Like every year, UNIBEN's 3 Mien brand has brought warmth to thousands of needy children living away from home.

These essential and sentimental gifts have been welcomed by children at boarding secondary schools for ethnic and minority people or at social welfare centres ahead of the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

We visited the Con Cuong Boarding Secondary School for Ethnic and Minority People, which has nearly 300 students from the mountainous communes of Nghe An Province, during the last days of 2016. We saw that they begin a new study day with their favourite dish -- 3 Mien instant noodles.

For nearly a year, 3 Mien instant noodle meals were twice a week made part of the students' breakfast, which were delicious, hot and rich in Vietnamese authentic flavor, thanks to the support of the UNIBEN Food Company. The school’s chefs said student’s main meals were also tastier and sweeter with the additive fish sauce and seasonings donated by the 3 Mien brand.

“I love the sauce and spicy taste of 3 Mien Instant Noodles with Stew Beef and herb flavours because its taste is very similar to the food my mother cooked for me when I was home. In the future, I will try my best to be a good student and cook a lot of good meals for my mother,” Ha Thuong, a student living in Don Phuc Commune, Con Cuong District, Nghe An Province, said.

Praising the timely and effectively support of donors such as UNIBEN’s 3 Mien Brand, Con Cuong Boarding Secondary School for Ethnic and Minority People rector Nguyen Dinh Nhung added that students were not only provided delicious and nutritious meals, but also care from the community, which encouraged them to try more to overcome difficulties and become good human beings.

Donating food products to improve quality of meals for students in boarding secondary schools for ethnic and minority people or social welfare centres is one of the CSR programmes that UNIBEN and its 3 Mien brand have continued to carry out over the past years, with total expense worth billions of dong.

In 2016 alone, 3 Mien brand's programme "Joining Hands for Vietnamese Future", in collaboration with the Nghe An Fund for Vietnamese Children, provided more than 100 bicycles (VND2.5 million or US$120 each), 100 scholarships (VND2 million or $85 each) and notebooks to underprivileged students in Nghe An Province. The company also donated instant noodles, bullion and fish sauce - 3 Mien products to improve the quality of meals for students, along with providing free surgery to many children with congenital heart diseases, with total expense up to more than VND3 billion ($133,000)

Nguyen Huu Minh, Nghe An Province’s Fund for Vietnamese Children director, said the province has more than 21,000 children facing difficulties and more than 115,000 others who may fall into difficult circumstances, of whom thousands needed surgeries, while many others needed support to continue their education.

“Support from brands such as UNIBEN’s 3 Mien is very essential and should be expanded throughout the country” Minh said.

Vietnamese authentic products of UNIBEN’s 3 Mien brand have been the most favourite items of customers in the country's market. 3 Mien brand continues to maintain its top position in the noodle production industry with more than 25 per cent of market share.

UNIBEN products have been imported to more than 10 countries worldwide, even to markets with particularly high quality standards and strict food safety regulations, such as the United States and European countries, bringing the essence of Vietnamese cuisine to international consumers, besides making a name for Vietnamese cuisine worldwide. — VNS