To welcome in New Year 2023, many young people in Da Nang decided to stay up all night to cook porridge for patients at the Mental Hospital in Hoa Khanh Bac Ward, Lien Chieu District, instead of taking a rest.

Le Xuan Trung, a member of the Da Nang Hope Volunteer Club, is building a fire to cook porridge.

Around 11:00pm on December 31, 2022, when the whole neighborhood fell asleep, a small rental house on Dong Tri 4 Street, Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District, was still lit and started to become busier by the sound of conversation, the clank of pots and pans and the crackling sound of a fire.

This house is the cooking place of the ‘Meals of Love’ charity programme held by the Da Nang Hope Volunteer Club every month. Funding for the programme comes from the club's fundraising activities and donations from benefactors.

In the bustling atmosphere, young people gathered together to cook porridge. Some people rinsed rice, whilst the others picked vegetables. Occasionally, each person contributes a story to dispel the coldness and quietness of the winter night.

While stirring the porridge pot on the fire, Le Xuan Trung, 22, a student of the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, said cooking and chatting with everyone helped me relieve stress and pressure in studying. I hope these free portions of porridge will bring a little joy to patients.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Vi An, who is the same age as Trung, confined despite being busy, she still arranged time to participate in such charity activities with everyone. For An, this activity aims to help patients feel the love from the smallest actions.

Among the young people participating in the cooking activity, some are club members, whilst some are not members but want to make a small contribution to make something meaningful for local patients.

22-year-old Nguyen Thi Hieu, a student of the Da Nang University of Foreign Language Studies, who is a leader of the club, remarked that these free portions of porridge are like a wish that the club members want to send to the patients. Hopefully, they will get well soon and return to normal lives in order to celebrate Tet with their families.

Hieu also expressed her hope that the number of meals we cook will decrease, which probably means that many patients have been discharged from the hospital and returned to their families.

At nearly 5:00 am on January 1, 2023, 220 portions of hot porridge were delivered by the club members to patients at the Da Nang Mental Hospital. After a sleepless night, each person's face showed a tired look, but they felt happier than ever for what they did.

Each member is in charge of a task to speed up the cooking progress.

All stages are completed in early morning.

At around 5:00 am, the club members urgently packed porridge in order to deliver it to the Da Nang Mental Hospital before 6:30am.

Hot portions of porridge are waiting to be delivered to mental patients.

Reporting by THU DUYEN - Translating by M.DUNG