EMERGENCY APPEAL TO SUPPORT PEOPLE AFFECTED BY COVID-19
IN SAIGON, BINH DUONG, AND DONG NAI
I am Rev. Paul Nguyen Thai Son, S.J, currently residing and working at the Provincial Curia of the Vietnamese Jesuit Province located at 19 Street 5, Quarter 2, Linh Trung, Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City.
After consulting with my team, I am, writing this letter to you to seek your assistance in taking emergency actions to support individuals heavily affected by Covid-19 in Saigon and neighboring areas.
Through social media, you might hear about serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern Vietnam, particularly in Saigon, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai in recent months. The number of positive cases in these three areas, according to Vnexpress online newspaper issued on 03 September 2021, has surpassed 380,645; with the rate of deaths reaching hundreds everyday. The statistics of total cases, recovered cases, and fatalities are shown in the attached photo.
The consequence of COVID-19 is not only shown in the rising number of positive cases and fatalities, it is also demonstrated in hunger amongst all poor households in affected areas. By poor households, we mean that they are workers, teachers, constructors, lottery sellers, freelancers, who can only earn enough money for daily needs. If they work hard, they can save money for emergencies or illnesses.
Sadly, after being unemployed for three months, they had to spend their last pennies to pay the rent, daily food, and so on. The thought of dying of hunger is no longer a far-fetched one.
Currently, my team and I are running a project named “SỮA CHO BÉ & CHÁO TẶNG NGƯỜI CAO NIÊN” (Milk for Children and Nutritious Soups for the Elderly) and collaborating with “SIÊU THỊ 0Đ” (0 VND Supermarket).
1. “Milk for Children & Nutritious Soups for the Elderly” project.
Children and the elderly are most affected by COVID-19, especially in terms of health.
During the pandemic, poor parents (from the poor households mentioned above) haven’t had enough money to buy milk for their children. Even their babies are malnourished too because the mothers lacked the nutrition to produce milk for breastfeeding.
At the basic level of life, the elderly need age-appropriate meals and money for medications. We realized that the elderlies in question followed their children to the City to earn a living. If they are still in good health, they can go out and sell lottery tickets; if not, they have to be dependent on their children. In this challenging situation of life caused by Covid-19, the elderly are suffering from a lack of their most basic survival needs.
To support the children and the elderly, we established Milk for Children & Nutritious Soups for the Elderly Project, which has been in operation for over a month.
Until recently, our project has fundraised 700,000,000 VND (equal to 30,400 USD) from local sources and assisted about 1,500 families with an approximate budget allocation of 400,000 VND (equal to 17 USD) per family.
For more information, kindly visit and follow our Facebook page with the link attached below:
https://www.facebook.com/Banhdabalang//
2. “0 VND Supermarket” project
Aside from “Sữa Cho Bé và Cháo Tặng Người Cao Niên'' Project, we would like to introduce the unique supermarket concept with zero cost, “Siêu thị 0 VND” (0 VND Supermarket). Founded by some Catholic Youth in Saigon, the 0 VND supermarket started its operation from the time the city was locked down last June 16, 2021 until the present time. The project implementers of the project mobilize contributions from different donors: vegetables from Lam Dong, Tay Ninh, and Hoc Mon areas. Besides that, they appeal to sponsors and donors to contribute basic necessities such as rice for the affected families.
So far, “0 VND Supermarket” has given to vulnerable families 400 tons of vegetables, 2,000 packages of goods to homeless people; 4,000 meals to individuals in quarantine areas, 100 boxes of milk, 22 boxes of baby milk powder, 50 tons of rice, 2,000 small boxes of noodles, 200 big boxes of noodles, and 20,000 pieces of eggs. Recently, they transported the zero-cost food for the medical staff and volunteers at field hospitals and medical tents.
Please visit this link for more information on “Siêu thị 0Đ”:
https://www.facebook.com/teamngheo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-7HnS9hR5g
Dear Sir/ Madam,
The COVID-19 pandemic has spread throughout the whole country now. Unfortunately, our domestic donors have become victims of the deadly virus also. Therefore, they cannot continue to support the projects mentioned above anymore. The local sources for the projects are ... in distress!
Through this letter, we would like to request your support to our ongoing charity work so that we are able to help the affected families, who are desperately in need of emergency aid to overcome their difficult situations.
Kindly send your donation via Interbank transfer to the bank account of the Vietnam Province of the Society of Jesus attached below:
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous share in this work of good hearts.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the whole team
Paul NGUYEN THAI SON, S.J; Project Implementer