Recently, reporters for Ho Chi Minh City newspapers who have written heart-rending stories about people in difficulty gathered on for the 82nd Viet Nam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21) .
Their find-raising articles tell of the misery of disadvantaged people, how children have died crossing swollen rivers to get to school, and other such tales.
They have touched thousands of hearts and prompted many readers to give what they could.
These contributions have saved lives, built new bridges in remote areas, and generally made life a little less difficult for many people.
The reporters, editors and other media people who attended the meeting are determined to continue in this vein and publish articles that readers will respond to with money. “It is our obligation, and a meaningful task for journalists,” said one.
Ngoc Yen, a reporter at Sai Gon Giai Phong, said there were no geographical borders or different nationalities as far as charity was concerned.
As one example, Ms. Yen told how her newspaper had sent money to help the residents of Nias Island, where hundreds of people had been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by the tsunami of 2004.
Speaking for everyone at the meeting, Ms. Yen thanked the benefactors of the newspapers’ charity drives and expressed a wish that more and more people would contribute so that more disadvantaged people could be helped.
