Meeting with representatives of Dan Lai children and children from ethnic minority and mountainous areas

Attending the program, on the Central side, there were comrades: Nguyen Thi Ha - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; Bui Ngoc Chuong - Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs; Luong Hong Quang - Director of the Department of Emulation and Commendation of the Office of the President; Le Van Vu - Director of Department 3 of the Central Emulation and Commendation Committee; Hoang Van Tien - Director of the Vietnam Children's Fund.

Delegates attending the meeting. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On the side of Nghe An province, there were comrades: Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; Doan Hong Vu - Member of the Provincial Party Committee - Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; representatives of the Vietnam Children's Fund of Nghe An province, leaders of Con Cuong district, leaders of Ky Son district and related departments and offices.

Overview of the meeting program. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In particular, the program was also attended by Meritorious Artist Xuan Bac - Deputy Director in charge of Vietnam Drama Theater, Goodwill Ambassador of Vietnam Children's Fund and 30 Dan Lai children from Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district.

Ethnic Children Meeting ProgramDan Lai peopleand children in special circumstances in ethnic minority and mountainous areas was organized for the first time with the aim of creating opportunities for children of different ethnic groups to meet and exchange with each other. The program had the participation of 96 children aged 10 to 15 from 9 mountainous provinces including: Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai.

In particular, there are 30 Dan Lai ethnic children from Mon Son commune,Con Cuong district, Nghe An province. They are students with many especially difficult circumstances (poor households, divorced parents, no stable jobs, etc.). They are also typical students representing thousands of ethnic minority children in mountainous areas of 9 provinces who have made great efforts to overcome difficulties, strive to practice in their studies and achieve many achievements in the past school years.

Representatives of Dan Lai children and ethnic minority children interact at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The program is one of the activities to support Dan Lai ethnic children, helping Dan Lai children fully implement the Rights and Law of Children. Through that, it contributes to promoting the work of protection, care and education.childrenof Party committees, authorities, departments, branches, organizations at all levels, parents, and the whole society in the current period.

Meritorious Artist Xuan Bac interacts with Dan Lai children. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The program includes activities such as sightseeing, playing, campfire, and exchanging with the Goodwill Ambassador of BTTEVN Fund - Meritorious Artist Xuan Bac. It is also an opportunity for students to meet with leaders of the Party, State, ministries, central and local branches related to children; some sponsoring units to report on their academic and training achievements in recent years. Through the program, the children have the opportunity to interact, meet directly, express their feelings, thoughts and aspirations, and talk about their dreams in front of the delegates...

Comrade Nguyen Thi Ha - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs spoke at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs emphasized: In recent years, the work of protecting, caring for and educating children, especially the implementation of basic rights of children and goals for children has achieved certain results. However, ethnic minority children are still the poorest and most vulnerable group. Poverty still causes some children to drop out of school, live on the streets or engage in risky behaviors such as child prostitution for a living. A number of children and adolescents in Vietnam continue to live in conditions of not enjoying their rights and not integrating into society, such as quality health care, education... are still not equally accessible to all children. Vietnamese children need more protection not only from their families and society but also from the efforts of the Vietnamese Government and organizations working for children's rights.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Ha - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and Comrade Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee presented gifts to disadvantaged children in mountainous areas and ethnic minorities. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On this occasion, the leaders of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs also commended the academic achievements of students with special circumstances, difficulties in mountainous areas, and ethnic minorities, and at the same time created conditions for them to exchange, learn, and encourage students to try to study well, practice their personalities to become good children, good students, and useful people for society, contributing to the development of human resources in the future.

This is also an opportunity to affirm the effectiveness of child support programs through the Vietnam Children's Fund on the lives and learning of children in special and difficult circumstances; thereby mobilizing social resources to contribute to support for ethnic minority children in remote and isolated areas, especially children of the Dan Lai ethnic group.

According to the 2019 census, Vietnam currently has 54 ethnic groups, the Kinh ethnic group accounts for 86.2% and the remaining 53 ethnic minorities account for only 13.8% of the country's population. The largest ethnic minorities are Tay, Thai, Muong, Khmer, Hoa, Nung, Mong, Dao, Ede, Gia Rai, Ba Na, Cham, San Diu,... Most of these ethnic groups live in mountainous and remote areas in the North, Central Highlands, Central and Mekong Delta. Finally, the Brau, O Du and Ro Mam ethnic groups have only over 300 people.

The Dan Lai ethnic group has a population of about 3,000 people, living mainly in Co Phat, Khe Khang, Khe Pung villages, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district, Nghe An province.