A decade of kindness: Đồng Nai’s free shop helps people in need

Even during Vietnam’s National Day holiday, the free shop at Tan Xuan 1 community house continued welcoming people in need. Every Sunday morning, lottery-ticket sellers, informal workers and other struggling residents come to choose essential goods in exchange for what organizers call a smile.

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The free shop has operated for 10 years to help struggling people in the neighborhood.

The outdoor stall offers vegetables, fruit, rice, instant noodles and porridge. Members of the local women’s group collect and prepare the supplies, sometimes working from the previous night or starting before dawn. Some bring produce bought at Dong Xoai Market, while others contribute vegetables from their home gardens. Donors provide rice, noodles, porridge and other necessities.

Hoàng Thị Xoáy, a representative of the Tan Xuan 1 neighborhood party branch, said the free shop had operated for 10 years with help from local donors and women’s group members. Visitors can select the items they need themselves, rather than receive a fixed package.

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Every Sunday I come here to get essential goods. The women are very cheerful and friendly. The gift is not very large, but it comes regularly and helps ease our difficulties when money is tight.

The shop also has a free secondhand clothing section. Residents have found clothing for family members and relatively new school uniforms for their children. Nguyễn Thị Ngoan, one of the initiative’s founders, said it began as an effort to share with people in difficult circumstances and had become a familiar address for vulnerable residents after a decade.

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The initial purpose was simply to help and share with people in difficult circumstances through a spirit of connecting love and spreading kindness. After 10 years, the shop has become a familiar address for disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the area.