Warm Tet at Dien Lam

(Baonghean)Students from the Thanh Vinh Volunteer Club spent over two months preparing to bring a warm Tet (Lunar New Year) to the people in the mountainous region of Dien Lam commune (Quy Chau district) - where every winter, the cold and hunger remain a haunting threat…

That place needs us!

The majority of the population in Dien Lam commune is ethnic Thai. Two months prior, a group of students visited Xop Hoc and Na No villages, two particularly disadvantaged areas in Dien Lam commune, for a preliminary visit. Upon arriving, they witnessed the impoverished living conditions of the villagers, the biting cold of winter, and the lack of clothing and school supplies for the students. Upon returning, the students planned a fundraising campaign for the "Warm Tet in Dien Lam" program, hoping to share love, alleviate the cold, and warm hands as Tet approached.

The Thanh Vinh Volunteer Club worked tirelessly collecting and sorting clothes; seeking donations from benefactors and contributing money to buy warm blankets; and donating books and school supplies to students… They even bought Quy Chau incense to sell, contributing to the charity program. Even on the last day before departure, everyone worked late into the night: sorting, packing, and transporting goods to the team's headquarters at 3 Nguyen Huy Oanh and to the homes of some team members. The next day, after some members finished their exams, the whole team started loading goods onto the car, while others sent them via passenger bus and set off.

Nguyen Ngoc Anh, captain of the Thanh Vinh Volunteer Club, said: “We understand that volunteering is hard work, but none of the team members are discouraged. We just hope to help the people and students in Dien Lam have a warmer and happier Tet holiday this winter.”

Presenting gifts to students in Dien Lam.

At 8 PM on January 25th, the bus started moving. Many students had been juggling semester exams with demanding jobs; many were first-year university students, and this was their first time traveling to a remote mountain village. Despite their fatigue and anxiety, everyone was excited and eager about the place they were about to visit. Around midnight, the bus arrived in Quy Chau town and stopped to rest, waiting until the next morning to gather all the goods before beginning their journey to the village.

The road to Dien Lam commune winds along the mountain slopes, with some sections still under construction. On the bus, the volunteers sang traditional songs to create an enthusiastic atmosphere and to help alleviate motion sickness.

After nearly two hours of traveling from Quy Chau town, the volunteer group, along with clothes, books, blankets, etc., gathered at the Dien Lam commune headquarters, where many villagers were waiting. The village head had already announced that the volunteers were coming to distribute gifts today.

Bringing warmth and joy to the Lunar New Year for our people.

The volunteer team split into two groups: one group stayed at the commune's People's Committee headquarters to distribute blankets and clothes to the villagers, while the other went to the school to distribute clothes and school supplies to the students. Each person had a task, quickly unpacking the carefully labeled bags of donated items and handing them directly to the people. I knew about the days they spent preparing each pair of warm clothes, each notebook, and devising plans to get all the donated goods to the villages, but everyone was enthusiastic and cheerful. I also saw many of them suffering from severe motion sickness because they weren't used to mountain roads, but as soon as they got off the bus, they eagerly got to work without complaining. They truly are a generation full of passion, embodying the spirit of "don't ask what the country has done for us, but ask what we have done for the country today."

The villagers were all happy and excited to receive gifts from the volunteer students. The students were initially shy, but then became much more relaxed, eagerly asking to take photos with the volunteers. The material value of the gifts might not be great, but what matters more is the affection, the care, and the effort put in to help those in need. Mrs. Luong Thi Cuong (54 years old) from Xop village, Dien Lam commune, smiled brightly: “We’ve been waiting for this for so long! We have blankets and clothes at home, but there are too many people, so it’s not enough. This time we’ve been staying in the huts and on the mountain slopes, and it’s very cold. Now that we have extra blankets and warm clothes, we feel much more at ease.” And Ms. Luong Thi Nga (born in 1981) said: “It’s so cold, I feel sorry for my elderly parents, but we don’t have money to buy anything. Hearing the village head say that the students came to give gifts made me so happy. My children also came with me to receive gifts for our family and grandparents.”

"Seeing the genuine smiles of the villagers, the excitement and innocence of the children, all the fatigue of the past few days vanished. The people here are so kind and hospitable," the students shared.

After a day, all the gifts had been distributed, and the students were invited by the villagers to stay and explore, "let's explore the mountains and streams first." At night, in the crisp coolness of the mountain forest, with a light drizzle falling, the blazing fire in the center united the young students and the villagers in a warm embrace. They sang, danced the bamboo pole dance, drank rice wine, and performed the traditional Thai Lam Vong dance. Everyone was intoxicated, intoxicated by the rice wine, and by the warm, sincere affection.

Ho Lai