The boarding house was formed from the renovation of the old house of Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Duong (37 years old), located on Con Oc hill, Bach Dang 4 area, Hong Gai ward, about 400m from Quang Ninh General Hospital.
This is the passion of her family with the desire to create free accommodation and share the burden of living expenses for disadvantaged patients who are being treated for dialysis periodically at the hospital.
Currently, the boarding house has 7 rooms, 4 toilets, shared bathrooms, 2 collective kitchens.
Ms. Chu Thi Khang (66 years old, Ky Thuong commune) - head of the boarding hamlet - said: "The hamlet currently has 11 patients from remote areas of Quang Ninh such as Luc Hon, Hoanh Mo, Ky Thuong, Dam Ha, Quang Ha, Hai Son, Ba Che...
The oldest patient was me, the youngest was 16 years old. Here, we do not have to pay for a house, only pay for electricity and water per month, about 100,000 VND/person, saving more than 1 million VND per person compared to having to rent a room.
"Many people here are in very difficult circumstances. Like me, since I had kidney failure, I no longer have enough to work, all expenses depend on my family. Not daring to go home is not much, because every time I travel is 200,000 VND for a car, for the past 4 months, I have not returned home," said Ms. Khang.
According to the reporter's research, the 0 VND boarding house has been in operation since 2019.
Ms. Hoang Thi Nam (52 years old, Luc Hon commune) - the longest-serving dialysist in the boarding house (13 years) - said: "Here is airy, quiet, and there is a place to grow vegetables and cook together. Everyone is like a family, reminding each other about hospital visits, sharing the tiring moments after blood filtrations".
Not only providing free accommodation, Ms. Duong's family also always cares about and supports patients like relatives. If there is no electricity, water or items in the house, her family will send workers to repair them.
Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Duong shared: The idea of building a boarding house arose from volunteer trips, when witnessing many patients with kidney failure struggling with disease and living expenses.
I just hope I can do something to help them ease their difficulties. Currently, patients here want to have a light job that suits their health so that they can have more income to cover their living expenses," said Ms. Duong.
After 6 years of operation, the 0 VND boarding house has become a warm support for dialysis patients who are facing the pain of illness and the pressure to make a living every day. Help them be more steadfast in their journey to fight the disease, keeping their faith and hope.
