Agent Orange victims receive gifts, scholarships
Sponsors from central Ha Tinh Province and HCM City, and the Ha Tinh Association of Victims of Agent Orange, offered on last Friday 164 gifts and scholarships worth VND700 million (US$35,900) to children and families affected by Agent Orange.
The Viet Nam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, An Lac Joint-Stock Company and Lam Son Joint-Operating Company donated VND500 million and more than VND5 billion, respectively, to the province for the construction of a centre for children affected by Agent Orange in Cam Xuyen District.
Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon)
Vallet scholarships awarded to students
Over 130 students in the northern region were awarded Odon Vallet scholarships at the Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature) in Ha Noi on September 3. The scholarship is worth VND7.5 million (US$384.6) each. This year, 2,150 students nationwide have received Odon Vallet scholarships totalling VND12 billion ($615,000).
The scholarship fund was established in Viet Nam in 2001 by Odon Vallet, a professor of religious history and philosophy at France's Sorbonne University, through the Meeting Viet Nam organisation founded by Prof. Tran Thanh Van. The scholarship is given every year to disadvantaged students who receive high marks in the subjects of natural science and literature.
Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourer)
Gender-ratio imbalance, third-child births rise
The sex-ratio imbalance at birth has continued to rise in HCM City, with the highest disparity in districts 5, 6, 7, 8 and Binh Chanh, Cu Chi and Can Gio districts, according to the city Department of Health's Population Division. For every 100 newborn girls, there were 121 newborn boys in Binh Chanh District, 119 in Cu Chi District, and 117 in District 5.
The number of families having a third child has also risen dramatically. The city's 24 districts have carried out campaigns to popularise contraceptives, including the provision of free condoms and morning-after pills. However, the number of women using intra-uterine devices to prevent conception was still low, and the number of people who were sterilised reached only 49 per cent of the programme's target.
Tin Tuc (News)