Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper held a gala event on Thursday evening to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its charity programme.

The event saw the attendance of Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, Head of the Environmental Police Department Tran Minh Le, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department Le Xuan Duc, Head of the Department of Child Affairs Dang Hoa Nam, and many donors and sponsors who have co-operated with Dantri Newspaper on its charity programme.

"Despite various difficulties, our former editor-in-chief Pham Huy Hoan decided to establish the programme as our social responsibility," Anh said. "The programme has been a bridge for people to share their love and sympathy and helped connect disadvantaged people with donors. We've transferred the donations sent to the programme to people in need."

Anh shared that over the past 20 years, the programme has helped improve the lives of many people, with more than 5,100 disadvantaged people having benefited from financial support after the newspaper shared their stories; and about VND60 billion (USD2.42 million) being donated annually.

"We've also built 126 construction works including 48 classrooms, 28 bridges, and 50 floating houses in poor and remote areas over the past two decades," he added. "During the 2022-2023 School Year, we presented 1,500 health insurance cards worth nearly VND1 billion to students from low-income families in Can Tho City and Hau Giang Province. And we gave 1,200 others during the 2023-2024 School Year in Can Tho. We also organised 10 events to support patients and doctors during the Covid-19 pandemic."

Anh sent his sincere thanks to all the individuals and organisations at home and abroad that have contributed to the programme.

"Your love and support have helped change the lives of many disadvantaged people for the better," he stressed.

He also revealed some of the projects that the programme is going to do in the coming time, including the construction of 100 houses for poor people nationwide between 2024-2025, and helping school students in remote areas practice basketball.

At the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha presented flowers and medals to former Editor-in-Chief of Dantri Newspaper, Pham Huy Hoan, and individuals who have contributed to the programme.

An art auction with five paintings by Hung Ro (Nguyen Manh Hung), Khong Do Duy, Chu Viet Cuong, Nguyen The Hung, and Nguyen Minh (Minh Pho) collected nearly VND1 billion which will be used for some of the programme's charity projects.