HCM CITY — The 13th Hoa phượng đỏ (Red Flamboyant) summer campaign officially began on June 3 in HCM City with thousands of students taking part in enriching activities, meeting new friends and learning valuable experiences.                                               

The campaign activities include cleaning the city, learning various skills and taking part in charitable activities for the disadvantaged, all of which help students experience the real world and learn life skills.

More than 40,000 HCM City students and teachers are taking part in the annual campaign.

Nguyễn Tất Toàn, member of the Executive Committee of Hoa phượng đỏ, said: “The campaign aims to enrich the lives of students and teachers, promote the spirit of volunteering, and provide students with opportunities to learn life skills and become more mature.”

The opening event at District 1’s HCM City Youth Culture House attracted around 3,000 students and young teachers from 24 districts in HCM City.

There were booths for science projects, calligraphy lessons, traditional music, and presentations on life skills such as self-defence and sexual health, all of which were crowded with students eager to learn new things.

Some members of the campaign also spent Sunday morning cleaning the streets off rubbish and inappropriately placed posters in several districts.

Toàn said that this year the campaign would have more activities for disadvantaged  children, visits to poor households, and fundraising events.

The campaign will also organise fairs, field trips, presentations and other events to help students learn about science, robots, foreign languages, safety skills and other everyday skills.    

This year the campaign aims to attract an additional 5,000 members.

Nguyễn Quỳnh Anh, a 10th grader from Trần Đại Nghĩa High School for the Gifted, said: “I joined the campaign this year because I can take part in many great activities like helping kids and gain experiences. And this is also a great opportunity to hang out with my peers from other schools.”

“I have taken part in the campaign for three years and its activities such as helping poor people and children and learning about our history. My communication skills have improved and I am not as shy as before.” said Phạm Lê Gia Khiêm, a 12th grader from Hoàng Hoa Thám High School.

Thái Thanh Thanh, a 10th grader from Bình Phú High School, said: “We had a presentation on self-defence, which was very persuasive and can help us protect ourselves against assailants. The campaign’s other activities also help me broaden my perspective and network, as well as provide me with knowledge, public speaking skills and other skills, which can be useful for my future career in media.”  — VNS