Vừ A Dính Scholarship Fund representatives receive the Labour Order, first class, for its contributions during the last 20 years in fostering education in ethnic communities at a ceremony in HCM City on June 15. — VNS Photo Ngọc Diệp

HCM CITY — Vàng Thị Hơn of the northern Hà Giang Province continued her studies thanks to the HCM Communist Youth Union's Vừ A Dính Scholarship Fund.

Hơn, a La Chí ethnic who returned to her hometown to work in a local hospital after graduation, says when she was in 10th grade her parents were not sure if they could continue to afford her education.

“Luckily, I received support from the Vừ A Dính Scholarship Fund; it motivated me to continue studying to turn my dream into reality.”

Two years ago she graduated from the Phú Thọ Medical College with a good degree and decided to return home.

She now works with ethnic minorities to raise their awareness of healthcare and says “I am very happy I can be helpful to society.”

HoàngTiến Đạt, an ethnic Tày from the central province of Khánh Hòa, is a first year student at Hoa Sen University in HCM City.

Like Hơn, he too has benefited from the fund’s scholarship, getting it in fact for the last seven years.

“If I had not got the scholarship, maybe I would have had to stay at home and farm with my parents.”

In future he wants to become a professor of marketing and set up a business to contribute to his homeland's development.

The Vừ A Dính Scholarship Fund, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has so far given more than 85,000 scholarships to ethnic minority students and island residents living in difficult circumstances.

Local and foreign individuals and organisations have contributed nearly VNĐ380 billion (US$16.3 million) to the fund.

The fund was named after Vừ A Dính (1934-1949), a Mông ethnic from the northern mountainous province of Điện Biên who was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces in 2000.

At its 20th anniversary celebration last Saturday (June 15), it was awarded the Labour Order, first class, for its outstanding contributions to the community.

Eight individuals and 12 organisations were awarded two Labour Orders, second class, three Labor Orders, third class, and 15 Prime Minister's Certificates of Merit for their achievements.

Former vice president of Việt Nam and the chairwoman of the fund, Trương Mỹ Hoa, thanked donors for their contributions to the fund and hoped they would continue to contribute in future.

Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình hailed the fund's contributions to the country's ethnic communities and the outstanding achievements of the students who benefited from it.

"The fund's meaningful projects and activities have improved the lives of thousands of disadvantaged ethnic students and contributed to nurturing the country’s young human resources," Bình said.

On the same day the fund received donations of around VNĐ60 billion ($2.6 million) and gave away scholarships worth VNĐ5 million ($215) each to 20 disadvantaged ethnic university students with excellent performances in the 2018-19 academic year. — VNS