Moon of Hope

Special Mid-Autumn Festival

Perhaps for any child, the Mid-Autumn Festival, breaking the cake and watching the moon is an event that is always eagerly awaited.

But this year's Mid-Autumn Festival, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything. Hundreds of thousands of children have to celebrateMid-Autumn Festivalin quarantine areas or with their families practicing social distancing. Thousands of F0 children have to be temporarily away from their families and treated in hospitals and field hospitals.

A Mid-Autumn Festival without drums, lion dances, or colorful lantern parades. However, Covid-19 cannot take away the joy of children. In the past few days, amidst the hustle and bustle of life, many organizations and groups have taken the opportunity to prepare gifts for children, especially F0 patients, to have a warm Mid-Autumn Festival.

Staff and students of Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy cut lanterns for children to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo: Ministry of Health

In Ho Chi Minh City, betweenthe center of the pandemicthe heaviest in the country, on a day close to the Mid-Autumn Festival, even though it was almost midnight, the staff and students of Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy still sat meticulously cutting, pasting, and making each Mid-Autumn lantern. Those were gifts, though still clumsy and simple, but full of love for children, that the doctors and nurses at the concentrated quarantine area of ​​Phuoc Kien High School (Nha Be District) quietly prepared to give to nearly 100 children who are F0 patients being treated there.

Despite being busy, stressed, racing every day, every hour to fight for time to bring Covid-19 patients back to normal life, the doctors and staff of Tu Du Hospital at the Covid-19 Field Hospital No. 7 - people who are only used to holding needles and performing surgery - still take advantage of every hour to assemble lanterns and prepare Mid-Autumn gifts for more than 300 people.pediatric patientsunder 16 years old

“For children, no matter where they are or what their circumstances are, they should be given the right to enjoy the Mid-Autumn Festival,” said Dr. Ma Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Covid-19 Field Hospital No. 7. With that in mind, Mid-Autumn gifts with handwritten wishes were “secretly” prepared by doctors and nurses, hoping that the children would still have a warm Mid-Autumn Festival in the heart of the epidemic.

Prepare meaningful Mid-Autumn gifts for children. Photo: PV

The cakes carry love from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, bringing small joys of the Mid-Autumn Festival to F0 children. Photo: PV

Lighting up hope

In Hanoi, TH School chefs and volunteers take turns to ensure social distancing while meticulously making round moon cakes in a shiny brown color; volunteers race against time to pack the "Moon cakes" into rustic bamboo boxes, decorated with innocent drawings by autistic children.

All of this is to give love and a season of hope to the F0 children in Ho Chi Minh City before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in the hospital, the children's disadvantages are partly compensated thanks to the care and sharing of organizations and units. Photo: PV

Sharing with the program For Vietnamese Stature broadcast on September 18, Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Trang, Director of the Fund for Vietnamese Stature said: "Responding to the call from the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Social Committee, the FundFor Vietnamese StaturetogetherTH GroupandNorth Asia Commercial Joint Stock BankIn coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly Delegation, 1,500 moon cakes and 1,500 glasses of nutritional milk were presented to F0 children being treated at the City Children's Hospital, Field Hospital No. 4, Children's Hospital 2 and F0 children from 5 suburban districts being treated at home.

Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Trang also added: After only 2 days, 1,500 moon cakes were completed, carefully arranged, and promptly delivered to children at hospitals.

On this occasion, the Fund and two accompanying units also donated hundreds of thousands of cups of fresh milk and drinks to children in quarantine areas in Hanoi, Dak Lak, Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa)... and hospitals, including the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Trang was interviewed by VTV1. Photo: PV

“This year is probably a very special and memorable Mid-Autumn Festival, a Mid-Autumn Festival in which children across the country suffer many disadvantages, especially thelittle friendis F0 being treated. We hope the cakes and glasses of milk will bring a warm Mid-Autumn atmosphere to the children.

The theme of this year's cake collection is "Moon of Hope", through which we also send our belief and hope that the Covid-19 epidemic will be quickly pushed back, the children will soon recover and return to normal life," Ms. Nhu Trang shared.

In a letter sent to children across the country on the occasion of the Mid-Autumn Festival 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his emotion when many children celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in quarantine areas or while practicing social distancing with their families. The President also called on each family, government and society to pay special attention to children during the Mid-Autumn Festival, especially the brave and independent "little soldiers" who are far from their families to practice quarantine.