Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, who is also Chairman of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC), presented gifts to poor pupils and policy beneficiary families in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau from January 17-19.

The Vice President praised the province’s efforts in education and training. She suggested that Lai Chau agencies pay more attention to human resource development and infrastructure investment, as well as build more schools, maintain pupil numbers, improve the capacity of teachers, ensure social security, and reduce hunger and poverty.

Giang Pao My, Chairman of Lai Chau People’s Council, said the level of household poverty in the province has dropped sharply to 31.82 percent. The province has achieved significant progress in education, and has always financially supported disadvantaged children, she added.

On the occasion, the Vietnam Red Cross Society donated 100 million VND and 300 blankets for the province’s poor people and Agent Orange victims.

Launched in 2012, NFVC’s “I Don’t Have to Drop Out” programme has awarded more than 3,400 scholarships, worth over 10 billion VND, to poor and disadvantaged children in 28 provinces.

In 2013, the programme will grant more than 5,200 scholarships, worth nearly 16 billion VND, to children in 35 provinces. In Lai Chau alone, it has presented 200 scholarships, worth 600 million VND, since the start of the year.-VNA