Despite having her own difficulties navigating the pandemic, Pham Gia Vy, a Saigonese mother of two infants, has been spending her days and her money feeding the city’s poor.

For the past week, Vy, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7, has been delivering rice and other basic essentials to homeless people and residents living in lockdown throughout the district.

“I am a nail technician, but I’ve had to close my salon because of the pandemic and the social distancing mandate,” said Vy.

“I’m not the only one going through difficult times right now, so I decided to buy rice, instant noodles, and water to donate to others.”

Vy had purchased 200 meals for her delivery outing, but after sharing her story on social media, she soon found dozens of donors willing to contribute money, food, and time in order to support her mission of aiding the city’s vulnerable.

Pham Gia Vy to prepares to deliver free meals to Saigon residents affected by COVID-19 in this supplied photo.

Since July 10, Ho Chi Minh City has been under Directive 16 - a COVID-19 prevention measure that requires people to remain home except when purchasing necessities, such as medicine and food.

“I may stop doing this because I worry about leaving my toddlers at home,” Vy explained, adding that spending the past weekdays delivering meals around the city by motorbike has kept her quite busy.

“My husband has been taking care of our 3-year-old and 1-year-old. It’s so nice of him to do that, but I worry it’s too much for him.”

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