Workers donate blood and turn boarding houses into a ‘second home’

More than 400 workers and employees lined up early on Sept. 6 to donate blood at Shyang Hung Cheng Co. in Thuận An Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. Some were giving blood for the first time, while others had returned repeatedly.

Mai Thanh Tuyền was making his 10th donation. He said contributing to the blood supply was a simple act that people could undertake when they were healthy. “I see blood donation as something simple that anyone can share when they are in good health,” he said. “It is also a way to help doctors save lives through a simple action.”

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I see blood donation as something simple that anyone can share when they are in good health.

Tuyền added that people living in a community had many ways to support one another. Besides donating blood, he said, he had sometimes helped workers facing serious illnesses.

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It is also a way to help doctors save lives through a simple action.

At Cultural Boarding Area No. 58 in An Phú Ward, boarding-house owner Nguyễn Xuân Nhựu has spent years supporting his tenants. He transformed an area once filled with waste into a clean, green shared space and encouraged residents to maintain it together. He also built a communal awning where workers’ children could play, study and join community activities.

The efforts helped the boarding area become the first cultural boarding area recognized in An Phú Ward. “Nothing I do is particularly big,” Nhựu said. “I just want to help my brothers and sisters feel a little more warmth in life, so this boarding house can become a ‘second home’ for workers far from their hometowns.”

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Nothing I do is particularly big. I just want to help my brothers and sisters feel a little more warmth in life, so this boarding house can become a ‘second home’ for workers far from their hometowns.