Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung (second from right) presents gifts to one of families of national contributors in Hanoi. (Photo: VOV)

Vietnam has more than 9.2 million national contributors, nearly 10% of its total population.

Policies to support them keep improving, making the nation’s ‘gratitude programs’ more substantial and meaningful.

Each year nearly 44 million USD worth of gifts are given to policy beneficiaries on the occasion of War Invalids and Martyrs' Day (July 27), National Day (September 2), and Tet (the Lunar New Year).

State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said, “The Party and State care deeply about the families of war invalids and martyrs. Vietnam’s heroic mothers deserve to be cared for all their life. Therefore, state leaders, agencies, and sectors at all levels consider supporting them an important task.” 

Thanks to support of agencies, businesses, and private benefactors, the lives of Vietnam’s heroic mothers and the relatives of wounded soldiers and martyrs have steadily improved. Their monthly allowance has increased from 1.3 million VND (57 USD) in 2015 to 1.6 million VND (71 USD) last year. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to build ‘gratitude houses’ for policy families.

Pham Dinh Thi, a disabled soldier who lives in Hanoi, said, “Party and State policies have helped policy beneficiaries like me improve their standard of living. I hope all policy beneficiaries will be treated as well as my family has been.”

Do Thi Hanh, a Hanoi resident and the widow of martyr Nguyen Van Thuyet, said, “Each month, I receive some 70 USD. At Tet and major holidays, I regularly receive gifts.”

Ongoing movements to build ‘gratitude houses’, raise ‘gratitude funds’, organize groups of war invalids to help each other, and involve communes and wards in caring for national contributors are proving beneficial.

Preferential policies for revolutionary contributors subsidize monthly stipends, health care, home repair, education and training, household production, and job creation.

Le Tan Dung, Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, explained a new ordinance on preferential policies for national contributors which took effect this month.

“The new ordinance raises the standard of living of revolutionary contributors to the same level or higher than the average level of the area where they live,” Dung said.

July 27 has become a sacred day on which everyone remembers, honors, and pays tribute to Vietnam’s heroic wounded soldiers, martyrs, martyrs' relatives, and other revolutionary contributors.

Quang Tri province is a leader in taking care of national contributors and has achieved the goal of eliminating poverty among them, said Hoang Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

“The policy for national contributors supports loans, land allocation, vocational training, and other tools of economic development. We encourage allocating land and generating jobs for national contributors, and providing vocational training for their children, especially in rural areas,” Tuan Anh said.