Seeing the full portion of food, a highland child timidly asked: Teacher! How many children is this plate of food for? When I answered, it is all for me. Each child got a portion like that, the boy burst into tears of joy and said he had never had such a full meal with so much delicious food…”.
Teacher Phan Thi Kim, 24 years old, Xe Dang ethnic - in charge of Tak Ran school (Tra Cang commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam) said that unlike children in the plains who can easily access medical services, audio-visual equipment, and modern toys, most ethnic minority children in the highlands of Nam Tra My have difficult circumstances and suffer many disadvantages and deprivations. This is the first time the children have been able to eat and drink freely, receive gifts, get medical check-ups, and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with great joy.
Huynh Tran Nguyet Thi - representative of the Smile Station group - said: "When we see the children with dirty hands and feet, walking a long distance to receive gifts, we feel very sorry. This is the motivation for the group to continue to call for more resources from benefactors and volunteers, and continue to organize many practical and meaningful activities for children in the highlands of Quang Nam".
