Employees of the Cupet state oil company inspect the damages at a fuel depot that was engulfed in flames for five days after lightning struck one of its tanks in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 10, 2022. — AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) is calling for donations for Cuban people to help them overcome current difficulties.

The letter said Cuba and its people are struggling against a range of difficulties and challenges as they continue to suffer a strict economic embargo amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and especially a recent oil storage facility fire at an industrial zone near Matanzas that seriously impacted the lives of the Cuban people.

On the back of the special solidarity between the two Parties, States and peoples, and positive results in supporting the Cuban people in the face of COVID-19, the VCFA called on ministries, departments, mass organisations, agencies, businesses, cities and provinces, individuals and organisations, philanthropists and lovers of Cuba to join hands to continue assisting them.

The VCFA will receive donations until August 31.

On August 15, Chairwoman of the Việt Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyễn Phương Nga met Cuban Ambassador Orlando Nicolas Hernandez Guillen at the Cuban Embassy and expressed her sympathies with the Cuban people affected by the inferno.

On the occasion, Nga handed over 1,000 euros (over US$1,000) raised by VUFO’s officials and staff to help Cuban people ease difficulties.

The VCFA’s Club of Vietnamese Alumni in Cuba also launched a fundraising campaign on August 8, and has so far raised nearly VNĐ1 billion ($43,400) in support of the Cuban people. — VNS