Over recent years, Da Nang has seen the implementation of a number of charitable programmes and activities to help local disadvantaged people.

Mr Thanh and poor children in Nam Tra Mi District

28-year-old Nguyen Van Huu Hieu recently placed a wardrobe in front of a house at 35 Thai Phien in Hai Chau District with the aim of providing free clothes for those in need.

Hieu said that, in the past, he gave his used clothes to local street children.  However, some of them felt very inferior because of their difficult circumstances, and they were reluctant to accept the donations of clothing despite being in desperate need of them.  In an attempt to deal with this obstacle, the kind-hearted man decided to locate a special wardrobe containing free clothes for poor people.  This initiative has stirred up emotions in many people and they are now happy to donate their used clothes to the poor.

Hieu reports that many of the needy people now feel comfortable enough to choose winter clothes from the wardrobe during spells of cold weather.  Currently, there are up to 5 volunteers who are in charge of sorting the clothes into different categories, and they also help disabled people choose suitable clothes.

In a similar vein, many customers of an eatery called Nhung Ot at 10 Pham Quang Anh in Son Tra District are very deeply impressed with charitable programmes.  The eatery’s owner, 31-year-old Ho Ngoc Thanh, has displayed a sign, written in Vietnamese, which reads: “10 % of each bill will go to the eatery’s heart surgery fund”.

To date, this special fund has helped to pay for heart surgery for 5 poor children from Quang Nam Province’s Nam Tra My District, with each receiving between 7 and 10 million VND in aid.  Their heart operations took place at the Da Nang General Hospital and the city’s Paediatrics and Obstetrics Hospital. 

In addition, Mr Thanh and his employees provide large volumes of rice for free to poor people and those living in remote and mountainous areas, and they usually give free portions of cooked rice to the needy on the 1^st and 15^th days of each lunar month.  Furthermore, the emotionally-rich man also donates monthly aid of 2 million VND to each of 5 children from the city’s Care Centre for Poor Children.

Over recent years, the local authorities have implemented many practical programmes to encourage drug addicts to voluntarily attend local drug rehabilitation programmes and to help them confidently re-integrate into the community. 

Most notably, 24 drug addicts from Son Tra District’s Tho Quang Ward have been offered trips to the 05-06 Education and Vocational Training Centre, the Ba Na Hills Resort, and the Son Tra Peninsula. 

The meaningful trips aim to help them raise their awareness of the significance of drug rehabilitation programmes and to keep in mind that their family and the whole community are always willing to help them overcome their difficulties and ‘turn over a new leaf’ by stopping their use of drugs and making positive changes to their lives.