Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh (centre) gives gifts to students of the Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities in Xín Chải Commune, Vị Xuyên District, the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Tâm

HÀ NỘI — Activities for children have been held across the country in recent days to welcome Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Thursday.

Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh on Tuesday went to celebrate and give Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to students of the Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities in Xín Chải Commune, Vị Xuyên District, the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang.

In a warm and joyful atmosphere, Vice President Thịnh asked the children of Hà Giang and students of the school to be diligent, study well and be worthy of being "Uncle Hồ's good child".

The Vice President also praised efforts of Party committees, authorities, social unions, schools and teachers of Hà Giang to take care and protect children and adolescents over the years.

She suggested the province should create a favourable environment for children's comprehensive development, adding that she wanted teachers to overcome all difficulties, work wholeheartedly and teach their students well.

On this occasion, Vice President Thịnh presented moon cakes and 227 scholarships worth VNĐ500,000 (US$22) each to students of the school.

The HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) on Wednesday worked with a number of sponsors to hold the 'Full Moon Festival' programme and awarded 350 Mid-Autumn gifts to children with disabilities in the city.

Nguyễn Thị Hồng Diễm, deputy chairwoman of the HUFO, said that the gifts, although not of high material value, showed affection and responsibility of the community towards the physically and intellectually disadvantaged.

It encouraged families and children to be confident and make efforts to overcome difficulties, she said.

In Đà Nẵng City, Hà Thị Kim Ánh, head of Child Affairs Division under the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that to encourage children and to celebrate after the days of social distancing due to COVID-19 regulations, the city authorities gave gifts, learning tools and nutritional products to about 3,200 children from poor and near-poor households, ethnic minority children and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Each gift was worth VNĐ500,000 ($22), thus the total value of the gift is about VNĐ1.6 billion ($69,000).

Long An Province People's Committee spent VNĐ1.9 billion ($82,000)  to give 3,800 gifts to children in poor households in 15 districts and towns.

At the School of Nurturing Children with Disabilities and the Provincial Social Work Centre, Phạm Tấn Hòa, deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee, presented 286 gifts to children.

Hòa said that taking care of disadvantaged and disabled children was hard work. He wished the school would overcome difficulties to take good care of the children and donated VNĐ10 million ($430) to the school. — VNS