HCM CITY — The HCM City Student Assistance Centre is offering support to disadvantaged students during the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday that begins on February 16.

A total of 3,000 coach tickets from HCM City to central provinces will be given to poor students to return to their hometowns for the biggest national holiday that lasts seven days.

More than 5,000 part-time jobs during the holiday, such as waiter and waitress, cashier, deliveryman, security guard and sales assistant are available for students who are unable to return home.

The average salary for part-time jobs during Tết is VNĐ15,000-50,000 (US$0.7-2) per hour.

The centre will hand out Tết gifts for primary students in outlying districts of the city and children at shelters and charitable organisations.

The HCM City Federation of Labour will give out 37,000 coach tickets for needy workers under its annual charity programme “Tấm vé nghĩa tình” (Tickets with love), said Trần Kim Yến, chairwoman of the federation.

The federation will also organise various programmes to help workers with disabilities and poor labourers who are unable to reunite with their families during Tết such as music programmes to celebrate the holiday at industrial and export processing zones in the city, mobile trade fairs and a Tết feast for the families of 600 workers.

The Vietnam Women’s Union in HCM City plans to spend more than VNĐ2 billion (US$88,000) to present Tết gifts for disabled women, poor migrant women and minority women in the city. —VNS