Dear MEL Topic Readers,
'Rice ATMs' provide free rice for people out
of work in Vietnam due to the coronavirus crisis
The population of Vietnam is nearly 100
million. The country stretches over a thousand miles from north to south sharing
its land borders with China to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west. You
can easily assume that there are quite a lot of interactions with its neighboring
countries. However, as of April 15, Vietnam officially has just 266 coronavirus
cases and zero deaths related to the novel virus, which is significantly lower
than any other country of that size. The government started enforcing social
distancing throughout the country on 31 March. Many businesses have been
affected by the measure and many people were laid off or reduced pays. Though the
majority of them still seem to support the government initiatives, there are people
who have difficulty getting food on the table. To help those in need the most,
some philanthropists set up vending machines to dispense free rice. Those who
want to get free rice are required to stand two meters apart from each other to
get rice without human contact.
Rice dispensers, or rice ATMs (Automated
Teller Machine), are going to be needed more as the nation’s social distancing
policy doesn’t seem to end anytime soon.
Enjoy reading the article and think about what
could help the people in need the most during this difficult time.
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