SOCIAL IN BRIEF 4/5

23:56' 04/05/2008 (GMT+7)
Heavy rains flood streets in HCM City
Heavy rains flooded many streets in Ho Chi Minh City, causing traffic jam and environmental pollution.
An hour heavy rain on May 2 flooded many streets, including Hong Bang in District 5, Minh Phung – Cay Go in District 11, February 2 in Dicstrict 10.
Hung Vuong street in District 6 alone was between 30-40 centrimetres under water, causing traffic jamp.

Hundreds of houses in Ward 7, District 3, were flooded by 40 centimetres. Water receded after three or five hours.

HCM City entrepreneurs donate eye treatment for people in Quang Ngai

VND 100 million was presented by the Entrepreneurs’ Club 2030 in Ho Chi Minh City to Quang Ngai province on May 2 to help eye operation and treatment for 200 poor blind people.

Apart from free operation and treatment, poor patients will get free medicines, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The operation will be implemented by doctors from the Quang Ngai Eye Centre and the Binh Son hospital.

Quang Ngai now has around 3,000 poor blind people, who need support for treatment and operation.

100-bed hospital to be built in Kien Giang province

A 100-bed public hospital will be built in September under the current free clinic in Kien Giang province.

The VND 70 billion public hospital should help expand the clinic’s services to more patients who could otherwise not afford health care, said Tran Lam, head of the clinic and chairman of the province’s Association for Poor Patient Sponsorship.

“The hospital receives money from enterprises nationwide,” Mr Lam said.

The current fourth floor clinic covering 500sq.m provides free examinations and medicines to more than 200 poor patients daily. The clinic will serve as the base for the new hospital.

The clinic recently added one more floor to the building to provide acupuncture services.

Similar to the free clinic, each patient going to the hospital will be provided with free examinations, medicine, food and transportation.

The hospital also plans to bring in modern equipment to ensure the patients receive the best care possible.

Lam noted that the hospital would work to provide services in line with private hospitals.

All doctors and nurses in the hospital will be volunteers.

8,945 ethnic minority households in Yen Bai escape poverty thank to soft loans

As many as 8,945 ethnic minority households in Yen Bai province have escaped poverty thanks to soft loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy.

The bank has provided VND 138.602 billion for 29,775 ethnic minority households via its network in Yen Bai province.

Concretely, the bank has helped local poor households buy 40,465 horses, buffaloes and cows; more than 2,300 goats; over 72,000 pigs; 256 tonnes of fish, plant 16,566 hectares of forest.

The support was given through over 3,000 savings and loans receiving units in 232 villages.

Gov’t offers financial aid to fishermen

The Ministry of Finance has recently issued guidelines on the Government’s policy to support fishermen.

Any fishermen wanting to buy or build new fishing boats with engines of more than 90 Horse Power (HP), or boats to be used to provide fishing boats, will receive annual support of 70 million VND from now to 2010.

Fishermen can receive a sum of 10 million VND if they want to use more fuel-efficient engines for their boats that have a capacity of 40 to 90 HP each, and 18 million VND for engines with a capacity of more than 90 HP.

The Government will help fishermen pay 30 percent of their insurance fees while seamen will receive 100 percent support for life insurance fees.

Vietnam Red Cross launches humanitarian campaign

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) has launched a campaign marking the 118th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19) and the 145th anniversary of World Red Cross and Crescent Day (May 8).

The campaign is entitled “Each organisation, each individual associated with one humanitarian address”.

Speaking at the launch ceremony in Hanoi on May 4, Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan called on all organisations and individuals to take part in the campaign which aims to help disadvantaged people across the nation.

The Vice State President presented gifts to two Hanoi families who were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin during the American war. The VNRC donated 50 wheelchairs to wounded soldiers and disabled people in Hanoi.

According to the VNRC, the campaign aims to help about 651,000 disadvantaged people in 2008.

The campaign will be launched in Ho Chi Minh City on May 18 with nearly 10,000 people walking in support of AO/dioxin victims and other disabled people.

Nearly 30,000 ethnic minority families given business loans

Some 29,775 ethnic minority families in the northern province of Yen Bai have been given 138.602 billion VND in loans to help their businesses at preferential interest rates.

The money has been used in the breeding industry, to plant 16,566 hectares of forests, and to change outdated methods in agricultural production.

Thanks to the loans, as of the first quarter of 2008, nearly 9,000 ethnic minority families had escaped from poverty.

Global care supports ethnic pupils in Lao cai province

20 ethnic pupils who have overcome many hardships to achieve good results in their studies in the northeastern mountainous province of Lao Cai have received scholarships from the Global Care organization of the Republic of Korea.

On the occasion, their families were also provided with breeding animals worth 20 million VND each.

The Global Care organization has also established a group named “Young talent” to help poor outstanding pupils.

Apart from receiving 300,000 VND per month during school time, fees at university or vocational schools and help in finding a job, the pupils were also presented with clothes and learning aids.

Canada gives aid to control pollution

The Canadian Government has provided Vietnam with a non refundable grant worth 15 million USD to improve the capacity of Vietnamese managers handling industrial-pollution control.

A memorandum of understanding, as part of the Village Project Executive Group (VPEG), was signed on May 2 between Natural Resources and Environment Minister Pham Khoi Nguyen and Canadian ambassador Gabriel Lessard.

The grant will benefit nine cities and provinces – Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, Long An, Quang Ngai, Soc Trang, Ha Tay, Hanoi, Hai Duong and Da Nang in the next five years, starting in 2008.

The Vietnam-Japan friendship association marks its 40th anniversary

The Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association in Ibaragi prefecture, Japan held a ceremony on May 3 to mark its 40th anniversary and the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Speaking on the occasion, the association’s chairman, Shimoyama Toranosuke, highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements in recent years and the Vietnamese government’s cooperation in implementing the association’s activities effectively.

Mr Shimoyama expressed his wish to develop sustainable relations between Japan and Vietnam to ensure a lasting peace, happiness and prosperity in the interests of the two peoples in particular and the world in general.

Professor Furuta Motoo from Tokyo University also delivered a speech giving an overall picture of Vietnam over the past 20 years of Doi Moi (Renewal).

At the Cultural House in Ibaragi prefecture, north of Tokyo, there are many stands displaying photos and newspapers cutting about Vietnam and the relationship between the two countries and the association’s activities in support of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims in recent times.

Vietnamese community in Angola turns towards home country

Many significant activities have been held by the Vietnamese community in Angola to support their compatriots in Vietnam.

As much as US $22,500 was given to the Fund for the Poor, Study Encouragement Fund, Fund for Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, Fund of Community Support, Fund to Build Houses of Gratitude.

About 5,000 Vietnamese expatriates are currently living and working in Angola. Most of them live on small trade, but now they have applied hi-tech in business and work in tourism, hotels, and restaurants.

Notably, an avenue was named after Ho Chi Minh in Luanda, the capital of Angola. That means this African country has deep feelings for the beloved leader of Vietnam and Vietnamese people.

University cements scholarship deal

A five-year cooperation agreement was signed between the HCM City Technology University and the cement manufacturing joint venture company Holcim Vietnam last Friday.

Under the agreement, Holcim will provide scholarships worth VND110 million per year from now until 2013 for top students as well as the disadvantaged struggling to graduate from university.

Holcim will also supply 200 to 300 tonnes of cement per year for Technology students’ activities during their "Green Summer" campaigns to develop remote areas in the country.

Tech University students will be able to take tours of Holcim’s plants and factories or even intern there to familiarise themselves with the industry.

Eighty wedding guests get food poisoning

Ha Tay Province’s Phuc Tho District Preventive Medicine Centre said nearly 80 people were treated on Wednesday evening for vomiting and diarrhoea.

The patients were among 600 people who had attended a wedding party on the morning of the same day.

Eight food samples were tested, as the patients were suspected of suffering from food poisoning.

Three dead in Vung Tau seaside drowning

Three people, including two teenagers, drowned while swimming off the Vung Tau beaches on Wednesday.

At one point in the day the weather and wind direction changed suddenly, overturning the floatation devices of many swimmers and carrying them out to sea.

Forty-six people were rescued over the course of Wednesday and Thursday. However, strong winds and heavy rains prevented the rescue team from saving three of the stranded victims .

Heavy rains in North should help irrigation

The Central Weather Forecast Bureau said the North and North Central regions would experience showers and gales today and tomorrow.

These rains are caused by strong winds and low barometric pressure.

The rains will supply a great amount of water for hydroelectricity reservoirs and irrigation networks.

However, mountainous areas should take precautions against strong winds, hail and landslides.

Three die after binge drinking on wine

Can Tho General Hospital on Thursday said three out of four people who had arrived suffering from wine poisoning died.

The remaining patient was moved to HCM City for further treatment.

The poisoning victims were initially hospitalised on Monday with symptoms of low blood pressure and severe respiratory problems.

Catholic congress in Hai Phong

Catholics in the northern port city of Hai Phong convened their fifth congress from April 28-29 to identify major tasks for the next five years.

At the congress, 137 parishes pledged to uphold patriotic tradition and the emulation movement to firmly advance the city during the process of industrialisation and modernisation.

They agreed to promote the movement to build cultured life in residential areas and strive to fight social evils.

Also on April 29, nearly 200 outstanding Catholics from parishes across central Binh Dinh Province attended their fourth congress.

ICF pays to remove VN girl’s tumour

Doctors successfully removed a 7kg tumour from the face of a Vietnamese girl in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida in the US, with financial support from the International Children’s Fund (ICF), according to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Mexico.

It’s reported that the tumour first appeared on Lai Thi Dao’s tongue when she was three years old and quickly spread. The tumour, one-third of the girl’s weight, made it difficult for her to eat, speak and move around.

The ICF raised US$107,000 for the girl’s surgery.

Australia gives VN 170 scholarships

The Australian Government will provide 170 scholarships to Vietnamese students for postgraduate study at Australian universities in 2009.

Australia Development Scholarships are given out to students interested in studying business, trade, public policy, law, development research, management, agricultural science and environmental research, public health, English teaching and educational management in universities in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane.

Two dead in bus-truck smash

Two people were killed and 20 others injured when a truck collided head-on with a bus on National Highway 1 in Quang Nam Province early yesterday morning.

The south-bound bus was travelling from Hai Duong when it crashed into the truck at Tam Xuan 2 Commune in Nui Thanh District, police said.

The collision totalled the bus, killing the driver and a passenger, and injured 20 of the 33 passengers on board.

Survivors from the bus said the collision was so severe that many passengers were thrown out of the front window onto the road.

Vice President calls for joint actions for disadvantaged people

Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan has called on mass organisations, individuals and all strata of people to jointly take actions to help disadvantaged people.

The Vice President made the call at a ceremony to launch the campaign “each organisation, each individual helps one humanitarian address”, held by the Vietnam Red Cross Society in Hanoi on May 4.

She said the campaign is a good and practical initiative in response to the 118 th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh and the 145 th anniversary of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day which will fall on May 8.

The campaign aims to bring help to an estimated 651,000 disadvantaged people this year. The assistance ranges from cash donations, capital for business start-up to free medical treatment.

The campaign will later be launched in Ho Chi Minh City on May 18. Around 10,000 people will take part in a march to support Agent Orange victims and disabled people.

Traffic accidents claim over 200 lives during holidays

The week-long holidays from April 25 to May 1 saw 217 traffic accidents occur across the country, killing 207 people and injuring 105 others.

According to the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department, most of the accidents were caused by speeding and traffic law violations.

Major hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City reported that the number of traffic victims with head injuries suddenly increased last week, especially on the two national holidays on April 30 and May 1.

In the period, traffic congestions were seen in many places, especially tourist and entertainment.