AO/dioxin victims and their families in Tien Giang granted with gifts (Source: thtg.vn) Can Tho (VNA) – The Association of Agent Orange/dioxin Victims in CanTho city on August 7 presented gifts to dioxin victims and their families onthe occasion of the 57th anniversary of the Day for AO/dioxin Victims (August10).
Specifically, the association granted 200 gifts to dioxinvictims, 125 scholarships worth 500,000 VND (21.5 USD) each to students who arechildren or grandchildren of AO victims, and handed over 10 houses to familieswith members affected by AO/dioxin.
The association also granted certificates of merit andinsignias to 50 outstanding dioxin victims who have made great contributions tothe community.
At the granting ceremony, organisations, businesses andindividuals donated a total of nearly 750 million VND (32,200 USD) to theMekong Delta city’s fund for AO victims in 2018.
The association’s President Tran Lien Kieu said that to helpease the pain of dioxin victims and their families, the association willcontinue making proposals to municipal authorities to promptly give assistanceto revolution contributors and dioxin victims, and canvass support from donorsfor the disadvantaged.
The association will work to increase monthly allowances andbetter social protection policies for them, she added.
Can Tho city is now home to around 4,500 AO/dioxin victims,including 1,200 victims who cannot take care of themselves, and over 600children aged under 16.
In the first half of 2018, the association mobilised morethan 4 billion VND (172,000 USD) in support for dioxin victims.
On this occasion, the Association of AO/dioxin Victims ofsouthern Tien Giang province also presented 300 gifts worth 400,000 VND (17.2USD) each to dioxin victims.
According to the association, there are 10,736 peopleaffected by AO/dioxin in Tien Giang. The provincial association set a target ofcollecting 35 billion VND (1.5 million USD) during 2018-2023 to assist thevictims.
The US army sprayed some 80 million litres of toxic chemicals,61 percent of which was Agent Orange containing 366 kilograms of dioxin, overnearly one quarter of the total area of South Vietnam from 1961 to 1971.
Preliminary statistics showed that 4.8 million Vietnamesepeople were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin, and about 3 million people becamevictims. Tens of thousands of people have died while millions of others havesuffered from cancer and other incurable diseases as consequences of exposure. Many of their offspring have alsosuffered from birth deformities.-VNA
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