In Argentina, the Vietnamese Embassy in Buenos Aires held an event on November 7 to call for donations for the flood victims from its staff as well those working for Vietnamese representative offices and their family.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Duong Quoc Thanh said Argentina is so far away from Vietnam and the Vietnamese society here is relatively small, but its contributions still hold a big meaning as they demonstrate the love and responsibility toward their Vietnamese fellows in the central region who are struggling to make ends meet because of the natural disaster.

In Italy, the Embassy of Vietnam, the Italy-Vietnam Mutual Assistance Association and the Vietnamese Students Association in Italy have teamed up to launch an appeal calling for donations for flood-stricken people.

The Italy-Vietnam Mutual Assistance Association has raised more than EUR4,000 EUR and nearly VND10 million (about USD5,180 in total) after two weeks, said Chairman Tran Minh Chau.

The appeal will last until November 15 and then the money raised will be sent to Vietnam to financially support the repair of kindergartens, schools and medical stations damaged by the flooding, Chau said.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Italy has so far raised about EUR1,000 while the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam has also launched a similar event to seek aid for the flood survivors.

Nguyen Thanh Vinh, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, said the fundraising events have received attention and encouragement from not only Vietnamese expats but also Italian parents adopting Vietnamese children.

The embassy has maintained close contact with these families who had also made contributions to Da Nang Hospital severely affected by the resurgence of COVID-19 in the central city of Da Nang in July, he said, adding that the number of Italian family adopting Vietnamese children now reached about 400.

In Vientiane, Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union (LPRYU)’s Central Committee Alounxai Sounnalath on November 6 handed over LAK41 million (USD4,420) to Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung to help Vietnam address consequences of the record flooding.

Ambassador Hung expressed thanks towards the gesture of Lao people, given that Laos itself has also been hit by widespread flooding which caused serious damages in eight districts of Savannakhet. It shows the special friendship and solidarity between the two countries, he said, adding that the financial aid will soon reach affected households in Vietnam./.

BTA