The Fatherland Front Committee of the northern mountainous province Lao Cai provided houses, worth 60-120 million VND each, for 25 low-income families in Si Ma Cai district this month. The committee’s Vice Chairwoman Ban Thu Thao said the committee would support the construction of 25 additional houses by November. Since 2012, the province has raised close to VND40 billion ($1.88 million) to implement social welfare programs, she added. Meanwhile, the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau has been cooperating with the Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) to provide free milk for more than 59,800 children under the age of six during the 2012-2016 period. According to the deputy director of the provincial Department of Education and Training, local authorities are working to reduce the proportion of under-weight children and children with stunted growth to less than five percent and one percent, respectively. On September 19, the Thien Tam Foundation under Vingroup donated 1,000 cows to poor households in Cu Jut district in the Central Highlands province Dak Nong. Earlier, the group gave 2,000 cows to poor residents in Kon Tum and Dak Lak provinces. (vietnamplus.vn Sept 22)
