The 25,500 USD aid will cover the cost of 10 congenital heart surgeries for AO/dioxin child victims in the province and vocational skills training kits for students in Long Dien district.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, head of the Rotary Club Lam Yan Chang said this is the 11th year the club has worked with the VAVA’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau chapter in humanitarian activities.

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At the ceremony to hand over the aid worth 25,500 USD to the VAVA's Ba Ria-Vung Tau province chapter

Nguyen Van Nhan, head of the chapter said as many as 42 heart surgeries for AO/dioxin victims in the province have been performed with the support of the Taipei’s Rotary Club since 2008.

Fund raised by the organization has helped AO/dioxin victims in Ba Ria-Vung Tau overcome illness and ease their difficulties, he added.

The US army sprayed some 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was Agent Orange containing 366 kilograms of dioxin, over nearly one quarter of the total area of South Vietnam from 1961 to 1971.

Preliminary statistics show that 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin, and about 3 million people became victims. Tens of thousands of people have died while millions of others have suffered from cancer and other incurable diseases as consequences of exposure. Many of their offspring have also suffered from birth deformities.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is home to more than 3,500 AO/dioxin victims.

Source: VNA