Bia Saigon celebrates Lunar New Year with families after a year of upheaval

After a busy year outside, people can return safely to their families to be reunited with their loved ones. Bia Saigon and the Communist Youth Union brought joy in the form of 1,530 coach tickets, 270 plane tickets, and 200 train tickets to workers and volunteering Youth Union members, who fought together in the prevention of COVID-19 in 2021.

Nguyen Hoang Giang, member of the board of directors presented the tickets to beneficiaries

Nguyen Thanh Nam has been working in Ho Chi Minh City for more than a decade, but the number of times he returned to his hometown in Thua Thien Hue to celebrate Lunar New Year can be counted on his fingers.

“I thought this year would be another one without my family. I didn't have enough money to buy tickets for the whole family of four people, especially after the pandemic affected my work," Nam shared.

Nam is one of the workers who received tickets to return to his hometown through the Tet One Home initiative hosted by Bia Saigon and the Communist Youth Union.

He hopes that, in the following years, there will be more meaningful programmes like this, so that disadvantaged workers away from home like him can return to their hometown to reunite with their families.

Dinh Nguyen Thi Huong, director of Corporate Communication of SABECO gave out some of the gifts

Nguyen Thi Thuy from Yen Bai province also felt happy when receiving the tickets from Bia Saigon’s programme.

“During the pandemic, both my husband and I had to suspend our labour contracts, and our family's life mainly depended on allowances for employees. My company also has a hard time. The pandemic remains complicated, but these tickets are very meaningful,” she said

Warm Lunar New Year with families after a year of upheaval

Bia Saigon and the Communist Youth Union kicked off the Tet One Home programme at the Youth Cultural House of Ho Chi Minh City and presented the travel tickets to selected recipients. Apart from these tickets, each beneficiary also received a special Lunar New Year gift set for them to bring home for a joyful holiday and celebration together with their family.

Many travel tickets had been given to workers and volunteering Youth Union members through Bia Saigon's initiative

Due to the strict precautionary measures, only some 600 workers and Youth Union members were able to take part in the ceremony.

Tran Nguyen Trung, chief accountant of SABECO gave out gifts to workers and Youth Union members

The ceremony also organised the first coaches and trains to depart from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai to various provinces in Vietnam. This symbolised the start of the Tet One Home journey, bringing groups of workers and Youth Union members back home.

Before the ceremony, the programme also distributed 800 sets of Lunar New Year gifts to workers and volunteers in Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Thu Duc, and Cu Chi – most of whom were involved in fighting the pandemic in the region.

Bennett Neo, general director of Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (SABECO) shared, “As Lunar New Year is approaching, everyone in Vietnam is looking forward to reuniting with families and friends after a turbulent year. The Tet One Home programme aims to provide opportunities to these beneficiaries to return home and celebrate with their families as well as friends. We hope the spirit of national unity will be embraced by every home across Vietnam during this most auspicious moment of the Lunar New Year”.

At the ceremony, Nguyen Pham Duy Trang, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union said, “In the coming time, the Secretariat of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union wishes that young workers, students, and volunteers will maintain their optimism and strive to overcome all difficulties to contribute their youth and enthusiasm to the development of the unit and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition, the locality needs to continue to accompany, support, and create the best environment for people to have the opportunity to contribute and grow.”