Officers and soldiers of La Lay International Border Gate Border Guard Station prepare porridge to distribute to patients - Photo: HOANG TAO
The pot of charity porridge has been maintained by the soldiers in green uniforms for over 4 years.
The border soldier's warm pot of porridge
From early morning on March 1, dozens of patients being treated at Dakrong District Medical Center (branch 2 in Ta Rut commune, Dakrong district, Quang Tri) were present in the hospital lobby waiting to receive free porridge. Everyone’s face was radiant, happily waiting for the warm bowls of porridge from the border soldiers.
Among the line of people receiving porridge, Ms. Kan Phu said she had received porridge three times. "I have been treated at the internal medicine department for many weeks now. The porridge is very delicious, I have taken it for breakfast and lunch," Ms. Kan Phu said.
Similarly, a male patient said that he was informed by the doctors and nurses early in the morning to receive free porridge, so he quickly went to buy a new plastic bowl to get the porridge. After receiving the bowl, Lieutenant Le Minh Quoc used a little hot water to rinse the bowl before scooping the porridge into it. After more than 30 minutes, the distribution of porridge was completed with about 20 patients receiving porridge.
Lieutenant Quoc said that the charity porridge pot was deployed since 2019. Initially, it was done once a month, but due to high patient demand, it was increased to once a week.
"The funding for making the porridge comes from contributions from officers and soldiers and annual rewards, as well as from mobilization from the station and medical center," said Mr. Quoc.
The night before, the officers and soldiers of the station cook rice and bones. At 4am on Friday morning, they wake up to finish the porridge. The porridge usually has rice, green beans, carrots, potatoes and pork bones. "Sometimes the station has extra pork, so we also use it for the porridge," said Mr. Quoc.
A bowl of warm porridge helps patients during treatment - Photo: HOANG TAO
Support poor patients
Mr. Ho Quoc Nghia - head of the Medical Center's union - said that the porridge pot has partly provided nutrition and strength to patients during their treatment. "Most of the patients are Pa Ko ethnic minorities, with difficult economic conditions and their homes far from the center, so they don't have money to buy rice.
Some wait for their family members to bring them food, or ask other patients to share, so the hot bowls of porridge are very meaningful to the patients," Mr. Nghia informed. On average, each distribution will have about 20 - 30 patients.
In addition to the pot of charity porridge, the La Lay International Border Guard Station also implemented the "Border Bread" model, giving bread to preschool and primary school students in A Bung and A Ngo communes, implemented since 2020. Every Thursday, officers and soldiers will bring bread to a school to give to the children for breakfast.
La Lay International Border Guard Station is in charge of 20km of border. The station also donated goats for startups, lit up village roads, gave a scholarship to a Lao student to help him go to school, and built a border shelter...
The above meaningful actions of border guards contribute to enhancing the relationship between the army and the people in the border area, maintaining the people's hearts and minds in protecting border security and sovereignty.
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