16:41' 21/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge – The Transport Ministry will begin clearing illegal structures along National Highway 1 on May 1.
The VND14tril, about US$875mil, campaign would eliminate encroaching buildings to re-establish traffic safety, said Viet Nam Roads Administration deputy director Ngo Quang Dao on Thursday.
Four sections, Hanoi-Ninh Binh; Vinh-Hue; Da Nang-Nha Trang and Ninh Thuan to south of HCM City, would be cleared during the first three-month phase, he said.
The Viet Nam Roads Administration estimates that about 80,000 structures have been illegally built along the north-south highway.
They include residences and commercial buildings.
Illegal roads also criss-cross the major artery.
Owners of the structures are being told this month to clear sites 5-7 metres from the road's edge or they will be bulldozed.
Owners of structures erected after 1999 would not be compensated in accordance with Decree 172, said Ngo Quang Dao.
Occupiers of land that local officials had illegally allocated for cultivation or the building of dwellings before that date could negotiate for payment but not until the third phase of the campaign which begins in 2010.
The deputy director said that about 50% of illegally built cross roads - often lower than the highway and a cause of accidents - would be eliminated.
Most had been built without the Transport Ministry's permission.
Although the administration's permission was now necessary for all new roads only 27 of the country's 64 cities and provinces had so far submitted their projects for approval, he said.
The deputy director said that all illegal structures along the highway would be eliminated during the campaign second phase, from the end of July to 2010.
Municipal officers had been asked to co-operate in having the illegal structures cleared by next March in accordance with Viet Nam Government Resolution 32 of last June.
Viet Nam Railways plans to spend more than VND4tril, about $250-mil, between now and 2020 to have illegal structures cleared from alongside its tracks.
Monday, 21 April 2008
Friday, 18 April 2008
The poor afraid of getting rich!
07:01' 19/04/2008 (GMT+7)
A silk shop in Van Phuc Village
VietNamNet Bridge – The poor have to suffer many pains: natural calamities, epidemics, price escalation, etc. when they don’t have money. But when they have money, they are afflicted with even greater pains. This absurdity actually exists.
When a village is turned into a street
Villagers at Van Phuc silk village in Ha Dong city, Ha Tay province are not happy about the news that they will become residents of the capital in the near future.
Thuy Hanh, the owner of a silk shop in Van Phuc village, said her husband was born in Chuong My district, Ha Tay province, so he experienced a merging. In the past Chuong My district’s Thien Phuong and Phung Chau were merged into Hanoi, but after the merging there was no change in these communes, so they were returned to Ha Tay.
But as Ha Tay will be merged into Hanoi, the land prices in Van Phuc are rocketing. Land traders are flocking to Ha Tay and Van Phuc in particular to buy all kinds of land. The local people consider this a chance to change their lives.
“They sell their land but they are not happy,” Hanh commented.
“Farmers can save several million VND a year. Suddenly they have hundreds of millions of VND from selling their fields. They have money but what will they do when they don’t have land?” queried Nguyen Van Du, Vice Chairman of the Van Phuc commune People’s Committee.
Du mentioned the case of Me Tri and Me Dinh as typical examples of local people getting a lot of money from selling land but after that not having jobs and becoming drug addicts and lazy people.
“Van Phuc is a traditional craft village so we are very worried that the locals will target short-term benefit and forget the long term,” Du said.
When villages become streets, farmers may not be able to adapt themselves to urban life if the urbanisation process takes place too quickly. The poor may get rich from selling their fields but this is short-term wealth, which incurs latent risks, Du added.
Van Phuc village has nearly 1,280 households, 90% of them producing and trading silk. The villagers have a traditional profession so they are not poor, but they still worry about urbanisation.
Swapping life for money
All three sons of an old couple in Tho Xuan district in the central province of Thanh Hoa headed to HCM City to earn their living. The couple didn’t know what their sons did but they sent home VND2 million every month. VND2 million is very valuable in the rural area and the couple didn’t need to do anything. They leased out their fields to receive rice.
Suddenly, the three sons came back, bearing serious diseases, the consequences of a long hardworking period. The old couple just cried and wished that their children had not been so thirsty to get rich far from their hometown and been content to do fieldwork at home.
Thuy’s family in Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoa province, is considered the richest family in his village because they own several brick kilns. He began producing bricks over ten years ago. His children are very keen on getting rich by this job. They spend all their time at kilns inhaling toxic gases discharged from these kilns.
Thuy’s family gets rich from these kilns because for each batch of bricks he can earn several hundred VND, much more than for doing fieldwork, but his children are always sick.
“When we were poor, we always wished to be rich. But now we have some money, we are afraid of being wealthy because its cost is too high!” said Thuy.
Most patients in big hospitals in Hanoi like K, Bach Mai, etc. are farmers. It is difficult for farmers to get rich by farm work because Vietnam’s agriculture is un-concentrated. Each farmer family has 2.5 labourers and owns around 0.7ha of land. The country has around 70 million small rice fields, according to a specialist, Prof. Nguyen Lan Dung.
“Farmers don’t have ‘opportunities’ to make money from doing illegal or legal business. They can only exchange their physical strength for money. They are hardworking, lack knowledge, so sometimes they barter their lives for money,” said historian Duong Trung Quoc.
A silk shop in Van Phuc Village
VietNamNet Bridge – The poor have to suffer many pains: natural calamities, epidemics, price escalation, etc. when they don’t have money. But when they have money, they are afflicted with even greater pains. This absurdity actually exists.
When a village is turned into a street
Villagers at Van Phuc silk village in Ha Dong city, Ha Tay province are not happy about the news that they will become residents of the capital in the near future.
Thuy Hanh, the owner of a silk shop in Van Phuc village, said her husband was born in Chuong My district, Ha Tay province, so he experienced a merging. In the past Chuong My district’s Thien Phuong and Phung Chau were merged into Hanoi, but after the merging there was no change in these communes, so they were returned to Ha Tay.
But as Ha Tay will be merged into Hanoi, the land prices in Van Phuc are rocketing. Land traders are flocking to Ha Tay and Van Phuc in particular to buy all kinds of land. The local people consider this a chance to change their lives.
“They sell their land but they are not happy,” Hanh commented.
“Farmers can save several million VND a year. Suddenly they have hundreds of millions of VND from selling their fields. They have money but what will they do when they don’t have land?” queried Nguyen Van Du, Vice Chairman of the Van Phuc commune People’s Committee.
Du mentioned the case of Me Tri and Me Dinh as typical examples of local people getting a lot of money from selling land but after that not having jobs and becoming drug addicts and lazy people.
“Van Phuc is a traditional craft village so we are very worried that the locals will target short-term benefit and forget the long term,” Du said.
When villages become streets, farmers may not be able to adapt themselves to urban life if the urbanisation process takes place too quickly. The poor may get rich from selling their fields but this is short-term wealth, which incurs latent risks, Du added.
Van Phuc village has nearly 1,280 households, 90% of them producing and trading silk. The villagers have a traditional profession so they are not poor, but they still worry about urbanisation.
Swapping life for money
All three sons of an old couple in Tho Xuan district in the central province of Thanh Hoa headed to HCM City to earn their living. The couple didn’t know what their sons did but they sent home VND2 million every month. VND2 million is very valuable in the rural area and the couple didn’t need to do anything. They leased out their fields to receive rice.
Suddenly, the three sons came back, bearing serious diseases, the consequences of a long hardworking period. The old couple just cried and wished that their children had not been so thirsty to get rich far from their hometown and been content to do fieldwork at home.
Thuy’s family in Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoa province, is considered the richest family in his village because they own several brick kilns. He began producing bricks over ten years ago. His children are very keen on getting rich by this job. They spend all their time at kilns inhaling toxic gases discharged from these kilns.
Thuy’s family gets rich from these kilns because for each batch of bricks he can earn several hundred VND, much more than for doing fieldwork, but his children are always sick.
“When we were poor, we always wished to be rich. But now we have some money, we are afraid of being wealthy because its cost is too high!” said Thuy.
Most patients in big hospitals in Hanoi like K, Bach Mai, etc. are farmers. It is difficult for farmers to get rich by farm work because Vietnam’s agriculture is un-concentrated. Each farmer family has 2.5 labourers and owns around 0.7ha of land. The country has around 70 million small rice fields, according to a specialist, Prof. Nguyen Lan Dung.
“Farmers don’t have ‘opportunities’ to make money from doing illegal or legal business. They can only exchange their physical strength for money. They are hardworking, lack knowledge, so sometimes they barter their lives for money,” said historian Duong Trung Quoc.
“Dad, help!”
03:30' 19/04/2008 (GMT+7)
The healthy kid at home...
VietNamNet Bridge - Bui Duc Minh is just over 3 years old but he has suffered from blood cancer for almost one year already.
His parents, Trung and Thuy, are professors at Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam. When they decided to take him to Singapore for special treatment in March 2008, the amount of white blood cells in his body had already reached 95% of his blood. His life seemed to be leaving him.
Little Minh told his father with tears from pain: “Dad, help. Please help me out of this.” Listening to him, feeling a sharp pain in his heart, Trung, his father, did not know what to do, since his treatment requires a large amount of money, approximately 200,000 SGD. If only he could give his son all his blood, he would do it without fail.
Here are some passages taken from his parents’ diary:
12th March 2008
This is the last day we stay here, at National Pediatrics Hospital. After spending half a year at this hospital and having more than 30 tests, the doctors still have failed to reach an exact conclusion about his disease. Little Minh has suffered too much from pain and all the long treatment. He can no longer stand it. He does not want to see anyone anymore.
Not until today did they find out that his symptoms show white blood cell marrow type M1 (acute lymphoblastic leukemia AML). The doctors say they are incapable of treating this case in Vietnam. The only hope is to take him to Singapore for special treatment.
And so we pack our things and make our way to Singapore.
19th March 2008
He is suffering from a high fever as we take him to Singapore. The number of white blood cells in his body is 400 % higher than in normal people. Little Minh cannot drink or eat. His nights are always interrupted with pains; he never has a full night’s sleep.
Right after we set foot at the airport, he had to check into the hospital immediately and go through an overall check for thirty minutes. All the results confirmed that he has acute lymphoblastic leukemia AML. He was then sent to a special room for treatment to overcome the immediate danger.
I cannot help my tears from falling during his chemical treatment process when I see him cry in pain and beg for help from his parents and family. What can I do??? At that moment, there’s nothing in my mind other than the thought I HAVE TO get him out of this pain, out of all this surgery. I never want to see him suffering from this pain again. I never want to see him scared when a nurse or a doctor comes close to him. Never.
25th March 2008
After every chemical treatment little Minh feels really tired and hurts. At home every time he gets a vaccine injection he forgets easily. Now 3 or 4 intravenous chemical treatment tubes never seem to leave his little hand. Whenever my child has a high fever, he has to have his blood checked again. There are days that he has to overcome 9 injections. The pain and fear bother him even in his dreams. Sometimes he is half-awake at night crying in his sleep and calling out to us, “Mom, dad, I’m scared…Why did this happen to me? Mom, Dad, tell me?...Why does it hurt me so much?…Please, please get me out of this pain. Mom...Dad...” His dreams and our sleep are full of tears and fearfulness for a suspended future. Once in a while it dawns on us, and we realise how far away we are from our home and from being a happy normal family.
... and the kid in hospital.
26th March 2008
We have talked to the doctor and the results are good. But the relief does not last long, as we are faced with another problem. There are only two ways of treating this disease, neither of which our family can afford:
1. Bone marrow transplant for 300.000 SGD
2. Chemotherapy for 220.000 SGD
Not to mention living expenses for our whole family for one year in Singapore.
According to Dr. Allen Yeoh, either way of treatment will succeed to some extent.
I was shocked at the huge amount of money because this amount of money is completely beyond our expectation. What do I have to do to get this amount of money in 6 months? My son’s life depends on our decision.
I look at him and I cannot think anything. All I can do at that moment is run out of the doors with tears running down my face. I have to calm down and think of some way to save my son. Even if I sold our own and only house, I would not have enough money to get out of this situation. What else can I do? It is my son’s life!
I decide to have him undergo the first phase of chemical treatment method. I only have 3 weeks to do all I can to get the money. My only hope is that some organisations can help me with the money. My son’s little tearful voice keeps spinning in my head, “Dad, please help me, please. Why do I have to suffer from this pain? Dad, tell me why?” My child is only 3.5 years old. I have to do something.
But what can I do now? I beg you for some advice, encouragement and strength, from your wisdom and experience so that I can bring some sunshine back to this little family.
Translator: He looks so small in his bed that is so big. It is not easy to translate the tearful pages of this diary. It breaks every little piece of my heart. So please, I beg you for some help for little Minh. After all, he’s just a 3 year-old child.
The healthy kid at home...
VietNamNet Bridge - Bui Duc Minh is just over 3 years old but he has suffered from blood cancer for almost one year already.
His parents, Trung and Thuy, are professors at Economics University in Hanoi, Vietnam. When they decided to take him to Singapore for special treatment in March 2008, the amount of white blood cells in his body had already reached 95% of his blood. His life seemed to be leaving him.
Little Minh told his father with tears from pain: “Dad, help. Please help me out of this.” Listening to him, feeling a sharp pain in his heart, Trung, his father, did not know what to do, since his treatment requires a large amount of money, approximately 200,000 SGD. If only he could give his son all his blood, he would do it without fail.
Here are some passages taken from his parents’ diary:
12th March 2008
This is the last day we stay here, at National Pediatrics Hospital. After spending half a year at this hospital and having more than 30 tests, the doctors still have failed to reach an exact conclusion about his disease. Little Minh has suffered too much from pain and all the long treatment. He can no longer stand it. He does not want to see anyone anymore.
Not until today did they find out that his symptoms show white blood cell marrow type M1 (acute lymphoblastic leukemia AML). The doctors say they are incapable of treating this case in Vietnam. The only hope is to take him to Singapore for special treatment.
And so we pack our things and make our way to Singapore.
19th March 2008
He is suffering from a high fever as we take him to Singapore. The number of white blood cells in his body is 400 % higher than in normal people. Little Minh cannot drink or eat. His nights are always interrupted with pains; he never has a full night’s sleep.
Right after we set foot at the airport, he had to check into the hospital immediately and go through an overall check for thirty minutes. All the results confirmed that he has acute lymphoblastic leukemia AML. He was then sent to a special room for treatment to overcome the immediate danger.
I cannot help my tears from falling during his chemical treatment process when I see him cry in pain and beg for help from his parents and family. What can I do??? At that moment, there’s nothing in my mind other than the thought I HAVE TO get him out of this pain, out of all this surgery. I never want to see him suffering from this pain again. I never want to see him scared when a nurse or a doctor comes close to him. Never.
25th March 2008
After every chemical treatment little Minh feels really tired and hurts. At home every time he gets a vaccine injection he forgets easily. Now 3 or 4 intravenous chemical treatment tubes never seem to leave his little hand. Whenever my child has a high fever, he has to have his blood checked again. There are days that he has to overcome 9 injections. The pain and fear bother him even in his dreams. Sometimes he is half-awake at night crying in his sleep and calling out to us, “Mom, dad, I’m scared…Why did this happen to me? Mom, Dad, tell me?...Why does it hurt me so much?…Please, please get me out of this pain. Mom...Dad...” His dreams and our sleep are full of tears and fearfulness for a suspended future. Once in a while it dawns on us, and we realise how far away we are from our home and from being a happy normal family.
... and the kid in hospital.
26th March 2008
We have talked to the doctor and the results are good. But the relief does not last long, as we are faced with another problem. There are only two ways of treating this disease, neither of which our family can afford:
1. Bone marrow transplant for 300.000 SGD
2. Chemotherapy for 220.000 SGD
Not to mention living expenses for our whole family for one year in Singapore.
According to Dr. Allen Yeoh, either way of treatment will succeed to some extent.
I was shocked at the huge amount of money because this amount of money is completely beyond our expectation. What do I have to do to get this amount of money in 6 months? My son’s life depends on our decision.
I look at him and I cannot think anything. All I can do at that moment is run out of the doors with tears running down my face. I have to calm down and think of some way to save my son. Even if I sold our own and only house, I would not have enough money to get out of this situation. What else can I do? It is my son’s life!
I decide to have him undergo the first phase of chemical treatment method. I only have 3 weeks to do all I can to get the money. My only hope is that some organisations can help me with the money. My son’s little tearful voice keeps spinning in my head, “Dad, please help me, please. Why do I have to suffer from this pain? Dad, tell me why?” My child is only 3.5 years old. I have to do something.
But what can I do now? I beg you for some advice, encouragement and strength, from your wisdom and experience so that I can bring some sunshine back to this little family.
Translator: He looks so small in his bed that is so big. It is not easy to translate the tearful pages of this diary. It breaks every little piece of my heart. So please, I beg you for some help for little Minh. After all, he’s just a 3 year-old child.
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Faster compensation sought for displaced City residents
05:44' 17/04/2008 (GMT+7)
Resettlement housing is readied for occupancy at the Thanh My Loi new urban area in HCM City. The resettlement area is part of the Thu Thiem new urban area project.
VietNamNet Bridge - Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has ordered goverment agencies to hasten compensation to displaced residents to make way for the construction of 12,500 apartments in the Thu Thiem new urban area.
Construction of three resettlement areas in Binh Khanh Ward will start in July to house residents in five wards displaced by the Thu Thiem project.
The first resettlement area located on 17.3ha will have 1,886 apartments, while the second area will include 4,200 apartments covering 30ha and the third, 6,500 apartments on 38.4ha.
Earlier, the city People’s Committee toured the area to survey the progress and set out a deadline for compensation and site clearance work in the Thu Thiem new urban area project.
The project has been delayed because of compensation and site clearance problems, which have raised the accumulative interest on construction item loans to VND583 million ($36,437) a day.
Resettlement housing is readied for occupancy at the Thanh My Loi new urban area in HCM City. The resettlement area is part of the Thu Thiem new urban area project.
VietNamNet Bridge - Chairman of HCM City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has ordered goverment agencies to hasten compensation to displaced residents to make way for the construction of 12,500 apartments in the Thu Thiem new urban area.
Construction of three resettlement areas in Binh Khanh Ward will start in July to house residents in five wards displaced by the Thu Thiem project.
The first resettlement area located on 17.3ha will have 1,886 apartments, while the second area will include 4,200 apartments covering 30ha and the third, 6,500 apartments on 38.4ha.
Earlier, the city People’s Committee toured the area to survey the progress and set out a deadline for compensation and site clearance work in the Thu Thiem new urban area project.
The project has been delayed because of compensation and site clearance problems, which have raised the accumulative interest on construction item loans to VND583 million ($36,437) a day.
Quang Ninh’s Party Secretary threatened with assassination
11:40' 17/04/2008 (GMT+7)
Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung
VietNamNet Bridge – Party Secretary of the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh is now under local police’s 24/7 protection and transported by specialized car. Hung said the threat comes from illegal coal exploiters.
The official, Nguyen Duy Hung, received a mobile message on April 14, which says that illegal coal exploiters in Hon Gia, Quang Ninh, have hired gangsters to follow Hung’s every move and assassinate him.
According to Hung, illegal coal exploiters threaten him because of Quang Ninh’s campaign to combat illegal coal exploitation. Within three days, the local government seized up to 105 coal boats and more than 10,000 tons of illegally exploited coal. Around 200 other coal boats will be inspected.
The Party Secretary confirmed that despite the threat, there is no change in his family’s activities.
“My wife is quite worried. My children also know the threat. But I think the threat aims to make me pull back the campaign so I don’t worry,” Hung said.
However, the official reported the threat to the Ministry of Public Security. Local police have assigned bodyguards to protect Hung and his family 24/7 and carry the official from his house to office by specialized car.
On April 16, at a meeting with the Central Steering Board on Anti-corruption, Quang Ninh officials committed to fiercely combat illegal coal exploitation in the province.
There are different coal wharves and grounds owned by private firms in Quang Ninh. Some have used armed gangs to scramble for coal exploitation areas, etc., causing uncertainty in the province, illegal coal exploitation and exports.
China’s Guangxi reported the importation of 31 million tons of coal from Quang Ninh province last year, nearly double the official volume.
Mr. Nguyen Duy Hung
VietNamNet Bridge – Party Secretary of the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh is now under local police’s 24/7 protection and transported by specialized car. Hung said the threat comes from illegal coal exploiters.
The official, Nguyen Duy Hung, received a mobile message on April 14, which says that illegal coal exploiters in Hon Gia, Quang Ninh, have hired gangsters to follow Hung’s every move and assassinate him.
According to Hung, illegal coal exploiters threaten him because of Quang Ninh’s campaign to combat illegal coal exploitation. Within three days, the local government seized up to 105 coal boats and more than 10,000 tons of illegally exploited coal. Around 200 other coal boats will be inspected.
The Party Secretary confirmed that despite the threat, there is no change in his family’s activities.
“My wife is quite worried. My children also know the threat. But I think the threat aims to make me pull back the campaign so I don’t worry,” Hung said.
However, the official reported the threat to the Ministry of Public Security. Local police have assigned bodyguards to protect Hung and his family 24/7 and carry the official from his house to office by specialized car.
On April 16, at a meeting with the Central Steering Board on Anti-corruption, Quang Ninh officials committed to fiercely combat illegal coal exploitation in the province.
There are different coal wharves and grounds owned by private firms in Quang Ninh. Some have used armed gangs to scramble for coal exploitation areas, etc., causing uncertainty in the province, illegal coal exploitation and exports.
China’s Guangxi reported the importation of 31 million tons of coal from Quang Ninh province last year, nearly double the official volume.
Call to standardise social work
00:32' 18/04/2008 (GMT+7)
A teacher at the northern province of Hai Duong’s social sponsoring centre helps deaf children make clothes. There has been a call for the Government to issue laws regulating the role of social workers.
VietNamNet Bridge - Responding to a call for his Mum from a pale-skinned, paralysed boy, the nurse wipes food from his grubby face and continues to spoon-feed him.
It is part of a day’s work for Nguyen Thi Hao, who works at the Ha Noi Centre for Disabled Children and the Elderly.
"After spoon-feeding 10 paralysed children, I clean the house, then take all the children and wash their hands," Hao said.
The 42-year-old centre located at Ba Vi Township in Ha Tay Province has 72 social workers. Most are nurses.
They take care of 304 people, of whom 170 are elderly. The rest are disabled children. Twenty-eight are under five years of age and 15 are new-born babies.
"Some staff have worked at the centre for more than 10 years. The average monthly salary is VND1.5 million a head," said centre director Nguyen Trong Pham. "All work with the thought that it is relieving pain and discomfort for the unfortunate."
Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Bach Hong has said it’s time to professionalise social workers and put them on the State payroll.
At present, wages for social workers at centres for the elderly or children with HIV/AIDS in orphanages are paid by each centre.
Some social workers are forced to leave work at the centres to find a better income at health centres under the State payroll system.
"If medical exposure for social workers is the same, we must look for places where we are offered a better salary," said one worker at the Ba Vi Centre for HIV-infected children.
Social workers belong to groups enjoying a State monthly allowance.
The Ministry’s Social Sponsoring Department reports that in Viet Nam, there are 7.5 million old people, 5.3 million disabled people and 1.4 million children living in difficult conditions. All need the help of social workers.
Also in need of help are people in Viet Nam’s poorer communes, rural labourers pushed out of work because of rapid urbanisation and those suffering from the growing number of social evils.
However, there are only about 20,000 semi-professional social workers throughout the nation.
"Untrained social workers often lack essential skills and awareness about welfare work," said Nguyen Hai Huu, director of the Social Sponsoring Department. "As a result, job efficiency is far from that required."
For example, care givers for sick elderly people should have some medical skills, however urban families often employ untrained rural women to take care of patients at home.
Unclear role
The role of social workers in Viet Nam is unclear. Many people don’t understand what they are and what they are supposed to do, said deputy minister Hong.
He said Viet Nam was in the process of creating a legal corridor to develop social work as a professional career.
The Ministry has sent a draft to the Government on the subject. If approved, implemention will be carried out from 2009 to 2015.
According to the draft, social workers should be trained at college-university level in Viet Nam.
Hong said the social-worker network must keep pace with the development of the nation and focus on retraining grassroots welfare employees working at ward and commune-level.
The process should focus on building up key social workers. At least two should be provided for each district and 10 for each social sponsoring centre.
Key workers should return to retrain and develop the network in their workplaces.
(Source: VNS
A teacher at the northern province of Hai Duong’s social sponsoring centre helps deaf children make clothes. There has been a call for the Government to issue laws regulating the role of social workers.
VietNamNet Bridge - Responding to a call for his Mum from a pale-skinned, paralysed boy, the nurse wipes food from his grubby face and continues to spoon-feed him.
It is part of a day’s work for Nguyen Thi Hao, who works at the Ha Noi Centre for Disabled Children and the Elderly.
"After spoon-feeding 10 paralysed children, I clean the house, then take all the children and wash their hands," Hao said.
The 42-year-old centre located at Ba Vi Township in Ha Tay Province has 72 social workers. Most are nurses.
They take care of 304 people, of whom 170 are elderly. The rest are disabled children. Twenty-eight are under five years of age and 15 are new-born babies.
"Some staff have worked at the centre for more than 10 years. The average monthly salary is VND1.5 million a head," said centre director Nguyen Trong Pham. "All work with the thought that it is relieving pain and discomfort for the unfortunate."
Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Bach Hong has said it’s time to professionalise social workers and put them on the State payroll.
At present, wages for social workers at centres for the elderly or children with HIV/AIDS in orphanages are paid by each centre.
Some social workers are forced to leave work at the centres to find a better income at health centres under the State payroll system.
"If medical exposure for social workers is the same, we must look for places where we are offered a better salary," said one worker at the Ba Vi Centre for HIV-infected children.
Social workers belong to groups enjoying a State monthly allowance.
The Ministry’s Social Sponsoring Department reports that in Viet Nam, there are 7.5 million old people, 5.3 million disabled people and 1.4 million children living in difficult conditions. All need the help of social workers.
Also in need of help are people in Viet Nam’s poorer communes, rural labourers pushed out of work because of rapid urbanisation and those suffering from the growing number of social evils.
However, there are only about 20,000 semi-professional social workers throughout the nation.
"Untrained social workers often lack essential skills and awareness about welfare work," said Nguyen Hai Huu, director of the Social Sponsoring Department. "As a result, job efficiency is far from that required."
For example, care givers for sick elderly people should have some medical skills, however urban families often employ untrained rural women to take care of patients at home.
Unclear role
The role of social workers in Viet Nam is unclear. Many people don’t understand what they are and what they are supposed to do, said deputy minister Hong.
He said Viet Nam was in the process of creating a legal corridor to develop social work as a professional career.
The Ministry has sent a draft to the Government on the subject. If approved, implemention will be carried out from 2009 to 2015.
According to the draft, social workers should be trained at college-university level in Viet Nam.
Hong said the social-worker network must keep pace with the development of the nation and focus on retraining grassroots welfare employees working at ward and commune-level.
The process should focus on building up key social workers. At least two should be provided for each district and 10 for each social sponsoring centre.
Key workers should return to retrain and develop the network in their workplaces.
(Source: VNS
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Mekong Delta enjoys bumper rice crop
11:00' 15/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge - Farmers in the Mekong Delta are enjoying a bumper winter-spring rice crop. They have already harvested around 1.5 million tons of rice.
Nearly 20,000 tons are left to harvest. The average yield is reported to have reached 6.2 tons a hectare while total production exceeded 9.3 million tons.
At the same time, some farmers in the region have already started their upcoming summer-autumn crop. Dr. Mai Thanh Phung, member of the Steering Committee for Brown Hopper Prevention and Control, said that the currently higher prices of rice, ranging from VND4,500/kg – 5,200/kg, have encouraged farmers to increase production of the crop.
Up to now, farmers in the Mekong Delta, including the provinces of Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An, An Giang and Can Tho city, have sown nearly 400,000 hectares out of 1.6 million, doubled from last year.
In related news, the price of Tra and basa fish in the delta rose after a month of repeated drops.
In An Giang province and Can Tho city, a kilo of white–flesh Tra fish, used as a raw material for processed foods, ranges from VND15,200/kg to VND15,500/kg depending on its quality, Yellow-flesh Tra fish costs between VND14,000/kg-14,500/kg, up an average of VND1,000-2,000 a kilo compared to three weeks ago.
Many farmers have not yet sold their produce based on the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers’ forecast that the price of Tra fish will go up in a next few days due to increased demand for the filet of this kind of fish from Central America, the Middle East and Europe.
(Source: SGGP)
VietNamNet Bridge - Farmers in the Mekong Delta are enjoying a bumper winter-spring rice crop. They have already harvested around 1.5 million tons of rice.
Nearly 20,000 tons are left to harvest. The average yield is reported to have reached 6.2 tons a hectare while total production exceeded 9.3 million tons.
At the same time, some farmers in the region have already started their upcoming summer-autumn crop. Dr. Mai Thanh Phung, member of the Steering Committee for Brown Hopper Prevention and Control, said that the currently higher prices of rice, ranging from VND4,500/kg – 5,200/kg, have encouraged farmers to increase production of the crop.
Up to now, farmers in the Mekong Delta, including the provinces of Vinh Long, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An, An Giang and Can Tho city, have sown nearly 400,000 hectares out of 1.6 million, doubled from last year.
In related news, the price of Tra and basa fish in the delta rose after a month of repeated drops.
In An Giang province and Can Tho city, a kilo of white–flesh Tra fish, used as a raw material for processed foods, ranges from VND15,200/kg to VND15,500/kg depending on its quality, Yellow-flesh Tra fish costs between VND14,000/kg-14,500/kg, up an average of VND1,000-2,000 a kilo compared to three weeks ago.
Many farmers have not yet sold their produce based on the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers’ forecast that the price of Tra fish will go up in a next few days due to increased demand for the filet of this kind of fish from Central America, the Middle East and Europe.
(Source: SGGP)
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