People in the mountainous areas of Nghe An province go to the forest to harvest bamboo shoots to send back to the lowlands to fight the pandemic.

Upon hearing that Quynh Luu district was struggling to combat the epidemic, people in Tam Hop border commune (Tuong Duong district) rallied together to go to the fields to harvest bamboo shoots, banana blossoms, vegetables, etc., to contribute to the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Tam Hop is a border commune in the mountainous district of Tuong Duong, where the lives of the people are facing many difficulties. The commune has 522 households with 2,485 inhabitants, including 158 poor households and 60 near-poor households.

The majority of the people here are ethnic minorities, primarily the Hmong, Tay Poong, and Thai. Although their lives are still difficult, in response to the local government's call, the people of these ethnic groups in this border commune have unanimously contributed agricultural products they produce themselves or harvest from their fields to support those in need due to the pandemic in Quynh Luu.

Locals go to the forest to harvest bamboo shoots. Photo: Dinh Tuan

Mr. Vừa Bá Mà (of the Hmong ethnic group), from Huồi Sơn village, Tam Hợp commune, said: “My family is also facing difficulties. We don't have money to donate, but we wanted to contribute to sharing the difficulties with the people in the affected area, so I went to the forest to collect bamboo shoots and banana blossoms to donate. There are plenty of bamboo shoots; you just need to climb a few mountains to get them. Because I'm used to it, I only need an hour to fill my basket. In the village, it's not just me; many others have volunteered to collect bamboo shoots, banana blossoms, and wild vegetables to support the people in the affected area.”

Similarly to the people of Huoi Son village, the Tay Poong ethnic people of Phong village are also crossing streams and trekking through forests these days to harvest agricultural products to send to the people of Quynh Luu.

In just one day, Tam Hop commune received over 300 kg of bamboo shoots. Photo: Dinh Tuan

According to Ms. Vieng Thi Diu from Phong village, Tam Hop commune, the weather has been dry lately, so to collect bamboo shoots she has to go deep into the forest. Therefore, she has to wake up earlier than usual to go into the forest to gather them. Ms. Diu said that she learned about the commune's fundraising efforts to support the people of Quynh Luu district in preventing and controlling the epidemic.

"Early in the morning, my sister and some other women in the village went to the forest to collect bamboo shoots to support people facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It takes about two hours to walk from our homes to the bamboo-growing area. After harvesting, we put the bamboo shoots in sacks and carry them back. The journey was long, and we had to climb many slopes, carrying sacks of bamboo shoots on our backs, so everyone was exhausted, but we still felt happy because we had contributed to sharing the difficulties that people in the neighboring district were facing due to the pandemic," said Ms. Dịu.

According to data from the Tam Hop Commune People's Committee, just one day after launching the campaign, the commune received over 300 kg of bamboo shoots, nearly 40 kg of banana blossoms, and many other types of vegetables and fruits voluntarily contributed by the people. All of these will be transferred by the commune to be donated to the people of Quynh Luu district.

In recent days, Quynh Luu district has continuously recorded Covid-19 cases. To date, the district has recorded more than 40 cases in 10 communes and towns. All are related to the outbreak at Minh An General Hospital. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee has decided to implement social isolation throughout Quynh Luu district according to Directive 16 from the morning of July 31st.

Dinh Tuan