According to the recent report of the Investment Promotion and Support Center (IPC Ben Tre) of Ben Tre province, IPC Ben Tre has positively mobilized and attracted many Non-Governmental organizations and individuals abroad to support the poverty alleviation scheme of Ben Tre, especially the programme of granting loving houses for the poor households and education and health care programmes for rural poor people in Ben Tre province. In particular, in 2009, IPC Ben Tre mobilized and constructed 50 loving houses to grant for 50  poor households, those who have difficult circumstances in housing in eight districts; constructed three primary schools and kindergarten to some poor communes in Binh Dai district, Cho Lach district and Thanh phu districts; granted 5 water tanks and toilet works to primary and secondary schools in many poor districts. In order to support poor students to school, IPC Ben Tre also mobilized and granted around 800 scholarships to poor students at all study levels. The scholarships granted to poor students include bikes, cash, study tools and so on. In terms of health care progamme, IPC Ben Tre held many doctor groups to examine health for rural poor and offer free medicines to the rural patients. There are 1,000 rural people to receive this health care scheme; the Poor Patient Foundation of Ben Tre is also granted many kinds of medicines to treat poor patients through IPC Ben Tre’s mobilization. IPC Ben Tre also helped three primary schools to benefit the “Fresh milk program”. This scheme is given to malnutritious pupils. There are 300 malnutritious pupils to be drunk fresh Vinamilk everyday during one academic term. Apart from that other activities for rural poor people are also assisted, such as granting water filters and agri tools for poor farmers. Total funding mobilized by IPC Ben Tre in 2009 to above social schemes was around VND1,7 billion. Main funding for programmes of IPC Ben Tre is mobilized mainly from some international NGOs including Hosanna International, Global Vision and the Corea Peace 3000 of Korea. These Korean NGOs have positively contributed to the poverty alleviation programme of Ben Tre since 2004 to date and they are also awarded by the Provincial People’s Committee of Ben Tre province.

Nguyen Duy