OVs, foreign friends give helping hands to storm victims

President of the Vietnam Fatherland (VFF) Central Committee Do Van Chien on September 20 received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic missions, and foreign enterprises to people affected by recent Typhoon Yagi and its subsequent floods in some northern localities.
President of the Vietnam Fatherland Central Committee Do Van Chien (R) receives token of fund raised among OVs abroad for storm-hit people from Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairwoman of the State Committee for OV Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. (Photo: VNA)
President of the Vietnam Fatherland Central Committee Do Van Chien (R) receives token of fund raised among OVs abroad for storm-hit people from Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairwoman of the State Committee for OV Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. (Photo: VNA)

The aid included 4 billion VND (162,568 USD) from the Chinese Business Association in Vietnam, nearly 2 million BHT (60,740 USD) from the Thai Government, 1 million USD from India's Adani Group, 2 billion VND from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and 19.3 billion VND from the Vietnamese associations in Angola, Belarus, Laos, Thailand, Japan, Russia, Australia, Cambodia, China, Mongolia, the US, Hong Kong (China), Macau (China), the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.

Addressing the ceremony, Chien said he is moved when receiving the support for the storm victims, and expressed gratitude to the donors, pledging to use the fund to directly assist the affected communities in an effective, transparent, and open manner under the supervision of the people and society.

According to Chien, Typhoon Yagi hit 26 localities in the northern region, especially Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh. It killed and left missing 356 people and injured thousands others, while destroying tens of thousands of houses, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops.

Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers from armed forces have been mobilised to support affected people to overcome the storm's consequences, he said, adding that the VFF has called for support from businesses, collectives, and individuals at home and abroad as well as international friends for the affected communities.

He cited a preliminary report as showing that 10 days after the call, the VFF Central Committee's Relief Board received more than 1.62 trillion VND from donors, and 1.03 billion VND from the amount has been distributed to 26 localities.

He stressed that in hard times, the tradition of solidarity and mutual support of Vietnamese people has been promoted strongly.

Chien said that currently, fund-raising activities have been continuously carried out among the overseas Vietnamese community. As of September 20, over 31 billion VND had been collected, of which 21 billion VND has been sent home.

Earlier on September 13, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs handed over more than 600 million VND to the VFF Central Committee.

VNA