From August 1 – 3, 34 volunteers of the foundation and 30 medical workers of Vietnam are providing examinations and medications for 1,000 patients. They also plan to give dental treatment and cataract surgeries to about 1,000 residents. 

The healthcare activities cost more than AUD100,000, donated by philanthropists and Vietnamese expatriates in Australia. Meanwhile, medicine and medical equipment were sponsored by Australian companies. 

The charity foundation is also set to present gifts to 150 deprived families and 1,500 students in Nghi Thuan, which is currently the most impoverished commune of Nghi Loc district and regularly suffer from unfavourable weather conditions. 

In the Mekong Delta province of TienGiang, practical activities have been promoted to support Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims. 

The province’s association of AO victims has stepped up communication campaigns to call for assistance for the targeted group. More than VND6.7 billion (US$300,500) has been donated to the local fund for AO/dioxin victim support so far this year, said Chairman of the association Le Quoc Bao. 

The organisation has helped build 38 houses, provided 85 wheelchairs and permanently nursed 185 victims. It has also offered check-ups and preferential loans for their income-generating activities, he added. 

There are over 10,000 AO/dioxin victims in Tien Giang, and most of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds.