The Vietnamese People’s Association in France (UGVF) raised 1,300 EUR (1,600 USD) at an event held on October 19 in support of the fishermen in Ly Son island district who protect the nation’s sovereignty over sea and islands.

At an earlier fundraising event, the Association raised 3,000 EUR (3,800 USD) for the purpose.

According to Nguyen Thanh Tong, a UGVF advisory board member, Vietnamese nationals living in France are touched by the efforts of Ly Son islanders to protect the nation’s sovereign waters while conducting catch in the traditional fishing grounds.

He added that the most recent fundraiser showed the Vietnamese expats’ love for their homeland.

UGVF has implemented a number of humanitarian projects worth 69,000 EUR (88,000 USD) since 2013, benefiting Muong Khuong district in the northern province of Lao Cai and the flood-affected regions in the central province of Ha Tinh.

The funded projects also include HIV/AIDS screening in Vietnam’s Central Highlands; professional training in biomedicine in France; the “Green Bamboo Warm Shelter” that provides homes for street children in Ho Chi Minh City; and the supply of interest-free loans for poor farmers in Long Trung commune, the Mekong delta province of Tien Giang.-VNA