Ensuring safety in volunteer activities
(Baonghean) - The Summer Youth Volunteer Campaign is an annual activity launched by the Central Youth Union, attracting thousands of students nationwide to participate. However, many tragic accidents have occurred to student volunteers. On July 2, a heartbreaking incident occurred when 3 student volunteers were swept away by floodwaters, raising many issues in volunteer work...
Sad incident
These days, the family of Phan Thi Hai (a student at Hanoi Foreign Trade University) from Hoi Son commune, Anh Son, Nghe An - one of the three students who were swept away by flood while participating in volunteer activities in Quang Ninh - is still in mourning. Hai's family situation is quite difficult but Hai is very obedient and a good student.
On his personal Facebook, before leaving for volunteering, Hai wrote: "These days in Hanoi are hotter than ever. Because the blazing sun penetrates through each red-burning royal poinciana flower petal, or because each person feels an invisible fire burning in their heart, urging them to move forward." Leaving for volunteering, Hai confided to his friends: "I will dedicate my youth to this life."
Previously, on June 21, in Hanoi, the Foreign Trade University Youth Union organized the launching ceremony of "Green Summer" 2016 with 20 volunteer teams to remote and disadvantaged communes with activities and tasks contributing to socio-economic development, ensuring social security, building new rural areas and urban civilization.
At 5:00 p.m. on July 2, while a group of students were doing volunteer work at Pac Hooc bridge (Binh Lieu town, Binh Lieu district, Quang Ninh province), a sudden flood swept away three students. One student was rescued and three others were missing. In the early morning of July 3, the search and rescue team of Quang Ninh province recovered the bodies of three students, including Nguyen Thi Ngan (born in 1997, hometown: Hanoi); Vu Thi Xoa (born in 1996, hometown: Hai Duong) and Phan Thi Hai (born in 1997, hometown: Nghe An). Immediately after the incident, Foreign Trade University temporarily suspended the volunteer activities of 20 volunteer teams of the school in provinces and cities across the country.
These are not the first cases of accidents while participating in volunteer activities. In 2007, Bui Khoi Nguyen, a Law student of K31, Can Tho University, died while participating in the 2007 summer youth volunteer campaign in My Khanh commune, Phong Dien district, Can Tho city.
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| Student volunteers help students at the 2016 National High School Exam at Vinh University exam cluster. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Strengthening solutions
The death of three students from Foreign Trade University while volunteering is a warning bell for Youth Union chapters at all levels in the process of implementing youth volunteer activities at the grassroots level.
Vinh University - one of the units with the strongest and earliest volunteer movement among universities and colleges in Nghe An. 2016 is the 20th time the school organized the Summer Youth Volunteer Campaign.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Chuong - Secretary of the Youth Union of Vinh University said: In the process of implementing the volunteer movement, we put discipline and safety for students first. This is reflected in the volunteer motto of Vinh University in 2016: "Practical, creative, effective and safe".
Speech clip of Dr. Nguyen Anh Chuong - Secretary of Vinh University Youth Union
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| SVTN guides students. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Parents think that participating in volunteer activities is very good, because this is an opportunity for children to gain experience.
Mr. Thai Ba Linh - retired cadre of Ha Huy Tap ward - Vinh city expressed his opinion: During the volunteering process, the Youth Union at all levels needs to equip students with safety knowledge to avoid unfortunate situations from happening. For example, when students go to a mountainous area, they must be equipped with basic knowledge such as which poisonous plants there are that should not be eaten, when floods usually come in this season, which areas often have flash floods... so that they can avoid them.
Clip of Mr. Thai Ba Linh's speech:
| On July 4, the Standing Secretary of the Central Youth Union Nguyen Manh Dung signed an urgent dispatch to provincial, municipal and affiliated Youth Unions nationwide requesting to strengthen measures to ensure safety for youth volunteers. Specifically, the Central Youth Union Secretariat requested to immediately review the youth volunteer teams in the summer volunteer campaign operating in the locality. In particular, clearly grasp the number, composition, time, location, content and method of operation of the youth volunteer teams and report to the Party Committee and authorities on volunteer activities. The local Youth Union coordinates with the Youth Union organization that sends young people and students to volunteer, maintains close contact with the person in charge, and thoroughly educates young volunteers to raise their awareness of discipline during the volunteering process, to avoid unfortunate accidents that may occur. |
Mr. Phan Trong Loc - Head of the Youth Solidarity Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Youth Union said: Before the volunteer teams set off, the Provincial Youth Union organized training sessions, thoroughly grasping all the skills that could happen in the localities... During the coordination and direction process, in addition to updating the hotline, the campaign steering committee also regularly called the volunteer teams directly to grasp and check the situation of their activities in the locality to ensure the safety of the volunteer students.
Clip of Mr. Phan Trong Loc's speech
| The Prime Minister has just issued a Decision on policies for youth volunteers, including during and after the end of volunteer activities. Accordingly, when participating in volunteering, in addition to being trained, gaining knowledge and skills, young people will also receive allowances, working equipment, personal protection (if any), and are eligible to be considered for admission to the Youth Union and the Party. In case of death or injury, the People's Committee of the commune where the volunteer activity took place will prepare a dossier for the youth to request the superiors to consider and recognize him as a martyr or enjoy the same policies as war invalids according to the regulations on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services to the Revolution. The volunteer organization is responsible for supporting the burial and bringing him back to his hometown. |
Thanh Thuy - Tran Hai
