13 years of volunteering to pick up trash.

(Baonghean)For the past 13 years, the people of Minh Thanh hamlet in particular, and the people of Minh Hop commune, Quy Hop district in general, have become familiar with the work of Ms. Tran Thi Hoa, a volunteer who collects trash to clean up her village.

Born and raised in Hung Nguyen district, in 1976, Ms. Tran Thi Hoa moved to Quy Hop to work as a worker at the 3/2 Farm. In 1985, she transferred to Xuan Thanh Farm and retired in 2011. Being a diligent person with a habit of keeping things clean, she always picks up all the trash that people carelessly throw away on the road whenever she leaves her house.

She shared: "Seeing so much trash in the village and alleys, I just pick it up to keep things clean. Nobody forced me to, and many people say I'm foolish. I just think that doing so will keep the environment clean, so that my children and grandchildren can study and live in a clean and happy environment."



Day after day, rain or shine, Mrs. Hoa, with her sack in hand, goes through every alley and corner of the neighborhood to collect trash. When the sack is full, she takes it to a distant place to dump and burn it. She doesn't just collect trash on the streets of her own neighborhood; wherever she goes, if she sees litter scattered around, she picks it up. Passersby or strangers mistake her for a scrap collector. Meanwhile, the residents of the neighborhood, from children to the elderly, are all too familiar with the sight of a thin woman always carrying a sack, doing her usual job of collecting trash to keep the neighborhood clean.

Previously, Minh Thanh hamlet was quite dirty due to littering, but thanks to Mrs. Hoa, we no longer see people throwing trash on the streets. Thirteen years of voluntarily collecting trash to clean up the hamlet is enough time for everyone in the hamlet to understand and appreciate Mrs. Tran Thi Hoa's work. Her actions have made many people more aware of the importance of protecting the environment.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, head of Minh Thanh hamlet, Minh Hop commune, said: "Following her kind gesture, we regularly highlight her good deeds at our meetings so that the village can emulate her, especially in the context of the New Rural Development program, which includes criteria related to maintaining a clean environment to ensure the health of the community."

With the motto "Changing perceptions through small actions," in environmental sanitation work in particular and rural development in general, we need role models with small but practical and meaningful actions like Ms. Tran Thi Hoa.

Phan Giang (Quỳ Hợp Radio Station)