The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and localities nationwide are carrying out charitable activities to support victims of Agent Orange/dioxin and their families in response to the Day for AO/Dioxin Victims (August 10).

On August 7, VNA handed over a house to Hoang Thi Uyen, in Mai Trung commune, Hiep Hoa district, the northern province of Bac Giang, who is physically challenged because of exposure to dioxin contained in Agent Orange.

The house costs 30 million VND (1,410 USD) sourced from the VNA fund for AO victims.

Vice Chairman of the communal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Tien highlighted the gift as a source of encouragement for Uyen to overcome difficulties in life.

The same day, the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, home to over 14,000 AO victims, presented six wheelchairs worth 1.5 million VND (70.5 USD) each to local dioxin sufferers and 31 scholarships to primary and secondary students affected by this toxic chemical.

Seven other students also received scholarships sponsored by Masako Sakata from Japan and Francoise Brassart from France.

On this occasion, officials from the Associations for Victims of AO/dioxin of Quang Binh, Dong Nai and Binh Phuoc provinces visited and presented gifts to dioxin-exposed people.

During the war in Vietnam, the US troops sprayed nearly 80 million litres of herbicides, 61 percent of which was Agent Orange containing 366kg of dioxin.

An estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical, with over 3 million of them dying or painfully struggling against the substance’s terrible effects.-VNA