Latest Foreign Assistance Briefs

- Seventeen Vietnamese students who excelled in their studies n France were awarded the Odon Vallet scholarships, worth EUR6,000 each, in Gifsur Yvette on Nov 10. Pantheon-Sorbonne University student Thinh Thanh Phuoc, a first time Vallet scholarship recipient, expressed his gratitude to Prof Odon Vallet, the Sorbonne Paris University, and Prof Tran Thanh Van (Chairman of the Scientific and Educational Organisation, Rencontres Du Vietnam) for their significant contributions to Vietnamese education. Phuoc said the scholarship will help him complete his research on ‘Score’, an important probability tool that can identify a sample’s rate of business bankruptcy over the previous three years. He hoped that Score would be a practical method given the fact that the global economic recession is not out of the woods yet and the number of businesses filing for bankruptcy keeps rising. This year, Prof Vallet has presented 2,500 scholarships worth a total of VND23 billion to students in many Vietnamese provinces. (vov.vn Nov 11)
- South Korea’s Kumho Asiana-Vietnam Scholarship and Cultural Foundation presented scholarships to 137 Vietnamese students in Hanoi on November 8.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy said that the scholarships are a great source of encouragement for those students to overcome difficulties and excel at study. The scholarships are practical, helping develop human resources in Vietnam and tighten co-operation between the two countries, he added. Kumho Asiana is one of the first Korean groups to invest in Vietnam. It established the Kumho Asiana-Vietnam Scholarship and Cultural Foundation in 2007 with initial funding of $2 million. Since 2008, the foundation has granted scholarships to nearly 900 Vietnamese students, especially those struggling with difficulties in life. (nhandan.org.vn Nov 9)
- Japan Tobacco International (JTI) has donated $25,000 to Thanh Nien News' medical program to provide 650 cataract operations for underprivileged elderly people in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. A representative of Thanh Nien News said the contribution of JTI would help improve the living conditions of elderly people in the region. The project will be implemented in Kien Giang, Long An and Hau Giang provinces and will be completed by the end of the year. (Vietnam News Nov 8)
- A VND1.55 billion ($7.75 million) nursery school funded by the Bretagne Vietnam Association in France was inaugurated in Phu Xuan village, in Phu Vang district of Thua Thien-Hue province on November 6. The two-storey pre-school facility care for 70 toddlers and can also double up as an emergency shelter for local people during the wet season. The association had earlier presented 50 bicycles to disadvantaged pupils from the village. In recent years, it has supported other parts of the province by carrying out humanitarian projects worth over VND3 billion. Since May 2012, the association has provided learning and training facilities for disabled pupils at the provinces vocational training centre and also built bio-gas converters for 30 families in Quang Dien district. (Vietnamplus.vn Nov 7)
- Koichiro Watanabe, president of the Dai-ichi Life Japan Corporation yesterday granted a cheque of 500 mass insurance cards worth VND10 billion to needy pre-school teachers nationwide, during his visit to Vietnam. Pre-school teachers will benefit by VND20 million ($1,000) each during the whole 7-year period without going through any underwriting process. The mass insurance (An Nghiep Chu Toan) product of Dai-ichi Life Viet Nam is designed with various comprehensive protection benefits to meet the requirements of these low income groups. (Vietnam News Nov 7)