Latest Foreign Assistance Briefs

- Italian doctor Roberto De Castro from Bologna has begun examining 50 children who suffer from genital malformations in the central region. The examinations, which will be followed by genital reconstruction organized by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, are to select kids with the most complicated genital defects for free surgery next June in the central city. De Castro said operations will be carried out on the most challenging cases twice a year. The Italian paediatric urologist has performed surgery on 30 children in Vietnam already. (Vietnamplus.vn Nov 17)

- U.S. veterans and sponsors announced on Nov 12 that they would grant 320 wheelchairs to help disabled people in Vietnam, the Vietnam News Agency said. The gifts, donated by the U.S. Wheelchair Foundation and the California-based Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley, include 260 standard and 60 sports wheelchairs. The first 58 wheelchairs were donated to the needy in Ho Chi Minh City. Recipients will be the handicapped in Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho city. According to Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Sports for the Disabled (VPA) Vu The Phiet, Vietnam has over 5.3 million disabled people, many of them are poor. The donated wheelchairs will give them a good opportunity to better integrate into the community. Set up in 2000, the non-profit organization Wheelchair Foundation has given more than 900,000 wheelchairs to disabled people in 150 countries and territories worldwide. (Vietnamplus.vn Nov 12, vov.vn Nov 12)

- The Saigon Times Foundation (STF) and its sponsors have handed more than 100 scholarships worth VND805 million to over 105 university students in HCM City, Binh Duong and Dalat. The scholarships were sponsored by KFC Vietnam Joint Venture Co. Ltd. (KFC), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Benthanh Group, Dan On Foods Company Ltd., Robert Bosch Vietnam Co., Ltd.(Bosch), Saigon Jewelry Company Ltd. (SJC) and Thien Nam Trading Import Export JSC (TNA). The program, one of many social activities of STF, has been organized in collaboration with numerous enterprises. Since 2008, the nine enterprises have donated over VND6.3 billion for 625 students at universities, colleges and high schools in the northern, central, Mekong Delta and southeastern regions of the country. STF carries out social programs, focusing on granting short-term and long-term scholarships, offering interest-free loans to poor industrious students, publishing books to help student’s knowledge and provide vocational materials. It also supports rural schools with used computers and accessories for the teaching of computing skills. (thesaigontimes.vn Nov 12)

- Seventeen Vietnamese students who excelled in their studies n France were awarded the Odon Vallet scholarships, worth EUR6,000 each, in Gifsur Yvette on November 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. (VOV Nov 11)