Vietnamese students in Moscow host book festival to raise funds for disadvantaged children

Hundreds of students across the Russian capital city of Moscow gathered at a book festival which was recently held to raise funds for disadvantaged children across Vietnam.

The event attracts hundreds of students across the Russian capital city of Moscow (Photo: NDO/Thanh The)
The event attracts hundreds of students across the Russian capital city of Moscow (Photo: NDO/Thanh The)

The event was hosted by Overseas Vietnamese students who are members of the ‘Vong Tay Viet -Nga’ (The Vietnam -Russia Circle) group as part of their charity programme for 2022.

Previously, in 2021, the group successfully implemented a series of charity activities to support the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam and help flood victims in the central region.

To organise the festival, the group called for donation of books via its Facebook page, and received more than 1,000 books.

The books were then on sold online and at the book festival to make donations to the ‘Nuoi Em’ project, which aims to help disadvantaged children in schools in Vietnam’ remote areas have proper lunches so they can stay in class for afternoon lessons.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, a participant at the festival, said the event not only helped her find interesting books but also share a helping hand to support underprivileged children in Vietnam.

She hoped that more such events will be held so that Overseas Vietnamese students in Russia can make further contributions to the motherland.

The book festival aims to raise funds for disadvantaged children across Vietnam. (Photo: NDO/Thanh The)

Sharing the same view, Hoang Huong Thu, a student from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, highly appreciated the organisation of the book festival, which helped students get books they couldn’t find in bookstores in Russia.

“Buying a book at the event becomes more meaningful and joyful as I can support difficult circumstances,” Thu stated.

According to Tran Thi Van Anh, head of the ‘Vong Tay Viet -Nga’ group, the book festival aimed to promote reading culture and strengthen the solidarity among Vietnamese students in Moscow.

Held at a Vietnamese restaurant in Moscow, the event also sought to introduce Vietnamese cuisine to international friends, she added.

Van Anh, a student at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, revealed that the group members are working on the establishment of a library for Vietnamese people in Russia, where they can exchange books, share the reading passion, and spread the reading habit in the community.

At the book festival, participants also joined a singing audition for the fund-raising music event, which will be staged by the ‘Vong Tay Viet -Nga’ group in August this year.