To mark the 37^th anniversary of the Viet Nam Day of People with Disabilities (18 April), on Monday the Head of the Da Nang Party Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Board, Mr Pham Quy, visited the municipal Association of Blind People.

Mr Quy spoke highly of the great efforts made by the Association’s staff and its blind members in overcoming the difficulties in their lives.  In addition, he praised the Association’s chapters for promoting innovations in their performances, especially creating jobs for the blind and the disabled across the whole city.

Over recent years, the Association has become actively involved in the city’s social welfare and poverty reduction programmes.  It now has 691 members, of which over 300 have stable jobs earning monthly salaries of between 2 and 4 million VND.  Most notably, there are no blind people working as itinerant beggars in the city.

Last year, the Association received an Excellent Emulation Flag from the Viet Nam Blind Association in recognition of its outstanding achievements.

Also on Monday, municipal Fatherland Front Committee Chairwoman Dang Thi Kim Lien visited and gave gifts to disadvantaged children at the city’s Association of Agent Orange (AO) and the Association for Supporting Orphans and the Disabled.

Chairwoman Lien highly applauded the active involvement of the 2 associations’ staff members in helping poor children and AO victims to overcome their physical or mental health problems to enjoy happy lives.

She vowed that the city authorities would create even more favourable conditions for the associations to operate effectively in order to assist even more disadvantaged local people.