Hanoi (VNA) – In the playroom at the Vietnam National Hospital of Paediatrics, nine-year-old Nguyen Vu Nguyen Tung pours over picture books and his fatigue and illness seem to disappear as his face brightens with every turn of the page.
On occasion, his mouth stretches into a smile, a rare occurrence since he began exhibiting symptoms of encephalitis.
“Now I see my child smile nearly every afternoon,” Tung’s father, Nguyen Van Khoa, says fondly, his eyes drifting over to the boy.
The small glimmer of happiness is the product of a recent programme called Cultural Books for Young Patients, funded by the Vietnam National Hospital of Paediatrics (NHP) and the Van Hoa (Culture) newspaper.
The programme offers picture books, folk tales, history, riddles, adventure stories and music to the children every afternoon from 2-4pm.
Tung, born in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, has been hospitalised for over a month, and given the seriousness of his disease, he is likely to undergo a lengthy treatment.
“I look forward to 3pm when my treatments are over and I can go read,” Tung says.
“Since the library began, I have watched my child’s frame of mind improve. It helps relieve some of my worry,” says Tung’s father.
The library is small, with only 1,280 books geared for children aged 4-16, and it is still very new.
Doctor Do Manh Hung, secretary of the youth union branch of the hospital, explained that the project idea began with the Culture newspaper. “ They said that they would collect books to establish 1,000 libraries for ethnic groups. And I asked them why they didn’t help the NHP develop one.they agreed.”
The project opened for Children‘s Day on June 1.
The NHP treats around 42,000 patients per year, many of whom suffer from cancer and heart disease, and often experience tremendous stress while undergoing testing and treatment. The isolation and cloistered spaces make intellectual and emotional stimulation all the more crucial.
Teacher Nguyen Thi Thinh, who works at the play therapy room and looks after the books, says, “Young patients love reading. They are conscientious about taking good care of the books. Some want to borrow books to read in their rooms, but for now they are only allowed to read here.”
Soon, each NHP department would have its own bookcase, Dr Hung said.
Bui Ngoc Lan, vice dean of NHP’s cancer department, said that she welcomed the day that each department has its own bookcase.
To enlarge the project, Hung has asked for and been offered help from some domestic publishing houses. Hung also asked pre-schools in Hanoi to collect books for young patients, and they have actively engaged in the task.
“If each school gave us only 100 books, patients in all departments would soon have enough to read,” said Hung.
“We believe we are doing something for these children. Each book in this cultural library expresses a wish that these children will soon recover.”-Enditem
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