02:06, 29/06/2020

Warm-hearted meal for only VND5,000

Poor people working as lottery ticket sellers, motorcycle taxi drivers, etc in Cam Ranh City can get rice with stew and soup with only VND5,000 from a charity rice shop which opens to poor people to partly share their financial burdens..

Lottery ticket sellers, motorcycle taxi drivers, etc in Cam Ranh City can get rice with stew and soup with only VND5,000 from a charity rice shop which opens to poor people to partly share their financial burdens.
 
Regular customers
 
We arrived at the rice shop (330 Pham Van Dong Street, Cam Loi Ward, Cam Ranh City) one day in June at 10:30 when customers began to come. There were more customers at 11:00. Most of them were street sellers, motorcycle taxi drivers and others earning a living from cash-in-hand jobs. Regularly, the shop serves 2 stews, 2 stir-fries and soup. The menu on that day included pork or fish stew, stir-fried water spinach with garlic, tofu, stir-fried bitter melon with eggs and squash soup. Besides a plate of rice with 3 or 4 dishes, customers can get more rice and soup if they want. When finishing their meals, customers clear off their tables and put money into a donation box. 
 
 

 

1
Many customers come here to give support to the shop.
 
 
Nguyen Thi Dieu, 55, Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen, a lottery ticket seller says, “Many people get into lottery ticket trading so it is quite difficult to earn money from the work these days, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are struggling with the house rent and expense for daily meals. Therefore, sometimes, I just had instant noodles all day. Since the charity shop opened, we don’t have to worry about daily food cost. I have lunch here and get another for dinner. Some days, I did not get enough money. The shop owner let me owe for the food. I could pay the following day. Besides, used clothes are also available in front of the shop for anyone who needs them.
 
Coming to the shop are not only poor people but also those willingly donating VND50,000-VND100,000 to the box. Everyday, the shop serves 200 – 250 portions for needy people, 80% of whom are disadvantaged people with daily food vouchers given by the shop.
 
Volunteering and contribution
 
The VND5,000 charity rice shop was established and opened in early May by Nguyen Thi Phuong Trang in Loi Hoa, Cam Loi Ward. Earlier, Nguyen Thi Phuong Trang herself had prepared 100 boxes of vegetarian rice offered to the poor and those out of work, including lottery ticket sellers following social distancing due to COVID-19. She sought for volunteers to help her. Knowing about her good deeds, some people have come to help her, give time and donate money. Therefore, free portions have increased to 200-300/day.
 
Since then, some lottery ticket sellers keep coming here even after the social distancing order was eased. Therefore, she decided to open this VND5,000 rice shop after learning about how charity rice shops operate in Ho Chi Minh City. Supported by her family, she rent a house to open her shop in early May. The landlord willingly returns her VND500,000/ month to buy food.
 
She has mobilized 14 volunteers to work with her. The shop is open from 10am to 12am everyday. Men volunteers help with heavy work, food processing as well as food delivery to old lonely people in neighboring areas. Besides regular volunteers, students in the ward also join hands to help the shop at weekends.
 
Nguyen Ngoc Dan Thanh, a volunteer says she works as a motorcycle taxi driver. Her husband is sick and she becomes a breadwinner of the family with 2 school-age children. People can contribute money or give time to the shop. She volunteers to help with the service and she hopes the shop remains open for a long time so that poor people can have more cheap delicious meals.
 
Reportedly, some people have donated rice, money, some retailers have provided fish and vegetables. Nguyen Thi Phuong Trang says in the first month, the shop did not have to buy rice but spent VND1.5 million/ day on foodstuff so she added VND10 million to the food cost. She hopes to receive more support from others to keep the shop open for a long time, helping provide delicious cheap meals for poor workers.
 
Cam Van
Translated by N.T