The "Lam River Tribute" program - spreading compassion and ensuring sustainable social welfare.
Ahead of the "Lam River Solidarity Program - Spring of the Year of the Horse 2026," Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province - discussed with Nghe An Newspaper and Radio and Television about the humanitarian values, innovative thinking, and sustainable development orientation of the program in the new phase.
Mai Hoa(Perform) • January 27, 2026
Reporter:Comrade, building upon the "Tet for the Poor" program and maintaining it for the past 14 years, the "Lam River Tribute" program is spreading ever wider. In your opinion, what is the core foundation that gives the program its vitality and special humanitarian value?
Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung:First and foremost, it can be affirmed that the vitality of the "Lam River Solidarity" Program stems from the profound cultural values of the people of Nghe An province. This is due to the deeply ingrained tradition of solidarity, mutual support, and sharing, a very natural reflex: Seeing others in greater difficulty than oneself, one cannot remain indifferent.
This spirit is strongly rekindled every time Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives, when everyone longs for a joyful, fulfilling, and happy Tet celebration, especially the poor, the vulnerable, and those in less fortunate circumstances. It is this aspiration for everyone, every family, to have a more complete Tet celebration that motivates agencies, organizations, businesses, philanthropists, and the general public to join hands and spread love throughout society.
Besides that cultural foundation, a crucial factor contributing to the program's widespread impact is its increasingly systematic, open, transparent, and practical approach. All support resources are clearly disclosed; their receipt and allocation are flexible, tailored to each locality and target group, based on the central coordinating role of the Fatherland Front at all levels.
We don't impose policies from the top down, but instead work closely with local authorities to assess circumstances, select appropriate forms of support, and hold local governments accountable for ensuring there is no duplication and no beneficiaries are left out. This approach has built social trust and fostered consensus, so that every contribution, big or small, is appreciated and its value is maximized.
Along with the Fatherland Front acting as the central point for connecting, receiving, and distributing donations, many agencies, units, businesses, and philanthropists directly registered and delivered Tet gifts to disadvantaged families. In particular, the program also targeted very specific circumstances, such as poor and near-poor households, families recovering from natural disasters, vulnerable people, orphans, victims of Agent Orange, and poor patients receiving treatment at medical facilities during the Tet holiday...
Specifically for the Lunar New Year of 2025, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province allocated over 4 billion VND to support poor patients. These results demonstrate the increasingly widespread community solidarity, not only through material resources but also through trust and social responsibility.
More importantly, the program has gradually shifted from providing immediate support to long-term partnership, from immediate relief to creating a stable foundation for livelihoods, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction. This is the factor that has created the enduring vitality and profound humanitarian value of the "Lam River Solidarity" Program over the past 14 years. Encouragingly, each year the scale and quality of the program have increased, with resources mobilized higher than the previous year. In 14 years of implementation, the program has mobilized over 1,000 billion VND; specifically for the Lunar New Year of 2025, over 150 billion VND was mobilized, ensuring that 100% of poor and near-poor households in the province received support during the Lunar New Year.
Reporter: With Nghe An province implementing many large-scale social welfare programs in 2025, how will the plan for organizing the "Lam River Solidarity - Spring of the Year of the Horse 2026" program be developed to both continue the effectiveness of previous programs and meet practical requirements?
Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung:In 2025, along with the "For the Poor" Fund, the province simultaneously implemented many important social welfare programs. Besides the "Lam River Solidarity - Spring 2025" program, the entire province received nearly 562 billion VND in cash and in-kind donations, providing timely support to people affected by natural disasters. At the same time, the province continued to promote the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses, with over 404 billion VND supporting the construction and repair of 9,015 houses, bringing the total number of houses supported to 20,802, fulfilling 100% of the needs and earning the province the Third Class Labor Medal.
However, due to the severe impact of natural disasters, especially in the western districts, many localities still face significant difficulties. Therefore, the "Lam River Solidarity Program - Spring 2026" will continue to focus on caring for poor and near-poor households to ensure they have a more fulfilling Tet holiday, while expanding the beneficiaries to include those affected by natural disasters and vulnerable groups such as victims of Agent Orange, orphans, poor patients, and disadvantaged people; linking it with activities to honor those who have contributed to the revolution, in line with the program's spirit of "solidarity and compassion".
More importantly, we have determined that we must gradually shift our focus from short-term support to sustainable livelihood and development support, through providing seedlings, livestock, production equipment, vocational training, counseling, and job placement services. The goal is for the "Lam River Solidarity" Program to become an important component of the province's sustainable poverty reduction and human development strategy.
Experience shows that simply providing money and gifts to help people get through Tet (Lunar New Year) is not enough to fundamentally help them escape poverty, and can even easily foster a sense of dependence and reliance. Therefore, the Fatherland Front and its member organizations have reformed their approach, focusing on livelihoods and long-term effectiveness as a measure, in the spirit of "giving a fishing rod rather than giving a fish."
Therefore, the "Lam River Solidarity Program - Spring of the Year of the Horse 2026" is not only a continuation of a fine tradition, but also a new development in thinking and approach, aiming to bring Nghe An's social welfare work to a deeper, more sustainable, and more humane level.
Reporter:In his appeal to provide support for the poor during the Lunar New Year of 2026 (Year of the Horse), the Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, Nguyen Khac Than, emphasized the involvement of the entire political system and society. According to him, what are the key factors for this appeal to have a widespread impact?
Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung:In my opinion, the key determining factor is social trust, built on a foundation of openness, transparency, fairness, and the tangible effectiveness of each program and each contribution. A movement that relies solely on administrative lobbying or fleeting emotions is unlikely to be sustainable; instead, contributing to social welfare must become a cultural norm and a self-imposed responsibility for every individual, business, and organization.
Experience shows that when people and businesses see that every contribution reaches the right people, is used for the right purposes, avoids duplication and waste, and has a real impact, then collective effort will occur naturally and sustainably. The results of social welfare programs in the province over the past period are clear evidence of this, with resources mobilized increasing year after year. What is particularly commendable is that these resources come not only from large businesses, but also from individual citizens, hometown associations, people from Nghe An living abroad, philanthropists, agencies, organizations, and institutions. This is a clear manifestation of solidarity, a culture of sharing, community instincts, and social trust. When trust is strengthened, sharing becomes an inherent need of the community.
Reporter:On the occasion of launching the "Lam River Ancestral Solidarity Program - Spring of the Year of the Horse 2026," what message would you like to convey to the business community, philanthropists, and the people?
Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung:The province currently has 79 communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, with over 1,500 villages, of which 668 are classified as extremely disadvantaged. The total number of poor and near-poor households is still over 80,000, along with more than 13,000 victims of Agent Orange, nearly 9,000 orphans, and many families facing extreme hardship. These figures highlight the significant burden on social welfare, thus highlighting the crucial need for collective effort and shared responsibility from the entire community.
We hope to continue receiving the responsible support of the business community, entrepreneurs, organizations, and individuals inside and outside the province. This support is not just about Tet gifts, but about jointly investing with the province in livelihoods, housing, and employment… contributing to creating a new momentum, new capabilities, and new motivation for the poor and those in difficult circumstances to confidently rise up, creating new achievements and breakthroughs together with the homeland and the country in this era of national progress.
We pledge that the Vietnam Fatherland Front will continue to play its central role in consultation and coordination, ensuring transparency, fairness, and that the donations reach the intended recipients and serve the intended purposes, so that every penny of this charitable contribution truly "generates value," contributing to building a compassionate society where no one is left behind – in keeping with the spirit and beautiful name of the Program: "The Compassion of the Lam River," which continues to flow and spread the beautiful cultural heritage of our homeland.
Reporter:Thank you very much, comrade!
