Thousands of People Walk for AO Victims

VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of people walked around Hanoi’s Thien Quang Lake in the morning of August 7 to raise fund for Agent Orange victims.

Held by the Vietnam Red Cross Society to commemorate 50 years of the ‘Agent Orange’ tragedy in Vietnam; the theme of the peace walk is “Take care of health and improve lives of Agent Orange victims”.

The walk was attended by a minimum 5,000 people, and it called upon organizations, businesses and individuals to donate generously to improving the lives of the unfortunate ‘Agent Orange’ victims cross the country.

The organizers of the walk also received 650 blood units for the treatment of AO patients.

Charities support ‘Agent Orange’ victims  

The 50th anniversary of the ‘Agent Orange’ tragedy is being commemorated across the country with a series of activities, assistance policies and donations.

Huynh Dam, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front yesterday donated VND750 million (US$36,000) to the Vietnam Association of Agent Orange Victims (VAVA) in Hanoi. The money will be used for building 50 homes for the poor and needy victims of the ‘Agent Orange’ or dioxin tragedy.

Nguyen Van Rinh, Chairman of VAVA said that up until this day only 200,000 out of the three million ‘Agent Orange’ victims in Vietnam are currently receiving assistance, but this allowance is still very low.

Chairman Dam assured that his committee and other ministries would soon overcome administrative difficulties so that ‘Agent Orange’ victims can receive aid directly from the Party and State.

On the same day, the Vietnam Red Cross Society launched an ‘action month’ for ‘Agent Orange’ victims beginning August 10, the very day that the US military sprayed the deadly toxic dioxin chemical over parts of southern Vietnam in 1961.

During this entire ‘action month’, the Red Cross Society is expected to raise about VND70 billion ($3.3 million) in donations for ‘Agent Orange’ victims.

The Agent Orange Victims Association in Nha Trang City in Khanh Hoa Province is also coordinating with some organizations to host a charitable music program for dioxin victims. The Association gave away 100 presents to the victims and supported Khanh Hoa General Hospital in distributing free medicines to dioxin patients, besides organizing a photo exhibition showing the plight of ‘Agent Orange’ victims.

The Agent Orange Victims Association in Da Nang City expressed deep gratitude to all the benefactors who have helped ‘Agent Orange’ victims till today, particularly non-governmental organizations from the US, Canada, France and Egypt.

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