Voluntarism takes hold with Saigon youths

Tuoi Tre
Updated : Tue, May 3, 2011,10:30 AM (GMT+0700)

Teaching visually impaired kids, providing meals for the poor or opening free libraries are just some of the popular voluntary works among Saigon youths these days.

A sense of responsibility permeates a group of college students who have run tutoring classes for visually impaired children from Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the past two years.

“We need to prepare carefully what to teach before every class,” said Huynh Dang Duy, deputy chair of this voluntary club.

Duy said the club’s main goal was to encourage these unfortunate children that they could learn just like anybody else.

In their classes, the volunteers tutor all subjects taught in common elementary school, using standard textbooks since books in Braille aren’t available.

The volunteers said difficulties abounded.

In addition to teaching the children, they must also try their best not to hurt their vulnerable students in any way.

Their efforts have paid off, as some of the students testified.

“After two years studying math and physics with them, I’ve made great improvements,” said Nguyen Ky Phong, one of the children.

Affordable meals and free books

Elsewhere in HCMC, college students are also doing the best they can to ease the poor’s burden.

At 14 Ngo Quyen Street, District 10, for instance, there is a “VND2,000 restaurant” offering meals at the cheapest price possible.

Opened 2 years ago, this restaurant, whose staffs are mostly students, provides 500 servings every day for only VND2,000, or 1 penny, each.

“The food doesn’t cost much and the staffs are very nice,” Tu Quan Muoi, 71, a regular customer, said of the staffs who are all working without salary.

This restaurant is possible thanks to donations of rice and vegetables from philanthropists and charities, which the staffs said makes them feel their work is shared.

And every Sunday in parks throughout the city such as Le Van Tam and Gia Dinh, a group of volunteers have also been running free libraries that are open to everybody.

The volunteers said they were doing this to learn more from books and give others who may not have access to books a chance to do so.