Receiving 72,818 votes from readers of the Vietnamnet Newspaper, Ho Hoang Liem, 34, who is Chairman of the Da Nang Pink Smile Club, became one of three inspirational figures in 2022 among 10 nominates.

The mobile cinema is installed by the Pink Smile Club at the area of Noc Ong Du, Ong Cuong and Ong Thuong in Tra Van Commune, Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam Province. Photo courtesy of character

Happiness, joy and peace are what Liem summed up after 12 years of doing social and charity work.

Since he was a student of the city-based Duy Tan University, Liem, a male resident of An Hai Bac Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang, has enthusiastically participated in the municipal Youth Union-organised volunteer activities.

Charity trips to highlands helped Liem realise local residents’ high demand for electricity. In places without electricity, children do not have the opportunity to access modern technical facilities such as televisions, computers, and music. Also, they find it very difficult to imagine many things and landscapes outside the mountains and their villages.

“I asked them if they knew the sea, and most of them shook their heads. I asked if I knew what cartoons were, many of them were bewildered. That's reason why my club cherishes the idea of bringing solar power and mobile cinema to the mountainous areas” Liem said.

Established in 2009, but in 2019, the Pink Smile Club was determined to install the first solar panels in Village 5, Tra Don Commune, Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam Province. At that time, he and the club members "carried" each solar panel to walk through many passes and slopes.

Despite hard work and long road, the club members burst with joy as the solar panel system was installed and the movie projector turned on.

Till date, the Pink Smile Club has installed 16 solar panel systems and 5 mobile cinemas in the provinces of Quang Nam, Ha Giang, Quang Tri, Kon Tum and Binh Dinh.

According to Mr. Liem, due to long distances and high installation costs for solar panels and mobile cinemas, his club must prepare carefully in terms of funding and people.

In particular, among the five aforementioned mobile cinema installation locations, the point in Lung Chu Village, Thuong Phung Commune, Meo Vac District, Ha Giang Province is the furthest.

The club conducted a trip to Lung Chu Village in the last 5 days of August, 2022. From Ha Giang City, the club traveled more than 220km to Lung Chu Village by motorbikes and a cargo van.

Mr. Liem said the cinema in Lung Chu Village serves more than 200 Hmong pupils. 170 of them are preschool and primary school pupils, whilst the rest are those who have yet to go to school.

“Lung Chu Village is located deep in the mountains, and there is no electricity, no phone signal, no TV. Therefore, people's life is difficult. With the installation of a mobile cinema in the venue, we hope to open up a new future and new goals for the children here”, he added.

Normally, for each mobile cinema, the club prepares a projector, a screen, speakers, a generator, a power converter and batteries with a total value of VND20-25 million, with a lifespan of 8-10 years.

What Mr. Liem and the club are most happy about is the positive feedback from teachers and pupils. The cinema also supports teachers in conducting lectures, through documents, videos, and vivid images.

Mr. Liem hopes that in the future, some children who used to sit in cinemas in remote villages will find the opportunity to go down the mountain and bring knowledge back to serve their homeland.

In addition to supporting solar power, cinemas, during highland trips, the Pink Smile Club donates pants, warm clothes, books, school supplies, toys, confectionery, instant noodles, medicines and vitamins for children and residents.

In such meaningful trips, there is always the figure of Liem, a young man with a strong physique and a sunny smile.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by M.DUNG