Overseas Vietnamese or Viet Kieu on Jan 27 donated over $53,000 to build kindergartens in Vietnam’s northern provinces of Bac Can, Son La and Cao Bang. The sum was raised by Viet Kieu through the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to help poor children in the provinces, the Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspaper reported Jan. 28, citing Tran Van Mau, vice chairman of the committee. More than four million overseas Vietnamese are living and working around the world, including a community of 1.5 million in the U.S., 300,000 in France, 250,000 in Australia and 200,000 in Canada. More than 500,000 Viet Kieu are expected to come home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, or Tet festival 2010, which will fall on February 14.
