Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Association forVictims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) has launched a text-to-donate drive toraise money for AO/Dioxin victims in Vietnam which will run through September10.
The VAVA is calling people across the country to supportthe drive by texting DA CAM, DACAM, or DC to 1409. Each message means adonation worth 20,000 VND (0.87 USD) to the Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims whoare struggling to make ends meet every day.
The fund raised will be used to financially support thevictims to receive healthcare services and vocational training; and repair andbuild houses. It will also be spent to present gifts to those fromdisadvantaged backgrounds.
Millions of AO/Dioxin victims are living with deformities and diseases as a direct result of the chemical’s effects. (Photo: VNA)The drive is the VAVA’s annual fund-raising event. Lastyear, it received more than 53,000 texts from March 9 to May 8, worth over 1billion VND. Most of the money collected was used to provide aid to AO/Dioxinvictims affected by historic floods in six central cities and provinces. Theremainder was allocated to help a victim’s family build a new house and presentgifts to others on the occasion of Tet, Vietnam’s traditional New YearFestival.
From 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed about 80million litres of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which were Agent Orange,containing 366 kg of dioxin, on to nearly a quarter of South Vietnam. About 86percent of the area was sprayed more than two times, 11 percent of the area wassprayed more than 10 times.
As a result, around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposedto the toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions of theirdescendants are living with deformities and diseases as a direct result of thechemical’s effects.
According to Vu Thi Quyen, a lecturer in biology at theVan Lang University, the AO causes lasting harm to humans and the environment. Thissubstance not only affects those exposed to it but also many followinggenerations, depending on its concentration in the body./.
