 Tran Dang Van Tai (first row, second from left) and other outstanding young citizens of Ho Chi Minh City in 2021. (Photo: Ngoc Phuong) |
A corner of the 18-square-meter lodging room where Tai and his mother live is covered with certificates of merit and academic certificates Tai has received.
Tran Thi Hien, Tai’s mother, says her family is poor and no one in the family has as good an education as Tai. Mrs. Hien sells breakfasts. In the afternoon, she sells “fun” food to earn extra income.
In the morning, Tai gets up early to help his mother prepare ingredients and arrange tables and chairs before going to school. After taking the university-college entrance exam in 2021, Tai was accepted by several universities.
Because he likes the automobile industry and because he wanted to choose a low-tuition school to minimize the burden on his family, Tai enrolled in the Thu Duc College of Technology.
After completing high school, Tai joined youth volunteers supporting the fight against the epidemic in his locality. During the peak of the epidemic, Tai was away from home 3 or 4 days at a time and often came home very late at night.
“At the time, Tai had only one vaccine shot. I was very worried but he kept reassuring me, so I felt more secure,” his mother recalled.
When the number of COVID-19 infections reached its peak in July, Tai joined teams to take samples, help out at vaccination sites, and participate in community work at his college.
Tai said he will never forget delivering support packages to workers and people living in lodging houses in Thu Duc City.
“I hope I can make a small contribution to help others and ease the burden on frontline healthcare workers. I am happy to have been honored as an outstanding young citizen of Ho Chi Minh City. I will continue to help the community,” said Tai.
 Tai attends an online class. (Photo: Trong Nhan) |
The number of COVID-19 infections has dropped in Ho Chi Minh city, but Tai still takes samples for the most vulnerable groups and helps the mobile clinics care for COVID patients at home.
Truong Minh Tuoc Nguyen, Vice Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Youth Union, says Tai is a role model for realizing youthful ambitions.
He studies very hard but still finds time to be active in social work, Nguyen said, adding “Ho Chi Minh city’s Youth Union has always encouraged young people to study well and take part in social work. We hope Van Tai will inspire other young people to work harder for the community.”