“Love Garage” – that is the familiar name of the people in Lai Hieu ward (Nga Bay city, Hau Giang province) for Hai Dang Garage.
As one of the founding members of the Hai Dang Garage Auto Maintenance and Repair Cooperative, Mr. Tran Minh Hai said that with a passion for mechanics and machinery, he was determined to learn auto repair to make a living.
Pensively recounting the years of hard work, Mr. Hai said that after more than 30 years of working for hire in many places, with the experience he had accumulated, he was determined to return to his hometown to set up a garage.
Since 2020, he and three veteran members have contributed capital to establish an auto maintenance and repair cooperative with the aim of providing free training for students who are children of war invalids and martyrs, families with preferential policies, and unemployed demobilized soldiers.
Up to now, "Love Garage" has trained about 20 students to become professionals and have stable jobs.
“I want the children to have a more prosperous life. When they come to school, they don’t have to worry about anything, it’s completely free, and they also get food, water, and monthly travel expenses,” said Mr. Hai.
Mr. Tran Hai Dang (Mr. Hai's son) - currently a member of the Hai Dang Garage Auto Maintenance and Repair Cooperative - shared that the facility only gives priority to demobilized soldiers who, after being discharged from the army, come back to learn a trade at school, but after graduating, they still cannot find a job or earn an income.
From there, students will be trained in additional skills and then hired, and during the apprenticeship period, they will still receive salary support...
Mr. Dang also believes that nowadays, the demand for jobs in the auto repair field is increasing, the lack of skilled human resources will be a good opportunity for young people who have just been discharged from the army; connecting with many auto repair training schools in the Mekong Delta region.
After doing military service in Chi Lang (An Giang province) and being discharged in 2012, Nguyen Hai Hung (Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province) said that after being discharged, he worked for hire in many places, but his income was unstable.
About 4 years ago, Mr. Hung was introduced to Hai Dang Garage to work. Up to now, he has become a master mechanic with a good income of 7 to more than 10 million/month, so he can take care of his family, has free accommodation, and his colleagues are very friendly and always help each other.
Orphaned at a young age, living with his grandmother in difficult circumstances, Nguyen Van Doi (Hau Giang province) also had to drop out of school to find a job to take care of his grandmother. Luckily, Doi was given free vocational training by his brothers and sisters in the group and supported with living expenses of nearly 3 million/month, helping Doi have a job to support himself and take care of his grandmother.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Loi - Vice President of the Veterans Association of Lai Hieu Ward (Nga Bay City, Hau Giang Province) - informed that "Garage of Love" has developed very strongly. Vocational training for students is also easy to do and easy to understand. With the determination of the members, up to now, "Garage of Love" has been operating effectively according to the requirements of the ward association.
