Spring Volunteer Campaign 2023: Students of International 2+2 Joint Programs Spreading Love and Protecting the Environment

On December 23, 2022, the Center for International Education, USSH, VNU-HCM in collaboration with the Youth Union of Long Hoa Commune, Can Gio District, Ho Chi Minh City organized the 2023 Spring Volunteer Campaign with the following activities: Giving Tet gifts to impoverished households in the local region, Cleaning the beach of Dong Hoa hamlet, and visiting the Can Gio Mangrove Forest and Biosphere Reserve.

 

Students give gifts and New Year wishes to households with difficult circumstances in Long Hoa commune, Can Gio district. (Photo: Thanh Ngan, Tinh Thi)

Before the gifting ceremony at Dong Hoa Cultural House, the students prepared meaningful presents including daily necessities for the locals. Understanding the hardships of the people in the city's only coastal district, especially households with difficult circumstances in Long Hoa commune, the students hoped that these small gifts would be a source of spiritual encouragement to the locals. This is also "The value that We - Vietnamese people often share on Tet holiday: We share what belongs to joy, what belongs to affection, and things that belong to the community spirit" shared by Mr. Tran Nam, Deputy Director of the Center for International Education, at the gifting ceremony. 

The volunteer group takes photos with the locals (Photo: Thanh Ngan)

Following the message of the campaign, the students helped the locals clean up plastic waste at the coast of Dong Hoa hamlet. This activity not only contributes to the recovery of the marine environment but also helps people understand the negative impact of plastic waste, thereby raising awareness of environmental preservation.

Students are divided into groups to collect trash on the beach. (Photo: Thanh Ngan, Tinh Thi)

The group takes photos at Dong Hoa hamlet beach. (Photo: Tinh Thi)

In the afternoon of the same day, students got to experience a study tour at the Can Gio Mangrove Forest and Biosphere Reserve (Can Gio MF&BR). Recognized by UNESCO as the first Biosphere Reserve in Vietnam in 2000, the Can Gio mangroves not only hold ecological and environmental significance but are also vital for Ho Chi Minh City's efforts in reviving the lives of the locals and the flora and fauna on a land that was once contaminated with toxic chemicals during the war against the United States.

Pictures of the students visiting Can Gio Mangrove Forest and Biosphere Reserve. (Photo: Thanh Ngan, Tinh Thi)

Group photo at Can Gio Mangrove Forest and Biosphere Reserve. (Photo: Tinh Thi)

The trip was a memorable experience for students of the international 2+2 joint program as well as for the locals in Long Hoa commune, Can Gio district, Ho Chi Minh City. The Spring Volunteer Campaign is one of the practical activities organized by the Center for International Education to help students nourish their souls, develop themselves, and prepare them for their transfer in the next two years.

Article: Lan Tien, Kim Anh