The President of the French non-profit organisation “Friends of Vietnam” presented 59 million VND in scholarships to 23 poor, orphaned and disabled students in Ben Tre province on August 30.

Nguyen Thi My Nga has been involved in this kind of charity work since 1994, with donations for disadvantaged children in the southern province reaching 880 million VND in total so far.

The President of the provincial Association of Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims, Le Thi Thanh Van, said that the scholarships sourced by the French-Vietnamese lady were small in value but have come in time to benefit the recipients until they graduate.

As a result, two students have finished their post-graduate education, three others have graduated from university, three are currently attending university and 20 have graduated from vocational colleges.

This year, the association has provided loans of 500 Euros each with no interest to poor university and college students in Ben Tre, for one academic year.

Only after graduating from university or vocational colleges and earning a stable income, will the borrowers have to pay back the loans, at 20 percent a month, which will be used to fund other disadvantaged students.

Nga was born in Saigon and emigrated to France in 1969 and her husband is originally from Ben Tre.

She founded the “Friends of Vietnam” organisation in 1992 with financial assistance from friends in France, Belgium and Switzerland. Her two children are amongst the regular donors to the fund.

Since 1994 she has sourced donations of 225,000 Euros for disadvantaged students in Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre province./.