School students from Quảng Ngãi Province receive scholarships from the Việt Nam Central Disaster Prevention Support Fund (QPT)'s 'Green Future' programme. A total of 220 students from Nghệ An to Bình Định were granted scholarships from the fund between November and December of 2020. Photo courtesy QPT

ĐÀ NẴNG — A total of 220 school students whose families were affected by floods and storms from Nghệ An to Quảng Ngãi provinces received scholarships worth VNĐ2.2 billion (US$95,000) from the Việt Nam Central Disaster Prevention Support Fund (QPT) for continuing their education.

QPT said each student was given aid from VNĐ2 million ($87) to VNĐ3 million ($130) for books and educational equipment damaged by floods and storms in the region from the Fund’s ‘Green Future’ programme.

Up to 431 scholarships have been given to students in 17 provinces nationwide through the programme since 2018.

The programme also donated VNĐ20 billion ($870,000) to help restart education at flood-damaged schools in the region between November and December.

According to QPT, VNĐ89 billion ($3.9 million) was raised from donors to help local people in the flood-affected provinces in the central region in 2020.

The fund helped build 71 swimming pools throughout the country between 2008-20, and built community flood shelters, provided life-jackets and implemented rescue education programmes in central provinces.

The fund helped a plant mangrove forest in Thanh Hóa and set up voluntary rescue teams in provinces from Thanh Hóa to Bình Thuận.

Four storms, including typhoons Molave and Goni, triggered floods and landslides that devastated central provinces in Việt Nam from October to December, with 249 people either killed or missing and 11,700 houses damaged or destroyed. — VNS