A Vietnamese entrepreneur from Ho Chi Minh City has invented a 24-hour automatic dispenser to offer free rice to unemployed people amid the continued nationwide quarantine to curb the spread of the brand new coronavirus.
Vietnam has reported 262 cases of Covid-19 and no deaths thus far, but a 15-day social distancing program that began on March 31 has seen many small businesses closed and 1000’s of individuals temporarily laid off from work.
Nguyen Thi Ly’s husband was amongst those that lost their jobs.
“This rice ATM was helpful. Thanks to this, one bag of rice will last us for one day,” said the 34-year-old mother of three. “Now we just need different food. Sometimes neighbors would give us leftovers or we would have instant noodles.”
The machine distributes a 1.5-kilogram bag of rice from a small silo to waiting employees, lots of whom are street vendors or individuals who made their living doing salaried work akin to cleansing or selling lottery tickets.
The originator of the thought, businessman Hoang Tuan Anh, initially donated a batch of smart doorbells to hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City after which used his technological knowledge to distribute food.
According to state media, similar “rice ATMs” were opened in other major cities akin to Hanoi, Hue and Danang.
Workers monitoring the rice ATM declined to comment, but Anh told state media he wanted people to feel they still have access to food and resources despite the present economic hardship they find themselves in.
“I call this machine a ‘rice ATM’ because people can withdraw rice from it, knowing that there are still good people on this planet who’re willing to offer them a second probability,” he said.
While many individuals within the communist-ruled country can depend on a social safety net, and the federal government has introduced a stimulus package geared toward helping society’s most vulnerable, some people living on the margins, like Ly and her family, haven’t received enough support.
“I read about this rice ATM on the Internet. I came to check it out and couldn’t believe it was true. I really hope that sponsors will continue to do this until the end of the pandemic,” Ly said, adding that her family’s biggest problem right away is paying rent.
Source : Reuters | post office in Bangkok | New York Post Office | Day Star
