VAVA Report

MEETING WITH:  i) Prof. Tran Xuan Thu - Vice President, Secretary General  ii) Mr. Nguyen Minh Y - Head of External Relations Affairs  iii)Mr. Mai The Chinh – Central Committee Member

VAVA was founded in 2004 and deals with 58 out of the 63 Provinces in Vietnam, which covers all of the country where Agent Orange victims have been found. They deal at Province, District and Commune level. Three million people are affected and 4.8 million people have been exposed. They are the poorest people in the country. 70% of the families are classified as living below the poverty line and 22% of the families have three or more victims. Many are very seriously disabled. 90% are jobless. The burden of care for these victims falls on their parents many of whom are now in their old age. Where possible VAVA gives help to these people in their homes and in hospitals, and priority is given to the poorest families. One military hospital which cares for 100 victims has discovered many diseases that have been caused by dioxin. The immune system is damaged making patients more vulnerable to disease. Research is being carried out into this.

VAVA help victims in other ways such as giving scholarships and training for jobs, adapting houses and supplying necessary equipment, supporting  husbands or wives who have lost their spouses. The Government spends annually $50 million USD to help the victims, some receiving $50 USD per month. But more money is needed from outside Vietnam and from charitable organisations. VAVA deals with these organisations including ones from the UK, France, Japan, China and the USA. VAVA operate a good accounting system to ensure that money goes directly to the victims.           

We visited two Agent Orange victims in their homes, accompanied by an old soldier who was the local official from VAVA at district level. Our first visit was to meet Nguyen Thi Tinh, a young lady of 34 who was severely mentally and physically disabled. She was laid on a bed in a darkened room, could not move about and was totally dependent on her aged parents. Both her parents had been soldiers in the war and both had been exposed to dioxin. There were two other children who were not affected. The family coped solely with her care and received a grant of 420,000 a month (£12). Life was hard for them all, with no respite, and both parents were old and frail. Secondly we visited Ha Dac Cu. He was 30 years old and physically disabled but mentally very bright. He had short deformed legs and feet and was unable to walk or move about, and his body, arms and hands were crippled. He had an old computer and watched television, but sadly he had received no schooling and was unable to read or write. He had to be carried everywhere as the wheelchair he had was now broken. His father had been a soldier and with his mother they cared for Cu by themselves. His quality of life was poor due to his lack of education and opportunities, and therefore his potential was not realised. Both visits made us aware of the difficulties experienced by families when caring for their children both physically, educationally and financially. Both families coped solely for the care of them with very little funding or respite. Their homes were basic, dark and cold, life was hard. With more input and money both families’ burdens could have been made more bearable. The visits emphasised the great need for more funding to pay for more practical help, education, equipment and emotional support.

A certificate and medal were awarded to MSAVLC for their help in the past.