A new centre that will offer rehabilitation and post-surgery care to Agent Orange victims will open by the end of the year in HCM City, according to the HCM City Association of Victims of Agent Orange. The Orange Village, also called the Centre for Care, Support, Nourishment and Treatment, and Vocational Training for Agent Orange Victims, will open in Hoc Mon District. Major General Tran Ngoc Tho, chairman of the association, said the centre would provide shelter and vocational training for AO victims to help them integrate into society. Tho spoke at a ceremony held on August 4 to mark the 56th Agent Orange Day in Vietnam, which falls on August 10. For years, AO victims have been taken care of at the Thien Phuoc Centre for Disabled Children in Cu Chi District and Hoa Binh Village at Tu Du Hospital. Although the Party and State have offered monthly financial aid and healthcare support, AO victims still face significant challenges, Tho said. Domestic and foreign support for AO victims play a vital role in helping them integrate into society, he said. The ceremony honored organizations, enterprises and individuals that have worked with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin to support AO victims, including the HCM City Women’s Union, Tu Du Hospital, My Duc Hospital, Vietnam Red Cross Society’s HCM City chapter, and the Korean Cultural Centre in Vietnam. In Vietnam, around three million people have been affected by Agent Orange. Two million AO victims have severe disease or various forms of disability. (VOV Aug 6)
