A warm Christmas season, spreading love to children in mountainous regions.

With the chilly weather and the festive Christmas atmosphere, many volunteer teams and groups of young people from all over the country bring warmth to the people and children in mountainous and border regions through their winter volunteer programs.

The children smile brightly as they receive heartwarming winter gifts from their older siblings - Photo: Provided by the family.

Ngoc Thi and a group of young people from Ho Chi Minh City recently visited children in the mountainous region at Me Lau A school (Meo Vac district, Ha Giang province). She shared that she has visited these children several times each winter and feels that this year's cold is even more biting than in previous seasons.

"Feeling sorry for the children shivering on their way to school, we brought them warm jackets and gifts. Seeing their smiles warmed my heart during these cold winter days," Ngoc Thi shared.

I gained so much from the trip. It was the lovely smiles of the children when they held the gifts in their hands, and a profound understanding of the sacrifices made by the teachers who tirelessly taught them every day under extremely harsh conditions.

ANH DAO (volunteer)

Telling stories about winter volunteering with children in mountainous areas.

Ngoc Thi recently returned from a winter volunteer trip to Ha Giang province with members of the G9 Group - for Children's Smiles ( thuộc the Vietnam Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh City). This was her third time participating in the program, and the second time she went with her mother.

Thi said that the cold spells accompanied by rain made winter in the highlands of Ha Giang even more bitterly cold. The Me Lau A school where the students attend is located in a particularly difficult area, deep in the village. Although it is only a few kilometers from the main school, under normal conditions it takes more than an hour to get there, and it is even more difficult on rainy days. "The school is small and simple, lacking in everything, but 65 students still come to school every day, so I feel even more affection and respect for these little ones," Thi recounted.

The group brought warm jackets, new hats, a few packets of candy, and some cartons of milk, but for the children here, these were luxuries. Thi proudly shared that she would always remember the children's smiles and rosy cheeks when they received the gifts, saying, "Thank you." She said that she and her colleagues in the group hoped to have many more trips like this to visit the children in the highlands in the future.

Meanwhile, Anh Đào recounted her journey to visit children at another school. It was a volunteer trip to the far north of the country, a place with majestic mountain scenery, clouds swirling around towering peaks, reminding her of Den Vâu's lyrics: "Down in the lowlands, we call this a million-dollar view."

Anh Đào encountered little children with rosy cheeks, flushed from the biting cold of winter, walking along the tiny, winding road to school to diligently learn their letters.

When Dao first joined the G9 Group - for the sake of children's smiles - she was often apprehensive because reaching Phin Lo school required navigating through fog, cold winds, muddy and slippery roads after the rain, and steep slopes. But that was the daily route to school for 30 children there.

"I was told that there were days when the temperature dropped to only 5°C, which made me admire the people living here even more, especially the children who come to learn to read and write," Dao confided.

Spreading joy everywhere.

In Quang Nam , students from the Green Dream Club of Le Thanh Tong High School (Hoi An City) carried out the "Warm Winter" program for disabled children at The Kianh Foundation Center. In addition to 100 carefully prepared gifts, they also organized lively interactive activities for the children. The club's funds came from selling goods at the school during the Phu Dong Sports Festival and school camps.

"Seeing the children engrossed in reading each letter we wrote, cherishing the teddy bear keychain in the gift bag, filled the members with emotion and happiness. This is truly a precious spiritual gift for us, and it also makes us think about the need to create a positive development environment for children with disabilities," said Tran Ta Khanh Ngoc, the club's leader.

Meanwhile, the "A New Day" Club of students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) completed their "Winter Night 2024" project on December 22nd. They shared 150 warm meals, packed with love, to those in need.

Hoang Chuong, the club's leader, recounted how the club members divided up the tasks of finding and preparing ingredients, then cooking and packaging each bowl of delicious, warm porridge to give away as gifts. "Each gift, though small, is not just food, but also a source of encouragement that we want to give on this cold winter night," Hoang Chuong shared.

13 years of perseverance with "Warm Clothes for Winter"

This year marks the 13th year that the Green Seed Volunteer Team (Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking) has organized the "Warm Clothes for Winter" program for children and people in mountainous areas. Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Le, head of the organizing committee, said that they have supported 365 households and 480 students in Dak Po Pho commune, Kong Chro district (Gia Lai province) during the 2024 program.

Each gift package contains essential items, clothing, blankets, books, and school supplies donated by the community. "We chose the mission 'Sharing warmth, adding smiles,' so we mobilize as much as possible to continue our journey of helping those in need get through the cold winter," Ms. Le said.

Let's share the warmth together.

"Warm clothes passed from hand to hand" was delivered to children in mountainous areas by the Fly to Sky volunteer group - Photo: FTS

Also reaching out to children in mountainous areas, the Fly to Sky volunteer group ( thuộc the National Volunteer Center, Central Youth Union) chose to visit places that suffered significant damage from Typhoon Yagi (Typhoon No. 3) in the northern mountainous provinces in September of this year.

With the "Warm Clothes in Hand" project, organized from October 2024 to the present, the project aims to donate 10,000 warm jackets and socks to children and poor people in many places across the country. The project has connected many hearts and the sharing spirit of the community to bring warmth to children and people in cold areas.

Along with warm clothes and socks, the group also mobilized resources to donate snacks and essential supplies to the people, hoping to "pass on" warmth from everywhere to everyone.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mua-giang-sinh-am-ap-trao-yeu-thuong-den-tre-vung-cao-20241224100032872.htm