Ho Chi Minh City residents join hands to donate to support flood victims

Photo caption — Southern volunteers are packing goods to send to storm- and flood-affected areas in the North.

At the Saigon Bao Dung boarding house, home to many lonely elderly people in Binh Tan, the atmosphere these days is much more bustling. The small, quiet house has now become a gathering point for relief goods. Dozens of boxes of instant noodles, mineral water, life jackets, milk, and candy are neatly lined up in rows, awaiting transport to the North.

Mr. Nguyen Dac Quy, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Crescent Moon Volunteer Group, shared: “Thanks to the experience from the previous Yagi storm relief campaign, we launched the appeal as soon as we heard the news of the storm. From October 2 to October 7, the group received a lot of goods and is currently urgently sorting and packaging them to be shipped to Thai Nguyen in time."

According to Mr. Quy, every night, volunteers stay up all night to distribute medicine and pack boxes. Some support money for gas, some contribute boxes of noodles, some collect clothes, all hoping that the relief goods will soon reach the people in the flooded areas.

“There are old people who are no longer able to walk but still ask people to take them to their place to give them a few kilos of rice and a little cooking oil. Each gift, though small, contains the great affection of the people of Saigon,” he said emotionally.

Not only the Crescent Moon group, many volunteer groups and people in Ho Chi Minh City also spontaneously organized donations and transported goods to support provinces that suffered heavy damage from recent storms and floods.

At the donation point 775 Kha Van Can, Linh Tay ward, dozens of volunteers were present from early morning to receive and sort the goods. Some brought several boxes of noodles, others sent warm blankets, clothes, drinking water, medicine... The activity was organized by a local volunteer group, calling on everyone to join hands to support the people of the Central and Northern regions who are being heavily affected by floods.

The donation area is divided into two separate areas: one area receives necessities such as rice, mineral water, instant noodles, dry food, etc.; the other area is for other items such as household items, diapers, raincoats, life jackets, etc. to help classify, pack, and transport quickly and conveniently.

According to the plan, this time, about 40 tons of relief goods will depart from Ho Chi Minh City to Thai Nguyen province and some neighboring provinces, where thousands of households are isolated due to floods. The convoys are expected to spend nearly two days traveling, traveling thousands of kilometers to deliver the goods to people in deep flooded areas.

Mr. Le Thanh Binh, representative of Linh Tay volunteer group, said: "We always receive enthusiastic support from the city's people. Just post the call on social networks, within a few hours there are dozens of people bringing goods, even asking to go with the group to the North to directly help."

According to the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, in many residential areas, schools, and businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, the donation movement has also spread strongly. Many students have collected books, clothes, and toys to give to children in flood-affected areas. Some businesses also support transportation and finance to buy more medicine, food, and clean drinking water. Those charitable trips carry the hearts of people from the South towards their beloved North. Despite the great geographical distance, the spirit of solidarity and kindness still connects people together.

These fundraising activities are not only emergency relief actions, but also a vivid expression of the spirit of “Ho Chi Minh City - A city of love, dynamism, and creativity for the whole country and with the whole country”. Each box of goods and each bottle of water sent contains the sentiment of sharing, demonstrating the community responsibility of the city’s people in times of trouble.

Responding to the call of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, promoting the precious tradition of national solidarity, with the spirit of "mutual love", the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City also called on people, agencies, organizations and businesses in the area to share and help spiritually and materially, contributing to supporting people to overcome the damage caused by storms and floods.

As of October 12, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City - City Relief Mobilization Committee has received 9,767 donations with a total amount of 75,849,071,374 VND. These contributions demonstrate the deep affection of the city's people, joining hands to support compatriots in disaster areas.