The Ho Chi Minh Red Cross Society has recently raised more than VND17 billion to help needy people and Agent Orange victims in the city in the coming Lunar New Year 2011. In addition to the 29,350 gifts to policy beneficiary families, victims of Agent Orange, single elderly and needy people in Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal Red Cross also presented 14,554 gifts, 98 social houses and 100,000 student notebooks to needy people in the flood-hit provinces in the Central and the mountainous provinces in the North. The Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee decided to extract VND10 billion from the Fund for the Poor to help needy people, revolutionary veterans and policy beneficiaries in the province. Tien Giang province also extracted more than VND5.5 billion from the local budget to present Tet gifts to 60 policy beneficiary households and needy people in the locality. The Lang Son Red Cross Society in co-ordination with the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, agencies and businesses donated 1,300 gifts worth VND410 billion including cash, blankets, mosquito nets and other necessities to help ethnic minorities people affected by the recent severe icy cold. (www.nhandan.org.vn [1] Jan 19)
