Journey of Compassion – Rice of Kindness

On July 29th, with the spirit of “Saigon is socially distanced, but not disconnected,” 1Office donated the first 5 tons of rice out of a pledged 10 tons to join hands with Saigon in fighting the pandemic. This is a practical action from 1Office to support many people in need across the city affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before and during the social distancing period under Directive 16 in HCMC, green vegetables and food were sold out at many supermarkets, and buying food for the family for even 1-2 days became difficult for many people. With the spirit of “Saigon is socially distanced, but not disconnected,” 1Office decided to share the first 5 tons of rice as the most practical action to send to the people at this time. The rice was distributed to Rice ATMs in many districts of HCMC.

The upcoming August 3rd marks 1Office’s 6th anniversary. However, the 1Office management board decided to use the company’s birthday celebration budget to establish a fund to donate rice to the people of Saigon who are heavily affected by the pandemic.

According to 1Office CEO, Mr. Le Viet Thang, this time of compounding difficulties due to the pandemic is precisely when businesses need to do more kind and meaningful things. He recalled images from many years ago in Saigon: “Saigon is going through very sad days. I remember 3 years ago when we opened the company branch in Saigon, traveling everywhere to meet customers, I often saw images of hardworking laborers out there. My heart went out to them! I believe that if we are kind to Saigon, Saigon will be kind back to us ten, a hundred times over, and it will never be a loss”.

The first 5 tons of rice donated by 1Office were delivered to Mr. Le Hai Binh’s ATM fund at 12A Nui Thanh, Ward 13, Tan Binh District. “The three teams, including the Rice ATM, 1Office, and the rice supplier, had to work very hard to transport it through numerous checkpoints; the driver’s face turned as pale as a banana leaf,” Mr. Le Viet Thang shared humorously.

Mr. Dang Van Ky, Director of 1Office Southern Region, shared: “During the pandemic, the ones facing the most hardship are the laborers and the poor. Let each of us join hands and contribute a small part, according to our ability, to push back the Covid pandemic. Anyone who wants to donate RICE and food can do so via https://atmgao.com; 10 kg, 20 kg, 100 kg… are all greatly needed at this time“.

1Office hopes this meaningful act serves as a small contribution to the people facing difficulties during this pandemic season. We wish Saigon in particular, and the whole country in general, a speedy recovery.

Free rice pickup point here: https://atmgao.com

Below are the locations of 11 FREE RICE ATMs:
1. Address: 12A Nui Thanh Street, Ward 13, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City
2. Address: B82 Bach Dang, Ward 2, Tan Binh Dist., Ho Chi Minh City
3. Address: Dong Thanh 3-1, Dong Thanh, Hoc Mon, Ho Chi Minh City
4. Address: 959-961 Ba Dinh, Ward 10, District 8
5. Address: 123 Do Xuan Hop, Phuoc Long B Ward, District 9
6. Address: Neighborhood 14 Office, 1185 Street 7, Binh Tri Dong B Ward, Binh Tan District
7. Address: 245 Nguyen Duy Trinh, Binh Trung Tay Ward, District 2
9. Address: Ngo Gia Tu High School, 360E Ben Binh Dong, Ward 15, District 8
10. Address: 61/2C Nam Lan Hamlet, Ba Diem, Hoc Mon, Ho Chi Minh City
11. Address: Neighborhood 6 Office, 61/2 Street B, KP6, Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, Thu Duc