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 By Thuy Nguyen
HO CHI MINH CTY, Vietnam – This past summer, teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam, flocked to join the Red Flamboyant Campaign (RFC), a volunteer organization of high schoolers whose goal is to work for the good of the community.
“I think all students in Ho Chi Minh City have heard of it,” said Kim Anh, an 18-year-old graduate of Tran Phu High School. The RFC is directed by the Youth Union Central, a popular Vietnamese youth organization, and was named after a kind of flower representative of education in Vietnam. With 12,000 teachers and students joining in one month, the RFC is indeed expanding rapidly, as Anh suggests.
Hoang Giang, the leader of RFC at Nguyen Thuong Hien High School in Ho Chi Minh City, agrees. “Vietnamese students are usually saddled with the responsibility of class materials. Working as volunteers in the Red Flamboyant Campaign could help them practice other life skills and understand the meaning of being involved in the community," Giang said.
After just one month, Ho Chi Minh City was dotted with the scarlet uniforms of Red Flamboyant Campaign members. The teenagers stood at numerous crossroads and intersections to help with traffic control. They also cleaned trash along the sides of the city's canals and collected recyclable appliances from households across the city.
The purpose, Giang explained, was designed to benefit the community. “Not all people are well aware of traffic laws and environmental protection. Working on streets was tiring and stressful, but we could encourage everybody to do more good deeds," he said. In addition, RFC members performed in theatrical and music shows for underprivileged children in remote areas of the city.Another activity of Red Flamboyant Campaign was raising funds for charity. By bike, teenage volunteers went to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City to visit with and, in some cases, give gifts to people in poorer areas. According to the organization's website, when carrying out that activity, members of RFC were thanked not only by people they helped but also by others in those areas.
News about the campaign has been abundant in local media as well. “Although the working time of RFC was short, it reached all of its goals successfully and became unforgettable to both resident and its volunteers,” wrote Hoa Hoc Tro Magazine, a popular teen media outlet in Vietnam. Teenagers themselves were enthusiastic about what the campaign meant for them and their community. “I used to be timid and uncommunicative in school, but after joining this campaign, I became more self-confident. I have many new friends now,” said Phuong Dung, a 16-year-old student at Nguyen Thuong Hien High School. Others echoed Dung's praise. “My parents said it was very good for Vietnam teenagers to familiarize themselves with volunteer works of a city-scaled campaign like the RFC," said Thanh Truc, a 16-year-old student at Tran Phu High School.
However, amid the excitement, participants and community members noted some important health and safety concerns surrounding the campaign's activities and its volunteers.
Thuy Anh, a 16-year-old student at Nguyen Thuong Hien High School commented that some used syringes appeared along the canal sides she cleaned, and her team did not have any safety equipment to protect themselves. They could not be sure if those used needles carried diseases or other bacteria, including HIV/AIDS. Others cited liability concerns if they were injured. “What would be the guarantee and compensation to us?” asked Truc.
But organizers note that the RFC was the first stage in the development of teen volunteer campaigns in Vietnam, and that many are waiting to see this and other groups expanded further. “My friends in Hanoi were very interested in what I told them about Red Flamboyant Campaign. They really wanted to do volunteer work in a large-scaled campaign like that,” Kim Anh said, referring to Vietnam's northern capital city.
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