Saigon residents find ways to help pandemic-hit brethren

A "zero dong" market has been open for around one week at the corner of Le Van Linh and Nguyen Tat Thanh streets in District 4. Funded by different sources, the market is operated by local authorities and volunteers, providing different types of food items to the needy.

Residents stand in line and maintain a safe distance from each other as they wait to get into the market area. Everyone is required to wear masks, sanitize their hands and have their temperature checked.

McClain from the U.S. said a friend suggested that he joins the volunteer team at the market. Seeing how joyful people are when receiving the free goods, he also feels happy, McClain said.

Anyone visiting the market, which opens twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon, is given a coupon.

Six-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung receives two wax gourds from a volunteer.
"I run a street-side drink stall and for over a month now my income has non-existent because the outbreak has forced more and more people to stay at home. These food items will help us save on our daily meals," said Nhung’s mother.

For one coupon, each person can get a package that includes rice, cooking oil, fresh food and face masks worth around VND200,000 ($8.67).
At the beginning, the market let people choose whatever they want, but in order to ensure that those who arrive later can still get enough essential goods, the market operator decided to divide things equally for every aid recipient.

At the Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward of Thu Duc City, a zero dong supermarket has been open since last Sunday.
Local authorities issue around 80 coupons each day for poor families in the ward. On the coupon is a specific timeline for each family to send one person over to the supermarket. This is to ensure that just three customers showing up at the same time, so as to avoid any gathering that heightens the risk of spreading the novel coronavirus.
"We want to do something to help because many people have lost their jobs during the new outbreak and have had to struggle every day to get a daily meal for their families," said Huynh Van Tan, a supermarket manager.

A staff collects the coupon and makes sure each person picks up goods worth VND200,000.
This supermarket expects to give out 600 coupons for 200 families in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward.

Over the past week, members of Tan Sa Chau Church in Tan Binh District have installed plastic tubes to provide free meals to the poor.
Every day, 1,000 meals are sent over the tubes and people can pick them up from outside the church, helping maintain distance and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

In many cases, those coming for the free meals are homeless people, scrap vendors, xe om drivers and lottery ticket sellers.

A free-food fridge has been placed in front of a house at 100 Ung Van Khiem Street in Binh Thanh District for around 10 days now.
Anyone can place food in this fridge and those in need can take what they want. A volunteer is in charge of overseeing the proceedings to ensure safety and order.
"Volunteers of the group put the food here first and then other people came to contribute more," said Nguyen Tuan Khoi, who initiated the free-food fridge project.

A local woman, An, brought some food to the fridge on Monday morning.
"I think this is really nice because we can preserve the food and people can contribute according to their abilities."