Vietnamese AO victims receive support from international friends

The Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) on July 18 received US$10,000 from Maggie Brooks, a Swiss national living in Costa Rica, and her friends.

The VAVA receives Maggie Brooks' donation in 2014.

Speaking at a ceremony, VAVA President Nguyen Van Rinh thanked Brooks for her help, stating that Vietnam highly values the donors and thanks them for their support.

The previous donation by Brooks and her friends in May, 2014 was used to build houses for victims in Hanoi, Rinh said.

Brooks, who helped lawyers of the VAVA meet the International Association of Democratic Lawyers in 2011, has raised the fund since November, 2013 from her friends.

According to VAVA, from 1961 to 1971, the US Army sprayed more than 18.2 million gallons of Agent Orange over more than 10% of the land in southern Vietnam.

It is estimated that more than 4.8 million Vietnamese have suffered from the toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their descendants are living with deformities and diseases due to its effects.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)