Spring Love - Charity program for poor ethnic minorities on Tet holiday

Hi Hivers in the Abundance Tribe community, today I want to write about a volunteer program, Spring Love, that my friends and I recently started in a small village of the Xo Dang ethnic minority. First, let me introduce Tet Holiday. Tet holiday is the biggest holiday in Vietnam for a year. It is the new year according to the lunar calendar. And this year, the Lunar New Year is January 22. We usually spend 10 days on this holiday. We take a break from work and spend time with family and friends. And throughout the country, you'll find a festive atmosphere everywhere.

I don't know when Tet holiday started, but it is the occasion that all Vietnamese look forward to in a year. Over time, Tet holiday is celebrated more and more thanks to economic development. However, there are still many disadvantaged areas where the poor still lack many things during Tet holiday. Therefore, this is also an opportunity for us to share with them so that they have a more cozy Tet holiday. And this year, my friends and I were determined to do a charity program in Vi R'Ngheo village, a small village deep in the forest of Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province.

We are young people from different parts of the country. We had a short break before Tet holiday, so we connected to make this program. Although the program had only lasted two days, we had spent the previous months doing the preparation work that included soliciting donations from donors, recruiting members, assigning tasks, and doing the work. remote preparation. Our charity event went on for two days with various activities, so I took a lot of pictures, I hope this doesn't bother you while reading my post.

Before coming to the village, we contacted the head of the village, so they already knew of our presence. Although it was raining when we arrived in the village, a lot of villagers came to the communal house to wait for us there and gave us a hand to hold the program, which made all the members in our team were very impressed. We set off from town early in the morning and arrived at the village by noon. Then the locals and our team members together carried things from the bus to the communal house where we held the charity event.

As soon as we arrived in the village, we felt the peaceful atmosphere there. The children greeted us with innocent and lovely smiles. The locals there are the Xo Dang ethnic minorities. Although they rarely meet people outside the village, they were very friendly and enthusiastic to help us. From the elderly to the children, everyone contributed a hand to help us organize the charity program. I must say they were so lovely.

The locals were very enthusiastic to give us a hand.

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As soon as everything was settled at the communal house, we took the time to eat a little before running the program. For convenience, we asked the villagers to gather firewood for a big fire to keep warm because the weather was quite cold there, and we cooked a large pot of water to cook instant noodles with sausages and make coffee and tea. Those are convenient options for charity events in a land as far away as this. Although our meal was very simple, we were all happy and excited for the upcoming program.

After a quick meal, we immediately started preparing for the program. According to the previous division, all the members of our team have been divided into many small groups to take on specific tasks. Some members are responsible for the preparation of food and drinks. Some other members clean, collect garbage and repaint public toilets. One group is responsible for the arrangement of tables and chairs, electricity, stage decoration and firewood. While another group prepared for gifts, toys and games. And the other group is responsible for sorting and displaying clothes for local people to choose. We all worked happily with the enthusiastic help of the village youths. This has made us more connected and get to know each other more.

The food team cooked corn, fried fish and meat balls and drinks including soft drinks, coffee and tea.

Some members collected trash and helped locals fix and repaint their public toilets. This is an activity to help raise awareness of local people about keeping the environment clean and using toilets.

One group took care of the arrangement of tables and chairs, electricity, stage decoration and firewood.

Another group was responsible for gifts, toys and games.

And the other group was responsible for sorting, displaying and distributing clothes to the villagers. These are the clothes that we have raised for donations from major cities, which we then handpicked, washed and folded.

With the efforts of the members and the enthusiastic support of the villagers, the preparations went smoothly. After the preparations were completed, the activities and booths took place simultaneously. What I did like about the villagers there was their politeness. In all activities, they line up in an orderly fashion. I really love the people there.

At the beauty area, the kids got their hair cut and designed, their hands and feet washed, and their nails cut.

The activity that attracted many children is already the game. They gathered in front of the communal house to play games prepared by the game team and receive gifts.

One image that I enjoyed during the time the children played the game was the children holding hands with each other and with the volunteers.

Meanwhile, people went to the gift counters to receive gifts, the food stalls to enjoy the food and drinks we prepared. We felt so happy because of the satisfied smiles of the villagers and the cozy atmosphere.

And in another corner, the atmosphere was even more bustling with the distribution of clothes. Living in a remote and isolated area, the villagers there rarely go out of the village to shop. So their clothes look very old. That's why they were very happy and eager to receive new clothes for Tet holiday.

It was a lively and fun afternoon filled with laughter. And our charity program went on until late at night. After the afternoon activities have ended. We let the villagers return to their homes for dinner and we also had time to prepare for the evening activities. The evening program included three main activities: cultural exchange, gift giving to households and bonfire.

The cultural exchange program includes musical performances from members of the art team and villagers. Even though it was raining, the performers burned with all their might and the audience cheered enthusiastically.

Interspersed with musical performances was the presentation of gifts to the households in the village. The total number of households in the village is 64. We arranged gifts including necessities for their life, which are financed by sponsors. We hope that with these gifts, families in the village will have a more cozy Tet.

And the last part of our evening activity was the bonfire. We lit a big fire in the middle of the communal house's yard. Our team members along with the villagers danced around the fire for hours happily. Laughter, singing and music were heard in the distance between the mountains and the forest. That night many people did not sleep because of the joy of receiving gifts and the joy of giving love.

Tet holiday is approaching, and I was very happy with my friends to organize a meaningful activity for the Xo Dang ethnic minority people in Vi R'Ngheo village. I would like to thank the warm welcome of the villagers and the enthusiastic contribution of our team members. And thank you so much for taking the time to read my post. I hope this post will spread love to everyone. Wish you a good day.

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