A young man is finishing his run from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to raise awareness on the benefits of reading and to raise funds to set up book clubs at universities nationwide.
Thai starts in Hanoi
The 25 year-old Cao Duc Thai planned to run from the Temple of Literature in Hanoi to Independence Palace in HCM City in 30 days, starting on December 29, 2013 and arriving January 28.
On the 26th day, Thai arrived in Binh Thuan Province. Thai said, "The most difficult decision is whether I should continue running or not because on the fifth day, my health started to go downhill. Sometimes, I just wanted to hop onto a motorbike to finish the rest. But the answer is always yes, I should keep running. There will be no cheating on this route."
Thai continues running
On the 16th day, Thai was sick because of the rain and cold weather, so he could only run for 28km. He had to run nearly 70km the next day so that he could keep on schedule.
He is running the 1,750 km to gain attention and money to set up university book clubs called "Books and Action". Currently, 7,000 books have been donated to various book clubs in Hanoi, Danang and HCM City. The message to university students is "read to find out your passion and act to realise your dreams".
According to Nguyen Quang Thach, founder and manager of Tu Sach Dong Ho (Clan Bookshelf) project, something of a cultural activist who has tried to bring books to rural areas, a majority of Vietnamese students do not have the habit of reading. This is something Thai would like to change, not just on university campuses, but throughout the society.
