(CPV) – The War Veterans Association of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and the Thanh Cong Environmental Hygiene Cooperative have collected nearly VND12 billion to support Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin victims.
At a ceremony held in Hanoi on May 16, Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Victims of AO (VAVA) said that the aid will contribute significantly to the construction of a Social Protection Centre for AO victims in the capital.
Of the sum, the Thanh Cong Environmental Hygiene Cooperative donated VND8.36 billion along with 500 square meters of land for the building of the Centre in Thach That district. With a total investment of VND151 billion, it will specialise in detoxifying and rehabilitating the target group for around 1,400 AO victims.
VAVA Chairman Nguyen Van Rinh thanked the two enterprises and expressed his hope for more support from organisations, businesses and philanthropists in the care for the victims.
“Between 1961 – 1971, the US Army sprayed more than 18.2 million gallons of Agent Orange onto more than 10 percent of the land in southern Vietnam. Most families of AO victims suffer from poverty and disease. They are the poorest of the poor and the most miserable of the miserable. As many as 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to this highly toxic chemical and over 3 million are still suffering from the effects of dioxin, which has left them in a tragic situation”, said Mr Rinh.
Model of the Centre is also expected to apply in Ho Chi Minh city and the central city of Da Nang./.
Đăng ký: VietNam News