Fatherland Front chief visits flood-hit provinces

Vietnam Fatherland Front Chairman Huynh Dam has paid a fieldtrip to the south-central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan, which were hard hit by floods in early November, and handed relief aids to victims.

During his visit to Khanh Hoa on November 5, Dam, who is also member of the Party Central Committee, offered condolences to families with beloved ones killed or left missing by floods.

He called on local authorities and social organisations to continue with rescue efforts as well as sending more relief aid to worst-hit regions to help them recover production and bring their life back to normal as soon as possible.

“Hunger and flood-borne epidemics should be prevented”, emphasised the leader of the nation’s largest social organisation.

He also announced the front’s decision to earmark 500 million VND (roughly 25,500 USD) from the central relief fund as aid to Khanh Hoa.

On November 6, the Fatherland Front Chairman visited neighbouring Ninh Thuan province, where he handed over 1 billion VND to the provincial administration as relief aid to flood victims.

Dam also visited and presented gifts for families of dead victims.

Also on November 6, Ninh Thuan welcomed convoys of trucks carrying supplies for flood victims in the worst hit Phuoc Nam village, Thuan Nam district.

The Saigon Trade Corporation (SATRA) from Ho Chi Minh City , for example, sent 10 tonnes of rice worth 100 million VND to distribute to 2,000 most-suffering families.

The Thanh Nien (Youngsters) newspaper and the La pagoda, located in Ho Chi Minh City , sent 3.5 tonnes of rice, 350 boxes of instant noodles, hundreds of brand-new clothing items and medicines worth 100 million VND for victims in Phuoc Nam village.

Monk Thich Nhuan Tam said he felt hit at heart seeing sufferings by flood victims and pledged to continue raising funds to alleviate their plight./.

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Fatherland Front key in culture plan

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday called on the Fatherland Front Central Committee to bolster its role in helping the country successfully implement social security strategies.

Two campaigns have been implemented in the last decade to help improve social security: encouraging people to build up the cultural life in their community and taking action to help poor people.

"The Fatherland Front has made great contributions to the success of both campaigns, which have become the highlight of its activities in the last 10 years," Dung told participants at the national meeting to review the implementation and achievement of the two campaigns in Ha Noi yesterday.

Almost all residential communities nationwide have taken part in the "Everyone unite to build cultural life in the residential community" campaign, which after 15 years since its launch in 1995 has seen recognised improvements in the cultural life of more than 50 per cent of the country's residential communities.

The ‘Day for the Poor' campaign has raised more than VND5.1 trillion (US$262 million) in its 10 years of implementation. The funds raised have helped millions of poor people begin and develop production activities, and given poor children the opportunity to get an education. A number of programmes like ‘Joining great hands' and ‘Homes for poor people in border areas and islands', which are part of the campaign, have helped build 150 welfare constructions for the people worth nearly VND150 billion ($7.7 million).

"The power of unity among all people is so great that it would help achieve the country's socio-economic targets and this power should be upheld," said Dung, who called for the continuity and expansion of similar campaigns.

The Government leader praised the pivotal role played by the Fatherland Front in the success of the two campaigns, and confirmed the Government's commitment to its close co-ordination with the Fatherland Front to launch and implement such meaningful and helpful programmes.

To expand the effectiveness of the two major campaigns, Party committees at all levels should put these programmes high on their agenda, Dung said while calling on relevant and authorised bodies to actively and closely co-ordinate with the Fatherland Front to help the campaigns develop ‘wider and deeper'.

The dissemination of information and mobilisation of all sources to get involved in implementing the campaigns were a key element to success, the PM said.

The Prime Minister urged the Ministry of Information and Communications to work with the Fatherland Front to promote the campaigns and exemplary works, acts and people.

Dung asked the Fatherland Front committees at all levels to develop inspection and management plans for the ‘Fund for the Poor', and urged them to ensure transparency and make the mobilisation of sources and the use of funds public at all levels. — VNS

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Fatherland Front’s social campaigns applauded

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)’s campaigns have actively contributed to implementing grassroots democratic regulations, promoting people’s direct democratic rights through self-management models in residential quarters and strengthening solidarity among neighbours.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the remarks at a conference to review 15 years of implementing the “All the people unite to build a cultural life in residential quarters” campaign and 10 years of implementing the “Day for the Poor” campaign in Hanoi on October 18.

He said that the campaigns have also helped strengthen the political consensus among people, create unanimity in society and consolidate confidence in the leadership of the Party and State, thus contributing to building a firm political system, connecting the Party and State with people, strengthening and expanding the great national unity bloc as well as maintaining political stability at grassroots level.

From real local situations, the government has had more experiences and foundations to implement new policies that win people’s support, including Programmes 134 and 135 on socio-economic development in specially difficult communes in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas, Resolutions 30a and Decision 167 on building houses and boosting economic development in 62 poor districts, PM Dung said.

The Government leader suggested Party committees at all levels include the two campaigns in their agendas in order to ensure timely implementation.

He also urged administration at all levels and authorised agencies to closely coordinate with and create conditions for the VFF to maintain and expand the two campaigns, he added.

Taking the floor, VFF Central Committee President Huynh Dam noted that the two campaigns have helped promote the strength of great unity as well as people’s resources to build residential quarters, improving the material and spiritual lives of people, especially for the poor.

According to the VFF Central Committee, after 10 years of implementation, the “Day for the Poor” campaign has become a regular and major activity of the Fatherland Fronts at all levels nationwide.

By September 2010, the “Funds for the Poor” nationwide raised over 5.1 trillion VND (256 million USD). Thanks to the State and community’s support, the country built and repaired over 1 million houses for poor households and a number of poor households decreased remarkably to below 10 percent from 30 percent in 1999./.

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