HÀ NỘI — Individuals and organisations across the country have donated a total of nearly VNĐ3 trillion (US$129 million) to the Fund for the Poor and the Social Security Programme for the year, said President of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Trần Thanh Mẫn at a Wednesday evening ceremony in Hà Nội.

The event is held each year on October 17 to mark the Day for the Poor.

Thanks to the fund, poor households will get the financial help they need to escape poverty, he said.

At the ceremony, the committee launched a programme of joining hands for the poor that immediately attracted donations totaling VNĐ875 billion ($37.6 million) from kind-hearted people.

Mẫn said the donations would first be used to build houses for the poor in underprivileged areas, especially areas hit by floods. They will also be used to buy clothes for poor children and elderly people in mountainous and remote areas.

Speaking at the event, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân said the poverty rate in the country had decreased by 6.7 per cent so far.

It was much lower than in previous periods, she said.

The number was 9.45 per cent in 2010.

Ngân said the ratio was reduced thanks to the country’s sustainable development.

However, she also cautioned against becoming complacent. “We should not feel pleasant with the ratio,” she said, noting that the country still has 2.9 million poor households.

Therefore, she asked relevant agencies to continue working together to get rid of poverty in Việt Nam.

People can donate for the fund three ways. The first option is to send your donation to the fund via the Việt Nam State Treasury’s Hoàn Kiếm Branch at the account 3761.0.905438691046. Second, you can transfer your donation to the fund’s Vietin bank account 111000000596, Hoàn Kiếm Branch. Finally, you can donate in person at the committee’s office at No 46 Tràng Thi Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội. — VNS