I read the story of the “children in green shirts” bringing “Loving Meals” to the poor people of Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district and was deeply moved. Because recently we saw the story of a young girl spreading on social networks teaching how to live without having to work by using tricks to extort money from others. A very offensive way of life, if not to say it is a very evil mistake in the thinking of young people.
The "Love Meal" of the Youth Union members of Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An has been going on for 5 years. That time is enough to see that this is not a sudden start, or a rallying cry, but a persistent journey from the volunteering heart of the young people here. A beautiful lifestyle in the midst of the chaotic, chaotic times of too many tricks to become famous of many young people with illusions. 5 years of tirelessly bringing warm, humane meals to people in difficult circumstances in the poor countryside. Indeed, this is not easy for me. In addition to the story of making a living for young people, there is also the process of mobilizing, cooking and distributing. Sometimes we only know the results but cannot understand the journey of the young Union members in this countryside. It is a whole act of humanity that must be nurtured from many generations, from community awareness to the personal stories of each young person here.
Saturday morning at the end of the week, for many young people across the country, is a day of rest after a week of work, or it will be a trip here and there, or it can be a trip back to reunite with family after a long time apart. However, for the young people of Lien Thanh commune, they choose to go out and bring love through warm meals to the elderly, the lonely, and those in difficult circumstances throughout their commune. At the gathering point, they share the work from going to the market, to cooking, dividing the food, and giving it away. On that journey, for 5 years, they chose to contribute to the community, sacrificing some of their personal weekend joys.
There are mature generations who still return to “Loving Meals”, there are families with two generations joining hands for “Loving Meals” and there are also many people who are no longer young but voluntarily come to “Loving Meals”. Many people in Lien Thanh share eggs, rice, meat, and vegetables for “Loving Meals”. That is a solidarity that I think even the young members of Lien Thanh never thought of at the beginning. The success of “Loving Meals” is not only about warming up human relationships but also connecting many generations, shortening distances, and creating a decent community. People to people, shouldn’t we live for each other? That is the most beautiful humanity of this society.
I think the story of the “Loving Meal” of young people wearing the green uniform of the Youth Union needs to be expanded and spread more widely so that love can flow in the hearts of young people. So that young people themselves can see that living truly, living beautifully, living by their own honest labor is a life worth living. If our society can maintain the green color of humanity, we will certainly be a society full of love and harmony. If the society is full of naive young people teaching each other tricks and tricks to live a fake life, the result will be a selfish and distrustful society.
They are also young people, but if we consider the story of the Lien Thanh members with the young girl posting instructions for everyone to live a lazy, debauched life, we will naturally know where the youth is dedicated to society. And, perhaps, we need to eliminate the problem of young people teaching each other to live badly on social networks so that the beautiful lifestyle of the "green color of righteousness" can spread universally and widely. I believe that if we dye the green color of righteousness throughout this S-shaped land, one day, we will breathe the freshest and most peaceful breath.
Article: Tong Phuoc Bao
Illustration: Hoai Thu
