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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

From cancer survivor to marathon runner

The Saigon Times

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After undergoing multiple rounds of radiation therapy and chemotherapy for cancer treatment, Ngo Lam, a resident of Vung Tau City, is determined to bounce back by running and training at the gym.

He was diagnosed with blood cancer from years of drinking alcohol in 2017 and could survive for three months. After undergoing 31 rounds of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, he was devastated to witness the toll on his body. 

However, after walking and running to fight cancer, he was able to complete a five-kilometer race within six months. It might seem ordinary for healthy individuals but is significantly challenging for a cancer patient, Lam told thanhnien.vn.

Lam’s running routine has helped his health recover, but he still needs further monitoring. After fighting cancer for three years, he now plans to participate in a full marathon race in Gia Lai Province.

“For those who unfortunately have cancer, believe in yourself, don’t give up, and strive for good health,” Lam shared.

Book and Reading Culture Day in Hanoi

The National Library of Vietnam organized the 2023 Book and Reading Culture Day in Hanoi on April 19, attracting thousands of book lovers and representatives from large publishing houses, libraries, embassies and foreign diplomatic agencies.

With the theme “Books for Me, for You”, the 2023 Book and Reading Culture Day was an important cultural event that contributed to developing a distinctive Vietnamese culture, honored the value of books and affirmed the importance of books in life.

At the “Aspirations to Reach New Heights” exhibition, the organizers introduced 1,000 books on four main topics to visitors. The topics included Vietnamese cultural outlines and the viewpoints of the party on cultural development, stages of Vietnamese culture, National Book Awards and contributions to the development of reading culture and books and reading culture – awareness, innovation and creativity.

The event also featured many exciting activities, such as meetings with authors, storytelling and drawing competitions, according to dantri.com.vn.

Free dormitory for needy students

Seeing many Cor ethnic students having to get up at 4 a.m. to travel 20-30 kilometers to school, Tran Anh and his wife, Nguyen Thi Hai, decided to build a dormitory on their 200-square-meter land in Nui Thanh Town, Quang Nam Province, in June 2022 to offer accommodation for such students free of charge.

The dormitory has six rooms, 14-20 square meters each. Each room is equipped with Wi-Fi network, beds, tables and chairs, bookshelves, electric fans and cookers for 2-4 students. The couple has also bought 10 bicycles for the students to go to school or to the market. The dormitory is now home to 19 students, most of them are Cor ethnic students from Nui Thanh District’s three mountainous communes of Tam Tra, Tam Son and Tam Thach.

Anh told vnexpress.net that he and his wife built this dormitory to support poor students who live far from their schools and had to get up early in the morning to go to school, or had to rent a lodging near their schools. The couple contacted local authorities of the three mountainous communes to find needy students for their dormitory.

Anh and Hai have been doing charitable activities since 2009. They donated necessities to poor households in mountainous areas, and to orphanages and flood victims in the province. They also bought an ambulance to transport thousands of poor patients to and from hospitals gratis.

A man loves rearing weird animals

Pham Minh Duc has turned his café in Ca Mau City in the southernmost province of Ca Mau into a “mini tropical forest” by rearing eagles, hawks, owls, parrots, iguanas, frogs, various fishes, squirrels, ants, and so on.

Duc told tienphong.vn that he began to raise an eagle when he was a university student. Ten years later, he raised many more weird animals and opened a unique café in the city that he named Pet Café. The café is a vast place for guests to indulge themselves in a mini tropical forest ambiance and watch strange animals reared there while sipping a favorite drink. This is also a venue for children to learn about nature and thus keep them away from sticking to electronic gadgets.

Aside from running Pet Café, Duc has also established the Birds of Prey Club with a view to exchanging and sharing experiences in rearing and reproduction of precious predatory birds, the number of which is decreasing in nature.

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