For the past 9 years, every year-end occasion, a small corner in Hai Phong is bustling preparing Tet gifts for people in need. Standing behind the "Tet 0 VND" program is Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue (born in 1982) - a woman who quietly connects hearts to bring spring closer to the disadvantaged lives.
Ms. Hue said that many middle-aged, elderly, disabled people and children in particularly difficult circumstances come to receive 0-dong rice at her restaurant every day. In addition, there are also some street vendors, pushing carts from other provinces to Hai Phong city renting rooms to make a living.
Tet is a time for reunion, but for many people, it is the biggest worry of the year," Ms. Hue shared. Therefore, she posted an article on her personal page calling on philanthropists to join hands and send practical gifts to help people have more conditions to celebrate Tet warmly.
Preparation work usually starts from the beginning of the last month of the year. Each year, she plans about 400 gifts, each gift including 10kg of rice, a banh chung and 100,000 VND lucky money, with a total value of about 300,000 VND.
At the shop, she and her colleagues directly distribute gifts to people in the area and surrounding areas. In case of remote communes, the shop coordinates with local charity groups to deliver gifts to homes of lonely elderly people, orphans, people with disabilities, and students in difficult circumstances...
This year, the total number of gifts issued is about 500. In addition to the initial plan of 400 gifts, there are also 100 additional gifts for cases that are not yet named in the list of regular support or difficult families around the area.
Her rice shop currently has 3 employees, all female, who are responsible for cooking and distributing 0 VND rice every day. By Tet, the workload has increased many times because of the addition of decoration, cleaning, arranging gifts to transporting tons of rice, hundreds of banh chung. Meanwhile, daily charity meals still have to be maintained regularly.
The biggest difficulty is that Ms. Hue's rice shop area is small, while the number of people coming to receive gifts is large and concentrated in a short time. The group must flexibly arrange and allocate time reasonably so that the gift giving takes place quickly but still thoughtfully.
What moved Ms. Hue the most was the reaction of the recipient. Some elderly people trembled holding gifts, some burst into tears of emotion. For many families, a bag of rice, a Chung cake and a lucky money envelope, although not large, are enough for them to feel cared for and shared. In those sincere words of thanks, she realized the true value of the work she is doing.
After each "0-dong Tet" season, what she wants is not only more gifts, but also the sustainable maintenance of the 0-dong rice shop year-round. She hopes to have enough conditions to continue cooking nutritious meals for people in need, helping them feel full and warm in their ordinary days, not just during holidays and Tet.
Mentioning the philanthropists who have accompanied her for the past 9 years, Ms. Hue cannot hide her gratitude. According to her, the budget for 400-500 gifts each year is not a small number. Without the trust and joint efforts of the community, the program could hardly be maintained so regularly.
Through this, I would like to send my thanks and deep gratitude to all philanthropists at home and abroad, along with brothers and sisters, friends on Facebook. Thank you everyone for trusting, sending love and accompanying the shop to bring "Loving Tet" to those who are still in need around me," Ms. Hue expressed.
