Free tutoring classes for children of workers and laborers in poor neighborhoods in Ho Chi Minh City during the 2024 summer volunteer program - Photo: KA
By the final day, the total resources mobilized at the city level for this year's activities amounted to nearly 13.4 billion VND, completing many tasks and projects that bring value to the community and create a training environment for volunteer soldiers.
Mr. NGO MINH HAI (Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union)
Let's face the limitations head-on.
While acknowledging many achievements and impressive results, the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union also frankly pointed out its shortcomings.
Mr. Pham Le Minh Khang - Head of the School Youth Committee (Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union) - said that the propaganda lacked inspiring highlights about summer volunteer activities. Surveys and assessments of satisfaction among volunteers, young people, and citizens were not conducted consistently at the grassroots level.
At the city level, some units were noted to have not focused enough on activities in response to the peak day campaign. Furthermore, some units lacked initiative in coordinating forces and failed to establish objectives from the outset. The old problem was reiterated: the efforts to encourage public participation in volunteer projects and activities with young people have not been truly effective.
Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union Secretary Ngo Minh Hai said that although everything was implemented very early, some key issues remain, primarily coordination. Hai said that from the beginning, the city level emphasized that the coordinating units must go through the provincial/city Youth Unions. However, in reality, some teams still coordinate independently with the district level, bypassing the provincial level.
"We still have problems with coordination and response between the city and provinces. Some places have supported soldiers to stay at local people's houses, but there are also units that do not do this. While it is necessary to stay at local people's houses to help students feel the culture and lifestyle of the place they come to," Mr. Hai emphasized.
Furthermore, although the city launched the campaign early, the grassroots level did not follow up effectively. Mr. Hai questioned: "Is it more difficult to mobilize students and young people to volunteer now than before?"
The Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union announced that on September 21st, Ho Chi Minh City will host a gathering of volunteer soldiers from across the country to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Youth Volunteer Campaign.
"We need to continue exchanging ideas, discussing, and finding solutions so that volunteer activities are relevant to the current realities of learning at universities and colleges," Mr. Hai stated.
Graphics: TAN DAT
We ate, lived, and worked together with the local people.
Lam Nhu Quynh, Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Youth Union, said that in addition to coordinating the project, she hopes that students will have the opportunity to experience life as if it were their third semester, gaining more life experience and a better understanding of the local people. Ms. Quynh noted that in reality, some teams did not want to stay with local families, and the local response efforts in some areas were not as expected.
Based on practical experience, the Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Youth Union proposed that units sending volunteers to the province commit to a longer and continuous period of involvement, ideally for at least three years. "We could continue to cooperate after the end of the summer volunteer program, focusing on areas related to our expertise. This could include supporting scientific research, entrepreneurship, and many other initiatives," Ms. Quynh suggested.
According to Truong Van An, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union Committee of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, geographical targeting needs to be prioritized earlier. An stated that while some well-known young figures and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) are participating as ambassadors for each campaign, more are needed in terms of media coverage.
"We could invite some famous singers and artists to participate in our activities. And in the provinces and cities, if possible, try to invite popular local TikTokers to help spread awareness of the activities, meaning, and image of the volunteer programs and campaigns we are doing," An suggested.
Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, Secretary of the Nha Be District Youth Union (Ho Chi Minh City), agreed that thorough surveys of local projects and tasks are necessary, along with close coordination among various units, in order to organize them effectively. She cited the example of Nha Be welcoming international volunteers and coordinating well with forces from many units, resulting in many successful projects.
"Close coordination is essential, not to mention the need for good consultation with local leaders to support the activities that play a very important role for the Youth Union," Ms. Hang stated.
The earlier the survey is conducted, the clearer the results will be.
Mr. Vo Duy Kha, Deputy Secretary of the Phu Yen Provincial Youth Union, highly praised the project to bring water to villages in disadvantaged areas, worth billions of VND, recently completed by the Green Summer volunteers from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. Although the university has been closely associated with the locality for many years, it always proactively conducts early surveys and selects key projects to focus on each year. "Thanks to this, the projects and tasks help people solve urgent local problems and bring high efficiency," Mr. Kha said.
Sharing further, Pham Ngoc Quy, President of the Student Union of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, said that it was thanks to early surveys and understanding the water scarcity faced by the local people—that even digging wells would be impossible due to extremely difficult natural conditions—that the university sought support to carry out the aforementioned project.
The results were overwhelmingly joyful after 15 days of work: a 10km pipeline brought water to Xuan Quang 1 commune, Dong Xuan district (Phu Yen province). Thanks to this, approximately 700 households there now have access to clean water. "The people are happy, and the volunteers also see the significance of their work. The close connection between the local authorities and the volunteer force is a valuable lesson for us to do even better in the future," Ngoc Quy concluded.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tinh-nguyen-la-tinh-cam-khat-khao-cong-hien-20240806083740766.htm
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