Tuoi Tre Awards Scholarships to Poor Students

Tuoi Tre’s scholarship for poor students awarded 140 scholarships in Hanoi yesterday. Besides handing over the VND4-million scholarships, Tuoi Tre also awarded prizes to 9 writers who had written letters of recommendation for these students. Audiences to the ceremony were touched by the stories of the students, who have been trying their utmost to overcome difficulties to pursue education. Nguyen Minh Tri, a 10th grader in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, for instance, has to write with his feet. Nguyen Cong Thanh from the mountainous province of Yen Bai has to take care of his mother who is suffering from cancer and a sister who has brain disease after school. Tuoi Tre’s scholarship, titled “My friends – The ones overcoming difficulties in life,” is a partnership program with PPF Vietnam Finance Company, who has donated VND2.4 billion ($120,000). The scholarship, which lasted from March 2010 to June this year, was divided into 3 phases with the first concluding last August in Ho Chi Minh City with 120 scholarships presented. The same number of scholarships was also handed out to students in the second phase in Hue last February. (www.tuoitrenews.vn Jul 31)