National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A ceremony markingthe Day for the Poor in Vietnam 2018 was broadcast live on Vietnam Television’sVTV1 on October 17.
The event aimed to honour organisations andindividuals in Vietnam and abroad who made significant contributions tosupporting the disadvantaged through the National Fund for the Poor and socialwelfare programmes.
It was attended by National AssemblyChairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh and Presidentof the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man.
Speaking at the event, NA Chairwoman Ngansaid the Party and Government consider poverty alleviation a requirement for sustainablegrowth. It is among the UN’s millennium and sustainable development goals whichVietnam is committed to, she added.
She said with delight that the number of poorhouseholds defined by multidiscipline standards has dropped to 6.7 percent,surpassing the target set by the NA.
The Party, NA, Government, enterprises,individuals and organisations have joined hands in boosting socio-economicdevelopment in difficult areas, she noted, saying the National Fund for thePoor has received dozens of trillions of Vietnamese dong, helping buildthousands of charity houses and offering access to healthcare, education andbusiness opportunities to hundreds of thousands of needy people.
Pointing to the figure of 2.9 million poorand near poor households nationwide, the top legislator said the road tosustainable poverty alleviation remains difficult, requiring creativeinitiatives and more resources.
Ngan called for continued assistance fromthe business community and individuals at home and abroad as well as foreigncountries and international organisations for Vietnam’s growth and povertyeradication efforts.
The TV programme featured people who toldtheir stories of overcoming poverty and of supporting the needy. Among themwere Ho Minh Hieu, an orphan boy, who raised pigs to earn money for school, andPhan Ba Manh and Hoang Duc Minh, creators of “charity aid” and “good friend”applications, which helps coordinate charity groups and organisations.
On the occasion, President of the VFFCentral Committee Tran Thanh Man launched the action month for the poor, whichlasts from October 17 to November 18.
Between October 2017 and October 2018, theNational Fund for the Poor and social welfare programmes raised more than 2.9trillion VND (123.7 million USD), which were used to build 28,000 charityhouses, and aid dozens of millions of poor people in terms of productioncapital and materials, healthcare services and hunger alleviation.
According to the organising board, duringthe course of the TV programme, 100 organisations pledged to donate 857 billionVND (36.57 million USD).
Donations in response to the action month havearrived in some localities, with Hanoi recording 77 billion VND (3.28 millionUSD), Ho Chi Minh City 38 billion VND (1.62 million USD), and Bac Giang 47billion VND (2 million USD).
Meanwhile, 2,000 texts worth more than 4.4billion VND (187,763 USD) were sent in support of a fund-raising textingcampaign. As part of the campaign, willing donors can send the code VNN to 1409from October 1 until the end of December 31, 2018 to contribute 20,000 VNDtowards helping the poor.-VNA
VNA
