As more than a million students sat for the national high schoolexam on July 1, volunteers with the programme Give Strength During ExamSeason were busy helping candidates from other provinces who came to thebig cities to take the exam.
Thousands of free meals weredistributed at dozens of exam locations all over Hanoi on the first day.Although these meals were small, they were full of human sentiment,which was shared with examinees from disadvantaged families.
Hanoi charities like Com 5,000 (5000 VND Meals for Charity) and Hao Tam (Kind Heart) provided the meals.
The volunteers brought these meals to exam locations, and distributed them to examinees and their relatives.
Accordingto the Hanoi Youth Union, as many as 12,000 volunteers participated.Their main duty was working at the bus and train stations to receive andhelp candidates.
"This is the third year we've conducted theprogramme, which was widely supported by candidates and their parents,"said Bui Quang Long, manager of the group Com 5,000.
This yearthe group plans to distribute about 3,000 free meals to examinees.Volunteers will also hand out water, bread and paper fans during theexam.
To prepare the meals, Long, his partners and nearly 200volunteers bought the materials in the afternoon and then cooked themthat night to make sure they didn't rot. It needed to be prepared by 7a.m. to be shipped to exam locations.
Despite the hot weather, volunteers tried their best to make sure the meals include necessary nutrition.
About3,200 examinees have registered to receive meals at 18 exam locationssuch as the University of Civil Engineering, the Trade Union Universityand the Water Resources University.
"I want to make a smallcontribution to help examinees from other provinces," said Tran ThiThanh, a final-year student at the Hanoi Teachers' Training College.
"I received the same help when I took the exam several years ago," she said.
Thegroup originally planned to distribute 2,000 meals, but it decided toincrease to 3,200 meals due to the high number of registered students,said Nguyen Thu Dao, the group's main chef.
He hoped thecommunity would learn more about the group after the exam, and that moreand more kind-hearted people would be willing to support the group inits other charity activities.
"Students' happiness when receiving the free meals inspired me to continue my job, despite the difficulties," Dao said.
5,000VND Meals for Charity was launched in 2012. It is a volunteer clubaffiliated with the Hanoi Youth Union. The target beneficiaries are poorpatients, unemployed and working poor, and vulnerable orphans.
Takingher daughter to take part in the national high school exam, Tran ThiDong nearly melted when she received a free meal voucher at theUniversity of Natural Sciences' exam location. She expressed her thanksto the programme and the charities that had helped her and many poorpeople like her enjoy simple happiness.
"I hope my daughter passes the exam with high scores and is able to take some meaningful actions in the future," Dong said.
DaoHong Trang, head of Kind Heart, said over the past few days she and agroup of 20 volunteers had been busy calling for food donations andpreparing other kitchen utensils for the cooking.
Kind Heartprepared about 400 meals and cups of lemonade every day for examineesand their relatives at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology'sexam location, she said.
"We were once examinees so we canunderstand the hardship of students coming to Hanoi from otherprovinces," said Ngoc, a member of Kind Heart. "As such, we worktogether to offer free portions for them." -VNA
