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These young Vietnamese fight against child abuse

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“I’ll never forget the story of a nine-year-old girl who was sexually abused by her stepfather after her parents got divorced,” said Tran Phuong Dung, founder of The Angels’ Halos Organization.

The Angels’ Halos Organization is a group of young Vietnamese who work with other young people to prevent child abuse and offer psychological support to victims of bullying. 

The organization, based in Ho Chi Minh City, currently boasts 100 members, all of whom are intent on stamping out all forms of mistreatment against children.

Phuong Dung, 18, is one of the founders of The Angels’ Halos Organization and has since worked to grow it into a pillar of support for young people affected by abuse and violence. 

“I hope to help educate others on abuse and violence against children in a way that allows me to approach both parents and young people and help anyone in need,” said Dung.

Youth helping youth

Nguyen Ngoc Minh Anh, Ly Thi Minh Anh, Dang Linh Nhi, Pham Linh Dan, and Tran Phuong Dung founded The Angels’ Halos together in 2020. 

All are university students except Nhi, who is a twelfth grader.

Dung was inspired to help found the group after hearing of a nine-year-old girl who had been abused by her stepfather.

“I began researching how to start a nonprofit the moment I heard the story,” Dung recounted.  

“Then I drew up a strategic plan and shared it with my friends.”

The other four agreed to join Dung in launching the organization as they also felt sympathy for the little girl.

They split up the responsibilities evenly, with one handling communication, another taking care of human resources, and the third dealing with design. 

The more they developed The Angels’ Halos, the more tragic stories of child abuse the founders heard, and the more effort they put into building their organization.

They keep updating their group’s Facebook page with information on child abuse prevention; translating articles from newspapers, scientific journals, and prestigious organizations; and educating others on how to handle child abuse situations they may be aware of.

In June 2020, the team opened a so-called ‘confession channel’ which served as an online forum for young people to share their personal stories of abuse.

“We once got a phone call from a tenth grader who was being bullied at school,” Dung recalled.

“She cried a lot during her first call while she’s trying to tell us what happened. 

“Her friends had abandoned her whereas her classmates had thrown her notebooks away and poured water on them.”

For two months, the group patiently listened to the student as she recounted her story. 

They offered advice on approaching her parents and school administrators until the student finally started to cheer up.

Growing more mature

The Angels’ Halos Organization now boasts over 100 members aged 15 to 21.

“I wanted to take part in a project with a mission that I feel strongly about,” said Bao Tran, a member of The Angels’ Halos.  

Through volunteering with the group, Bao Tran has learned soft skills, participated in a variety of after-school activities, and sharpened her technical know-how. 

She also spends a significant amount of time learning about key issues in the fight against child abuse and children’s rights in general.

“I have been transformed into a better person,” she said.

“I have become more mature than I was before.”

Minh Anh, a first-year student at Hanoi Medical University, also volunteers with The Angels’ Halos by sharing reports from journals such as Psychological Bulletin and Journal of Applied Psychology.

The Angels’ Halos works with BlueBlue Hotline – a Hanoi-based group of young people that connects psychologists to those in need of professional mental support.

11 days working with BlueBlue Hotline

BlueBlue Hotline was born from the collaboration between two teams – one in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi.

It was launched with the aim of helping teenagers and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project has helped more than 60 young people deal with mental health issues since it launched in July. 

The young who call the hotline are given support in coping with their individual struggles, understanding themselves, harnessing their strengths, and overcoming challenges. 

If the caller is in need, the group connects them with a licensed psychologist. 

The entire process is free-of-charge.

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Source: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211212/these-young-vietnamese-fight-against-child-abuse/64659.html

Society

NA Chairman meets Vietnamese community in Indonesia

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National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on August 4 met with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to ASEAN and the Vietnamese community in Indonesia.

NA Chairman meets Vietnamese community in Indonesia hinh anh 1National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Indonesia (Photo: VNA)

Jakarta – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on August 4 met with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to ASEAN and the Vietnamese community in Indonesia.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong, about 500 Vietnamese people are living in Indonesia. Over the years, the embassy had focused on protecting Vietnamese citizens in the country, he said.

He noted that despite the global economic recession, two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia has still increased 10% each year to 14 billion USD in 2022. He held that the goal of 15 billion USD set by the two sides can be reached before 2028.

Many Vietnamese people have chosen Indonesia for travelling, while many Vietnamese businesses have invested in the country, he added.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, and ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Tran Duc Binh said that Vietnam and Indonesia are important partners of each other in ASEAN. The Vietnamese top legislator’s participation at the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) is an important external activity in both bilateral and multilateral aspects, they underlined.

Representatives from Vietnamese businesses in Indonesia proposed that the NA and Government continue designing policies and measures to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Addressing the meeting, NA Chairman Hue highlighted the sound relations between Vietnam and Indonesia, initiated by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno.

He said that Vietnam with a population of 100 million and Indonesia with nearly 300 million people have great cooperation potential, asking Vietnamese businesses, diplomatic agencies and community to continue to promote bilateral collaboration in promising areas towards the goal of 15 billion USD in two-way trade. Indonesia is currently the third largest of Vietnam among ASEAN members, he noted.

He said he hopes the embassy and Vietnamese community will continue to act as a bridge connecting the two countries. He also asked the Vietnam Trade Office to create optimal conditions for businesses of both sides to promote partnership.

He affirmed that the Party and State always consider the Vietnamese community abroad as an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation, and expressed his hope that the Vietnamese community in Indonesia will maintain the language and culture of Vietnam.

He held that it is necessary to organise a Vietnamese Language Day abroad, along with the building of cultural facilities for Vietnamese people in other countries to gather./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/na-chairman-meets-vietnamese-community-in-indonesia/265677.vnp

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Voluntary blood donation helps save lives

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Many people across Vietnam, regardless of their ages and jobs, have actively donated blood to save lives of many others.

Voluntary blood donation helps save lives hinh anh 1Tran Minh Men (L) and another blood donor. (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Hanoi – Many people across Vietnam, regardless of their ages and jobs, have actively donated blood to save lives of many others.

In late July, 100 outstanding blood donors nationwide were honoured at a three-day programme in the capital city of Hanoi.

Among them, there are 20 female delegates, 16 representatives from the education sector, eight medical staff, seven from the armed forces and three ethnic minorities. The oldest delegate is 61 years old and the youngest is 22 years old.

There were 10 delegates who donated blood 19-29 times, 60 delegates 30-49 times, 20 delegates 50-69 times, eight 70-99 times, and two at least 100 times.

Tran Minh Men, a 52-year-old man, has donated blood 102 times over the past 22 years. He is now head of the Blood Bank Team in Nghi Duc commune, Tanh Linh district, the south central province of Binh Thuan.

He shared at a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that he has also encouraged more than 3,000 others to participate in blood donation campaigns.

According to him, the greatest joy of those who participate in those campaigns is that patients are healthy and return to a normal life.

Meanwhile, Ho Kim Phuong from Ho Chi Minh City is the female donor with the most times donating blood at 78 times. She has participated in blood donation once every 3 months since 1997.

“Having witnessed many difficult and extreme situations, I always think “I can give what I can give, I can help someone with what I can”. My blood is available in my body, I can help people, help life until there is no health left. My family has four members, and all of us have donated blood more than 250 times, my husband has donated 72 times and is now over the age to donate blood, my daughter 52 times, my son 48 times,” Phuong said.

Voluntary blood donation helps save lives hinh anh 2Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Over the past 15 years, as many as 1,500 voluntary blood donors nationwide have been honoured.

Last year, over 1.43 million units of blood were donated nationwide, 99% of which came from voluntary blood donors.

Since early this year, about 900,000 units of blood have been collected through various campaigns./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/voluntary-blood-donation-helps-save-lives/265650.vnp

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Vietnam News Agency has third deputy general director

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a decision appointing Nguyen Thi Su, head of the Domestic News Department of the Vietnam News Agency, to the position of VNA Deputy General Director.

Vietnam News Agency has third deputy general director hinh anh 1Nguyen Thi Su has become the third deputy general director of the VNA (Photo: VNA)

HanoiPrime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a decision appointing Nguyen Thi Su, head of the Domestic News Department of the Vietnam News Agency, to the position of VNA Deputy General Director.

Su, born in 1972, has become one of the three deputy general directors of the VNA, the State-run news agency of Vietnam, along with Nguyen Tuan Hung and Doan Thi Tuyet Nhung.

Su graduated from the Hanoi University of Law. She started her career at the VNA in 1994 as a reporter. She was promoted to the head of the diplomatic news desk of the VNA Domestic News Department in 2006, deputy head of the department in 2011 and head of the department in 2019.

Currently, she is also a member of the VNA Party Committee and Vice President of the Union of Journalists of the VNA.

[Vietnam News Agency has new Deputy General Director]

The VNA is responsible for providing official information and documents of the Party and State, according to the Government’s recently-released Decree No 87/2022/NĐ-CP. It provides information in service of the Party leadership and State management; and collects and provides news through various forms of press and multimedia to be published by the mass media, and for the public and readers at home and abroad./.

Source: https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnam-news-agency-has-third-deputy-general-director/265688.vnp

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