Latest Foreign Assistance Briefs

- Yasuo Nishitohge, CEO of Aeon Vietnam Co. Ltd., hands scholarships to students of Japanese at the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities on Thursday. Nguyen Hoang Bao Khuyen, project development manager of Aeon Vietnam, said the parent firm’s affiliates set aside 1% of their pre-tax profits and use donations by others to run an international scholarship fund since 2006. (thesaigontimes.vn May 18)

- The German government will provide $380,000 in aid to help Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam implement a natural disaster prevention project in the next two years, state media reported. Under the project, local residents will be trained to actively contribute to the natural disaster prevention in 46 villages, especially coastal and riparian areas in a bid to minimize the damages.The project, conducted by the German non-governmental organization Malteser International, will focus on direct evacuation and emergency response measures. Quang Nam is one of flood-prone areas in central Vietnam which is said to suffer a loss of hundreds of billions of VND from natural calamities per year, experts said. (Tien Phong – Pioneer May 17)

- KFC Vietnam Joint Venture Co. Ltd., (KFC) and the Saigon Times Foundation (STF) under the Saigon Times Group have handed over scholarships to 20 students from An Giang University worth VND7 million each. The scholarship handover was part of the ‘Long-term STF-KFC Vietnam scholarship program’ totaling up to VND2.07 billion contributed by KFC. “To mark the opening of the 100th store in Vietnam, KFC Vietnam set aside $100,000 for the scholarship fund targeting needy students nationwide in the 2011-2012 school year,” Nguyen Ngoc Han, KFC’s Public Relations Section Manager, told the scholarship handover ceremony. “Thanks to STF’s support, the scholarships have been distributed to local students. KFC has given students financial assistance so far and will continue social activities in the future,” Han added. (thesaigontimes.vn May 15)