Company looks to grey vote for cash
VietNamNet Bridge - Most people equate ‘party’ with ‘youth’ but one innovative startup is making a killing catering to the hip-shakers with replaced hips: the elderly.
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A meeting of the elderly organised by Nang Som Company in Bach Nien Hoi Quan. |
Big celebrations are usually the realm of younger people, keen on plashy pantics, making a big splash and above all, being the centre of attention. But a fledgling events organiser in HCM City is shifting focus to another strata of society – the elderly.
Instead of organising events doos and parties for newly-weds, Nang Som Trade Service and Communications Company, set up early last month, specialises in celebrations to cheer longevity and double-digit wedding anniversaries.
The company was the brain-child of 21-year student Nguyen Thi Khanh Van. “I overheard a friend of my parents talking about organising a party for his mother,” she says. “He was worried because he didn’t know where to begin, even where to buy a good present for her. I thought this must be the case for a lot of people so I seized the opportunity to set up my own business.”
There are already a lot of event organisers who host parties for children, Van says, but the elderly are often ignored. “I’m not old but my grandmother has taught me a lot about the sacrifices older people have made for my generation. It’s something we young people often don’t really appreciate. We forget that they need someone to talk to.”
To research her project, Van went to the Association for the Elderly in HCM City to talk to old people about what an event organiser could offer them. After three months she felt she was ready. Her parents gave her VND100 million of stant-up capital and she was ready to go.
“I decided to name the company Nang Som, which means early sunlight, because as well as being the first light of the day, it’s also the most beautiful and purest. It was good inspiration for me.”
To start with, Van and her team opened a small cafe called Bach Nien Hoi Quan where old people can meet and chat over a cup of tea. The centre also offers classes in calligraphy and cooking and has internet access.
“The cafe was designed with older people in mind but I want the venue to be a meeting point for all generations,” says Van.
“Since we started in early October, we’ve organised two 100-year birthday parties and held a seminar titled Psychological Problems Facing the Elderly. It was very popular,” Van says.
“I want to do a lot with my company but we need more money. It poses a real challenge for us when we want to support elderly people who are poor. I intend to use part of our profits to help organise community programmes for poor old people who can’t afford to use our current services.”
The company’s first community programme for the poor elderly is scheduled for the coming Lunar New Year. “I want people to donate money to help poor elderly people this Tet,” the student says. “I hope Nang Som will soon be able to serve elderly people across the nation. We young people owe it to them, to our grandparents to make their lives better.”
(Source: VNS)
Update from: http://english.vietnamnet.vn//features/2008/12/816415/
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