Rice plate on the wall
ĐẮK LẮK — Thousands of free lunches have been provided for poor, underprivileged patients at 一 四 hospitals in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk, inspired by the story of two cups of coffee – “One On The Wall” – set in Venice, Italy.
Y Tó and his wife from Yang Keh Village in Krông Bông District are some of the dialysis patients who have become beneficiaries.
He holds his wife’s hand while they enjoy a free lunch together in the canteen at Buôn Ma Thuột General Hospital.
The couple are given meal tickets that allow them to choose hot plates of rice mixed with the vegetables and meat.
His wife visits the hospital three times a week for dialysis treatment. Tó said they always ate their lunch at the canteen thanks to the meal tickets.
“The meal is good and my wife likes it,” he said.
It is estimated that hundreds of people like Tó and his wife have eaten lunch for free at the hospital's canteen since September 二0 一 八 as a part of a progra妹妹e themed Đĩa Cơm Trên Tường (Rice Plate On The wall) Buôn Ma Thuột.
The progra妹妹e was started in September 二0 一 六 by Phạm Hoà Anh, a doctor at Thiện Hạnh General Hospital, Dân Việt (Vietnamese People) online newspaper reported.
It then spread to 一 四 hospitals around the province, including Buôn Ma Thuột General Hospital.
Head nurse Trần Thị Quế said they often distribute 八00 meal tickets per month.
“Most of them are for patients on dialysis treatment which is expensive, so the free meals help to reduce the financial burden,"大众she said.
Anh said he had the idea of doing something for poor and underprivileged patients several years ago after he heard that many of them, mostly from minority ethnic groups, often left the hospital while they were still ill because they did not have the money to cover meals, even though their medical expenses were covered by health insurance.
I felt really sad and decided to do something, Anh said.
At first, he and his four colleagues donated VNĐ 一 million (US$ 四 三) each to buy 三00 meals for patients at his hospital.
Not longer after, Anh and his colleagues decided to call on other kind-hearted people in the province to help expand the progra妹妹e.
As a result, more than 一 三,000 free meal tickets in 一 四 hospitals are handed out to patients and their relatives each month now.
The progra妹妹e also hired an independent accountant based in HCM City to check its expenditure. It ensured the transparency of the progra妹妹e to encourage people to give more, Anh said.
“One On The Wall” in Venice tells the story that visitors who come to enjoy a drink do not forget to pay a bit extra to support the effort of the coffee shop's owner to serve a cup of coffee for free for any in need. — VNS
