Volunteers in the northern province of Ninh Binh cook hundreds of free meals every Sunday morning for poor patients and their families, offering relief to those struggling with the cost of long-term medical treatment.
The volunteer group in Thien Truong Ward, Ninh Binh Province, prepares about 400 meal boxes each week for patients receiving care at Nam Dinh General Hospital.
Many patients said that those meals not only ease the financial burden but also give their families the strength to continue their treatment journey.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet, head of the volunteer group, said the program has been running for 15 years. The initiative began after she witnessed patients skipping meals or cutting food costs to pay for medicine while caring for a relative in the hospital, she told the Vietnamplus news site.
Inspired by those experiences, Tuyet’s family began cooking and distributing meals to patients at hospitals in the former Nam Dinh city area in 2011. What started with only a handful of volunteers has since grown into a larger community effort, drawing support from many local residents.
Cyclists ride cross-country to raise funds for disabled children
A group of Vietnamese amateur cyclists in their 50s and 60s has completed a 2,350-kilometer ride from Hanoi to HCMC in 20 days, raising more than VND67 million for blind and disabled children along the way.
The group, led by Tran Van Hung, 56, started with five riders in Hanoi before others from central and southern provinces joined.
Hung said the cyclists and two supporters initially contributed VND29 million, with nearly VND40 million more donated during the journey by relatives, friends, and others.
On March 8, the group donated VND30 million to Dong Tam Social Protection Center in Gia Lai. A week later, after reaching HCMC, they handed the remaining funds to Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School.
“We are all over 50 and only now could we make this dream trip happen,” Hung told the Thanh Nien news site. “We wanted to send children a message: dare to dream and dare to do it.”
Foreign tourists try farm life, buffalo rides outside Hanoi
Foreign tourists visiting Hanoi are increasingly choosing countryside tours that offer hands-on farming experiences and a glimpse of traditional village life beyond the capital.
At Duong Lam Ancient Village, about 40 kilometers west of Hanoi, visitors can feed cows, pick fruit, catch fish with traditional nets, and learn how local foods such as tofu and fermented soybean sauce are made.
The tours were developed by local resident Ha Ke Dung in partnership with travel companies and have operated for about a year. A one-day trip costs from around VND700,000 per person.
Visitors can also tour historic houses and see the area’s distinctive laterite stone fences. They can also enter local homes to watch tofu being made, learn the traditional process of fermenting soybean sauce, or sample rustic local treats such as che lam cake.
“They can talk with local residents to better understand their customs and way of life, and nothing is staged or scripted. They can also feed buffaloes and use traditional scoop nets to catch fish in ponds, just like real farmers,” Dung told the Vnexpress news site.
Khmer communities celebrate New Year in HCMC
Hundreds of Khmer people living in HCMC have gathered at a pagoda to celebrate Chol Chnam Thmay, their traditional New Year festival, seeking a sense of home while preserving cultural traditions far from their native provinces.
From early morning, worshippers arrived at Tong Kim Quang Pagoda in the city’s Phu Giao Commune carrying incense, candles, and fruit for prayers marking the three-day holiday, which ran from April 14 to April 16.
At Tong Kim Quang Pagoda, rituals were conducted in a solemn yet warm atmosphere, according to the Thanh Nien news site. The sound of chanting echoed steadily, incense drifted through the air, and children played in the courtyard. Simple but heartfelt meals were offered, with some bringing cakes and fruit and others contributing small donations.
Chol Chnam Thmay is the traditional New Year of the Khmer people, who mainly live in southern Vietnam. It is their most important annual celebration and is closely tied to Khmer cultural and spiritual life.
