A family of 4 in Nghe An cycled from Dong Nai back to their hometown to avoid the epidemic.

On the evening of July 19, Vo Thanh Binh (28 years old, from Hamlet 6, Nghi Xa Commune, Nghi Loc District) said that his entire family of four had tested negative for Covid-19 after being quickly tested at a medical station in Thap Cham City (Ninh Thuan). Currently, the four people are quarantined in a room at Thap Cham Station, waiting to board a train to return home after some benefactors spent money to buy train tickets to give them away.

However, the train did not depart until July 21st to take his family back to Nghe An. This family had been cycling for the past 10 days from Dong Nai to their hometown in Nghe An.

Binh's family of four, including his older sister (30 years old), her 12-year-old child, and his mother (51 years old), have rented a small room in Trang Bom district (Dong Nai) to work for many years. Binh said that not long ago, his mother had a stroke, and the savings were not enough for treatment, so he had to borrow money at high interest rates. After being discharged from the hospital, she could not continue working as a worker and had to stay at home to take care of her grandchild. Binh and his older sister work for a company with a very low salary. However, Binh said that due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Binh and his older sister have been unemployed for the past 3 months.

Binh's family of four cycled home. Photo: CACC

"If we stay, we will have to go from one social distancing period to another, and we will not be able to find a job, while the costs are increasing. Not long ago, I went to the market to buy a bunch of water spinach and was charged 30,000 VND. Since then, my family decided to go back to our hometown. Because if we stay, we will soon run out of money for food," Binh said, adding that he then sold a phone to get money to buy a bus ticket home. However, after standing on the highway for a while, the family still could not catch a bus.

"Partly because it was difficult to catch a bus, and partly because we didn't have enough money, my family decided to buy two bicycles for 700,000 VND to go back to our hometown," the male worker said. On July 9, his family set off. Binh cycled to carry his stroke-stricken mother, while his sister carried her 12-year-old daughter. It wasn't until 10 days later that the whole family traveled nearly 300 km to Ninh Phuoc district (Binh Thuan province).

Binh rode his bike carrying his mother, while his sister carried her 12-year-old child. Photo: CACC

When arriving at the checkpoint in Ninh Phuoc town, Binh proactively made a medical declaration. Upon learning of Binh’s family’s situation, the police officers and local people provided food. Some even paid for train tickets for the whole family to return home, and a philanthropist donated an additional 10 million VND to the family.

According to Binh, for the past 10 days, because they had no money, every night the whole family slept on the side of the road. "We pedaled until we were tired, then found a safe place and the whole family spread out their raincoats to sleep," Binh said, adding that now they just hope to return home soon.

He also wishes, through Nghe An Newspaper, to send his thanks to some philanthropists in Ninh Thuan who have supported his family.

Tien Hung