Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng hands over Tết gifts to the poor and Agent Orange victims in Kim Bảng District, Hà Nam province as part of the VNRC’s Tết for the poor and Agent Orange victims campaign on January 5. — Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Red Cross Society

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Red Cross Society (VNRC) plans to mobilise financial sources to provide at least 1.5 million gifts to the poor, Agent Orange victims, disadvantaged families and victims of natural disasters in 2019 ahead of the traditional Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

The call is part of an annual campaign, called "Tết for the poor and Agent Orange victims," that aims to mobilise support from local and international communities to help poor and AO families nation-wide.

VNRC Vice President and General Secretary Nguyễn Hải Anh said that the society will organise 25 groups, who will visit provinces and cities all over the country to provide Tết gifts to needy people.

 “We called on local and international organisations, business community and individuals to work with the VNRC to ensure the poor, Agent Orange victims and disadvantaged people have a warm and fulfilled Tết holiday,” said Anh.     

VNRC will also organise an art performance programme, entitled “Humanitarian Power 2020”, to call on support from all sources to help needy people, Agent Orange victims and disadvantaged families in mountainous and remote areas, flood and storm-hit regions nationwide.

The programme is scheduled to be broadcast live at 8pm on Việt Nam Television’s channel VTV1 in HCM City on January 18.

On the occasion, the society in collaboration with the National Humanitarian Portal 1400 also launched an SMS campaign to mobilise funding for the campaign. People can support the campaign by texting TET to 1409 from now to February 7, 2020. Each mobile text message will contribute VNĐ20,000 ($0.85) to the fund.

VNRC said that it had mobilised more than 2.7 million Tết gifts worth more than VNĐ1 trillion for the poor and Agent Orange victims 2019 campaign last year. — VNS