Can Tho (VNA)▨ – The “Vietnam Rising” milk fund has donated over 87,000 glasses of milk worth 550 million VND (24,750 USD) to nearly 1,000 kids in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.

National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and officials of the city handed over the milk at a ceremony in the locality on October 16. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Hong Lan highlighted the significance of the programme, which was initiated by the Vietnam Children Sponsoring Fund (VCSF) and the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) in 2008. She said the programme has come to many regions nationwide, contributing to reducing malnutrition rate and improving physical and mental conditions of children. The fund hopes to receive greater assistance from local authorities, political and social organizations, businesses and individuals, and schools, so more milk will reach children, especially those in mountainous, border and islands areas, she stressed. In the coming time, the Can Tho municipal authorities will carry out a school milk programme under the support of the Ministry of Public Health and the Vietnam Dairy Association, which aims to help children have the best physical and mental growth. According to General Director of Vinamilk Mai Kieu Lien, the Milk Fund provided 30 million glasses of milk worth 120 billion VND (5.4 million USD) free to 373,000 poor children nationwide over the last nine years. Previously, NA Chairwoman Ngan also presented 110 scholarships worth 150 million VND (6,750 USD) to outstanding students in Can Tho city at an art performance in the city on October 15. Jointly held by the VCSF, the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Alaska Communications and Entertainment JSC, the event was to launch a raising-fund programme to help underprivileged children and students with good performance in the locality. Additionally, children of local workers and families struggling with difficulties have their bank accounts, which will receive money to cover their study from donors monthly, quarterly or yearly until they are 18 years old. At present, total value of the donation to the accounts hit over 6 billion VND (6.75 million USD), donated by 20 enterprises operating in the city. MoLISA Deputy Minister Dao Hong Lan said this is a national-scale programme, seeking to help nearly 7,000 children nationwide. At present, 14,500 children living in poor families or social sponsoring centres in Can Tho are in dire need of support from the community.-VNA