Vietnam Telethon Raises $309.86M for Poor People

More than VND6.6 trillion ($309.86 million) were raised in a charity program for the poor entitled “Noi Vong Tay Lon” (Joining the Great Fold) which was held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 31. The annual telethon, the 10th of its kind, was jointly held by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) and the Vietnam Television. Addressing the opening ceremony, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung highlighted the popularity and significance of the charity movement and expressed his thanks to the sponsors as well as called for further contribution to the program. Over the past 11 years, the Fund for the Poor has mobilized more than VND7 trillion to support the needy people. In the 2009-2011 period, the fund spent VND13 trillion to build and repair roughly 1.13 million houses for the poor, and pulled millions of local people out of poverty. In 2010, over VND6.3 trillion were mobilized from such the charity program. Vietnam reports 3.05 million poor households and 1.61 million near-poor ones, accounting for 14.2% and 7.53% of its total 90-million population, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) said. In 2011, the country spent nearly VND1.81 trillion on a sustainable poverty reduction program and targets to cut the poverty rate to between 4%-5% by 2020 from 9.45% in 2010. (vov.vn Jan 1, vietnamplus.vn Dec 1)