Speaking at the meeting, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Long, Director of the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin Social Support Centre, said the centre was established to help improve healthcare, living conditions and social integration opportunities for Agent Orange/dioxin victims and their families.
The centre currently focuses on three main tasks: providing detoxification steam therapy and rehabilitation for former soldiers who are Agent Orange victims under the Hubbard protocol transferred from the US; providing care, accommodation and vocational training for children of people who participated in the resistance war and were exposed to toxic chemicals; and mobilising domestic and international organisations, businesses and philanthropists to provide financial, material and emotional support for the victims.
According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thang Long, the centre's activities have received support from numerous agencies, organisations and businesses, including the Ministry of National Defence, the Viet Nam National Industry-Energy Group and the Military Industry and Telecommunications Group, as well as international partners such as Gyeonggi Province of the RoK, the Japanese Embassy and many charitable organisations and individuals.
The centre hopes to further strengthen exchanges, learn from experience and gain access to the scientific and technological achievements of the RoK in addressing the consequences of war, providing healthcare and rehabilitating victims of toxic chemicals. It also pledges to receive, manage and use all support for its intended purposes in an open and transparent manner, ensuring that assistance is practical and effective.
Speaking at the event, Colonel and Doctor Pham Xuan Hung, Vice President of the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, expressed his sincere gratitude for the goodwill and continued support extended by the Bom Foundation, HOAVAVA and organisations and businesses from the RoK to Vietnamese victims over the years.
Colonel and Doctor Pham Xuan Hung said the President of the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin had recently paid a visit and working trip to the RoK, taking part in activities to establish connections and mobilise resources to support Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.
Notably, just before the reception, representatives of organisations from the RoK held a working session with the association's central committee to discuss plans to open an art gallery in Viet Nam, with a view to raising funds and mobilising support for the victims.
Sharing her thoughts at the meeting, Son Ha-eun, President of the Bom Foundation and head of the representative office of the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin in the RoK, said she was deeply moved to meet former soldiers, victims' families and children receiving care at the centre in person.
The delegation from the RoK presents 80 gift packages and cash donations worth a total of 270 million VND to representatives of former soldiers, Agent Orange/dioxin victims and children being cared for at the centre.
Son Ha-eun acknowledged and highly appreciated the dedication of the centre's doctors, medical staff and employees in treating, rehabilitating and caring for the victims.
She affirmed that she would continue to promote cooperation with the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, connecting medical facilities, experts, doctors and humanitarian partners in the ROK to seek practical solutions in healthcare, rehabilitation and long-term care for the victims.
The visit will further strengthen cooperation between the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin and charitable organisations, businesses and individuals from the RoK, while expanding international resource mobilisation for the care and support of victims, joining hands to address the consequences of war and spread the spirit of compassion between the peoples of the two countries.
