Lottery ticket sellers in Ho Chi Minh City buy food to 'treat' wild birds to ease loneliness

Regardless of profit or loss, every day the lottery ticket vendor in Ho Chi Minh City sets aside some money to buy food to feed the wild birds as a way to find joy and reduce loneliness in life.

Regardless of profit or loss, every day the lottery ticket vendor in Ho Chi Minh City sets aside some money to buy food to feed the wild birds as a way to find joy and reduce loneliness in life.

Every morning, Mr. Hoang Binh prepares a bag of cereal to bring to Le Van Tam park to feed the birds. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Make friends with birds

At 7am, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Binh (48 years old, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) drove into Le Van Tam Park (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). Having gotten used to being fed by Mr. Binh, pigeons and wild sparrows came to perch on tree branches, lamp posts, etc.

Stopping the car, Mr. Binh took out a bag of grain and spread it evenly on the ground. The flock of wild pigeons immediately swooped down to eat. The smaller sparrows had to wait for the flock of pigeons to finish eating before flying over to pick up each grain.

The sight of wild birds flying down and picking up grains around the little man’s car delighted visitors to the park. Some took out their phones to take photos and record the lovely moment.

Mr. Binh spreads grains around him for the birds to freely come and eat. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Mr. Binh said he has been feeding the birds for 7-8 years. Before, he sold lottery tickets on Le Duan Street, District 1. When there were no customers and sales were slow, he watched the sparrows chirping in the trees. Every now and then, they would swoop down to the sidewalk to look for food.

The sight of sparrows hopping on the road fascinated him. He thought of making friends with them by feeding them. After a while, the birds got used to his presence and the food he brought.

“Every morning, they came to perch where I sat selling lottery tickets. When they saw me, they immediately swooped down, surrounded me, and hopped on the sidewalk waiting to eat. I kept making friends with the birds until, for various reasons, I could no longer sit and sell on that stretch of road.”

The birds are familiar to Mr. Binh. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Saying goodbye to the flock of wild sparrows on Le Duan Street, Mr. Binh wandered around selling lottery tickets and then chose a new selling point at Le Van Tam Park. The park has many trees and is home to many species of birds such as pigeons, sparrows, and turtledoves.

Here, he got acquainted with the sparrows by buying them rice to eat. Every time he scattered rice, the pigeons also flew down to “beg for food”. Seeing this, he decided to buy grain for them to eat together.

While feeding the birds, Mr. Binh sold lottery tickets. At around 9am, the park was empty, so he moved to Tran Quoc Toan area (District 3) to continue selling.

Sparrows patiently wait their turn. Photo: Ha Nguyen

At 2 p.m., on his way to get lottery tickets to sell the next day, he stopped by the park to scatter grains for the birds. Late in the afternoon, afraid they weren't full, he went to feed them one more time before returning to the motel.

Find joy, feel less lonely

Having been with the birds for many years, Mr. Binh understands and knows their habits. He knows that the pigeons like to eat grains and pellets, so he proactively buys all kinds.

Meanwhile, the sparrows mainly eat rice. While eating, they use their beaks to remove the husks. Therefore, when feeding the sparrows, he often chooses a flat ground position to easily sweep and collect the husks.

Mr. Binh is a native of Ho Chi Minh City. After his parents passed away, he struggled to make a living alone, paralyzed on one side of his body. Unable to do heavy labor, he had to sell lottery tickets to support himself.

After the flock of pigeons left, a flock of wild sparrows quickly came to eat the remaining rice. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Every day, he sells 200 lottery tickets, earning about 200,000 VND. That amount is just enough to pay for his room and medicine. However, for the past 7-8 years, he has set aside some money every day to buy bird food.

Previously, Mr. Binh spent about 45,000 VND to buy 3 bags of grain for the birds. Later, many people saw him feeding the birds and also brought food to them, so he bought less.

Currently, he only buys 30,000 VND worth of cereals. Normally, he can manage this amount. But on bad days, when it rains and the weather doesn’t allow him to sell, he faces difficulties, even losing money on lottery tickets.

Mr. Binh considers the birds a part of his life, so he decided to feed them as long as he can. Photo: Ha Nguyen

However, he tries to spend frugally so as not to miss any of the birds' meals. Every day, he goes to feed them three meals.

He confided: “I consider birds a part of my life. To me, they are friends who bring me joy and help me relieve my loneliness.

During the pandemic, I was sad and felt a sense of loss when I couldn’t feed the birds. After the pandemic, seeing them so thin and emaciated, I felt so sorry for them.

Especially when I see sparrows being trapped, caught and sold to people to release, I feel very sad. I will feed them as long as I can.”

According to Vietnamnet

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nguoi-ban-ve-so-o-tphcm-mua-thuc-an-dai-chim-troi-de-bot-co-don-post1691697.tpo