Many practical activities in the Peak Month for the Poor

During the Peak Month for the Poor this year (from October 17 to November 18, 2024), all competent levels and branches in Thu Dau Mot City continue to have meaningful activities to care for disadvantaged people. As promoting the tradition of "Mutual love and support", Thu Dau Mot City has mobilized all resources to take care of the poor, near-poor, and people having especially difficult circumstances.

Ms. Truong Thi Thu Hien, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thu Dau Mot City, presents support gifts to needy people in the area.

Practical support

During the Peak Month for the Poor this year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Xinh (born in 1977, in quarter 3, Hoa Phu Ward) is one of the cases that received support from the Mobilization Committee of the city Fund "For the Poor".

Ms. Xinh's family situation is extremely difficult, i.e. her husband passed away, she is living with her child who is working as a factory worker. For many years, Ms. Xinh has been seriously ill and on dialysis. This has prevented her from working, and the high costs of dialysis have made their lives even more difficult. Facing her situation, the city's "For the Poor" Fund Mobilization Committee provided her with 5 million VND for medical examination and treatment. On this occasion, Ms. Xinh also received rice and VND500,000 in cash. For Ms. Xinh, this is a valuable source of support and encouragement. “I have only one child working as a factory worker so the income is not enough to cover expenses. Dialysis costs a lot of money, so I'm very happy to have this support, helping me have more money for dialysis, reducing some of the difficulties," Ms. Xinh shared.

In addition to Ms. Xinh, during this peak month, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thu Dau Mot City mobilized funds to support various initiatives. They advised the Mobilization Committee of the City's "For the Poor" Fund to provide scholarships for 248 students from poor and near-poor households. Additionally, they supported elderly members from low-income families with eye surgery costs, helped build solidarity houses, and covered medical examination and treatment expenses for 55 households facing significant challenges due to serious illnesses. The total support fund amounted to nearly 746 million VND.

In response to this year's Peak Month for the Poor, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thu Dau Mot City has initiated several meaningful activities. These include calling for contributions and support to establish the "For the Poor" Fund, along with various social security programs. The aim is to generate more resources to improve the living conditions of poor households, near-poor households, and individuals facing difficult circumstances. With the spirit of "Joining hands for the poor - leaving no one behind", at the launching ceremony of the Peak Month for the Poor and the 2024 program "Vietnam Fatherland Front of the city and member organizations join hands for the poor" recently held, the "For the Poor" Fund Mobilization Committee, the Standing Committee of the City Fatherland Front Committee received 1,755 billion VND from all levels, branches, organizations, units, businesses and people. This amount will contribute to the State's care and support for the poor to have more conditions to improve their lives.

Join hands for the poor

In parallel with city-level activities, at the local level, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of wards in the city also deployed many activities in response to the Peak Month for the Poor in 2024. In addition to encouraging party members, civil servants, public employees in agencies, units, organizations, businesses and people to contribute to the Fund for the Poor of the wards, depending on the actual situation of each locality, activities will be organized, for example, to visit and support poor, near-poor and disadvantaged households in specific forms, such as: giving support to building solidarity houses, support for sudden difficulties...

Ms. Nguyen Hoang Yen, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee for Hoa Phu Ward, stated that in addition to participating in the "For the Poor" fundraising booth, the “Day for the Poor” Campaign Committee of the ward will work in collaboration with various departments, branches, and organizations to gather resources for the "For the Poor" Fund. This initiative aims to implement the ward's social security policies. Using the resources collected, the Ward Fatherland Front Committee will organize visits and distribute gifts to individuals facing difficulties, lonely elderly residents…

For example, recently, with the support of philanthropists, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hoa Phu Ward presented 10 gifts and 50kg of rice to lonely elderly people and poor households having difficult circumstances, each gift worth 500,000 VND and 5kg of rice. In addition, to take care of people facing many difficulties, every month, the Fatherland Front of the ward also collaborates with Phuc An Saigon General Hospital to examine and treat the poor for free; each examination session covers 30-50 people; the total value of each organization is about 20 million VND.

Over the past 10 years, the city's "For the Poor" Fund has received support totaling 12 billion 395 million VND. From the received funds, the City's "For the Poor" Fund Mobilization Committee has carried out many activities to care for the poor and people having especially difficult circumstances, such as: supporting the construction and repair of 138 solidarity houses; 400 cases of medical examination and treatment; 1,250 poor students who overcame difficulties to study well; organized visits and gave gifts to poor households, near-poor households, and disadvantaged households... Through support activities, the poor have overcome difficulties, stabilized their lives, and escaped poverty; contributed to the effective implementation of social security policies in the area.

 Reported by Hong Thuan - Translated by Ngoc Huynh