Social News 4/2 Stakeholders share int’l experiences on bear bile farming Enhancing rescue centres’ capacity is one of the most critical aspects of efforts to put an end to the bear bile farming industry in Việt Nam, experts emphasised at a forum yesterday. Initiated by World Animal Protection (WAP), the third “Asiatic Black Bear Forum: Sharing experiences of bear bile farming management and keeping bears in the wild” held in Hà Nội follows two previous efforts in China to become a platform for wildlife experts, non-government organisations, state agencies and related forces to discuss bear protection policies and solutions. Việt Nam was a hotspot of bear bile farming in the 2000s. However, over the past 13 years, thanks to cooperation between the Government and wildlife protection organisations, the number of farmed bears has decreased from more than 2000 in the period of 2006 to 2012 to about 1000 in 2017. Despite positive signs, according to Nguyễn Mạnh Hiệp from the Việt Nam Administration of Forestry, there are several challenges, including improving living conditions at rescue centres, especially in the southern region, and encouraging bear farm owners to hand over bears to the Government. Representatives of South Korea’s National Assembly and Green Korea United Organisation (GKU) presented policies for combating the bear bile farming industry in their country. Their sterilisation programmes to ensure no new bear was born at bear farms were completed in early 2017. As of May 2017, there were only 660 sterilised bears captive at 36 farms. The progress has been made thanks to the advocacy by WAP and GKU towards the South Korea government and bear farm owners in the past 14 years. Jung-mi Lee, South Korea’s National Assembly member, stressed the importance of the cooperation of public and private sectors in addressing bear bile farming. “I think in South Korea and other countries including Việt Nam, people’s awareness of protecting animals is rising. Therefore, it is important for us to make bear farmers understand the significance of wildlife preservation beyond profits made from the bear bile trade,” she said. Lê Việt Dũng, deputy head of Đồng Nai Province Forest Rangers, raised the idea of a safari which is large enough to receive, take care of and create a semi-wild environment for rescued bears. “Because even sterilisation may be considered a violation against bears,” he said. Đồng Nai Province is one of the localities, including Hà Nội, Hải Phòng City and Bình Phước Province, implementing microchipping programmes developed by WAP in farmed bear management. The number of farmed bears here dropped from 163 to 91. Karanvir Kukreja from WAP said that innovations in the new microchipping programmes allowed experts to evaluate conditions of bears without using anesthesia. Moreover, WAP in collaboration with Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) and Four Paws developed a detailed blueprint to put an end to bear bile farming. Education, health, gender equality top SDG priorities: survey    Quality education, good health and well-being, gender equality, zero hunger and poverty, peace, justice and strong institutions are the top goals that Vietnamese youth are ready to strive for. This was revealed in the first-ever Youth Survey on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) released in Hà Nội on Friday. At the launch of the survey, Caitlin Wiesen, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director in Việt Nam, said UNDP had teamed up with the Sustainable Development Office of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies to conduct this survey. According to Wiesen, the aim of the survey was to better understand the concerns, perceptions and interests of the youth and which SDG goals they saw as vital for their future. “It is time to shift the notion of partnering with young people from engaging the youth as beneficiaries to partnering with the youth as agents of change, driving the SDGs and the future they want,” she said. More than 7,000 young people from all 63 provinces in the country responded to the survey, with nearly three-fourths of the respondents being female. More than 65 per cent of them lived in urban areas. Notably, three out of four respondents said they had not heard about the SDGs. Coordination and support mechanisms by actors, gender-sensitive approaches, awareness campaigns and public engagement activities are among the key recommendations of the survey to empower the youth to take action in achieving the SDGs. Đào Đình Tân, director of the Sustainable Development Office under MPI, said Việt Nam had registered to present the voluntary national report on SDGs implementation at the high-level political forum at the United Nations in New York in July this year. “The results and findings of this survey will be useful inputs for the report that Việt Nam is to present at the forum,” Tân said. Hà Tĩnh produces bumper orange crop for Tết Farmers in central Hà Tĩnh Province have enjoyed a bumper crop of oranges and believed the Tết (Lunar New Year) price will bring them a high income. Meanwhile, the local agriculture sector aims to apply sustainable cultivation practices to the development of large orange tree farms, with the goal of adapting to climate change. According to a report by the Division of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province’s Hương Sơn District, there are 844ha of oranges ready for harvesting to supply the Tết market. Lê Quang Hồ, the division’s head, said advanced cultivation techniques applied by local farmers have resulted in a bumper crop, estimating that each hectare yields 15 tonnes of orange fruits. A report by local Hà Tĩnh newspaper said some trees bear so many fruits that they appear orange instead of green. Ngô Xuân Linh, a farmer who owns an orange farm of 38ha in Sơn Mai Commune said he expected a total income of VNĐ15 billion (US$660,000) from the orange fruits as this type of fruit is favoured by consumers nationwide thanks to its flavour. “Almost all fruits will ripen in the days ahead of Tết [which falls on February 15] and I believe I will make a high income thanks to the fruit quality,” Linh said, adding that he planned to expand the total area to 50ha next year. Local authorities supported the expansion by Linh and other orange farmers. Nguyễn Kiều Hưng, the district’s deputy chairman said orange farms have lifted up the local economy and orange has been chosen as the key tree to flourish in the hard soil in this mountainous district. Phạm Quang Hùng, a farmer in Hương Khê District’s Hương Thủy Commune, said he had 3,500 orange trees in his farm, expecting a yield of 20 tonnes of fruits and total income of VNĐ1 billion (US$44,000) this crop, with market price of about VNĐ80,000 each kilogramme. Hùng said the bumper crop was the result of organic cultivation. “I used waste from husbandry and fermented soya bean to fertilise the trees. At the same time, I have a system that help water the trees with gradual drops,” he said. The province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said its agriculture was hit hard by climate change, thus the department has encouraged local farmers to practice sustainable cultivation for adaptation. The department’s deputy director Lê Đức Nhân said the sector has facilitated the development of large farms using cultivation methods that are safe for environment, including the farms growing orange trees in the mountainous districts of Hương Khê and Hương Sơn. The department also targeted the application of VietGAP (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practice) criteria into the farms, expecting to export local orange fruits. VFF ensures warm Tet for disadvantaged people President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Tran Thanh Man has visited and presented Tet gifts to disadvantaged people and policy beneficiaries in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang. In a working session with the provincial leaders the same day, Man highlighted that the Party and Government always pay due attention to taking care of the poor and the policy beneficiaries. He asked local authorities to continue its efforts to take care of the ethnic people and poor households with special circumstances and support them to develop socio-economy, alleviate poverty and improve livelihoods. On the occasion, he presented 3 billion VND (132,000 USD) from the Central Emergency Response Fund to the provincial leaders. The money will be used to build houses for families affected by natural disasters. The following day, VFF Vice President Bui Thi Thanh visited and extended warm Tet greetings to households in the Ta Nen resettlement area in Dong Nghe commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province. Sixty four Tet gifts, each worth 1 million VND (44 USD), were given to families in the zone. The Ta Nen resettlement zone houses 64 families whose houses were collapsed in the historic flood in October, 2017. Additional 1.8 billion VND to support mountainous children in Tuyen Quang The National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC) recently received 1.8 billion VND (79,200 USD) raised from the Singapore-Vietnam friendship charity run to build facilities at Sinh Long primary school’s establishment in La village, Na Hang district, the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang. The information was announced by the NFVC on January 28. The friendship run is the first event organised by the Singaporean Embassy in Vietnam to kick off an array of activities in 2018 to mark 45th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries. In the past years, both sides have enjoyed sound cooperation in the fields of politics, economy and culture. HCM City’s district achieves target of no poor households Ho Chi Minh City’s District 6 is the first in the city to no longer have households under the poverty line, achieving the target three years ahead of schedule. According to the city standard, a poor household has an average income below 21 million VND (925 USD) per year per person, and a near-poor household has an average income of 21 million-28 million VND (1,233 USD) per year per person. Early last year, District 6 had 660 poor households with 3,541 people, accounting for 1.13 percent of total households in the district, and 2,700 near-poor households. Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy chairwoman of the People’s Committee of HCM City, praised the district’s achievements in poverty reduction. The district’s fund for poverty reduction provided a loans totalling 35 billion VND (1,541 USD) to more than 1,200 poor and near-poor households last year. It awarded 5,200 scholarships worth over 5.1 billion VND (224,591 USD) to students, including more than 3,600 who live in difficult circumstances, and provided vocational training to 116 children living in poor and near-poor households. Thu urged the district to continue to support policies for people living under difficult circumstances and ensure that poverty reduction is sustainable. Scholarships, gifts given to people in need ahead of Tet Scholarships and gifts have been presented to impoverished and ethnic people across the country to bring them a warm Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) holiday. The Vietnam Red Cross Society on January 26 allocated 6.57 billion VND (289,000 USD) for its chapters cross the country to aid poor families and Agent Orange/Dioxin victims ahead of Tet holiday. The Red Cross Society plans to present at least two millions gift packages to help the disadvantaged households enjoy Tet. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee presented scholarships and gifts, including clothes and blankets, to impoverished ethnic students and families in the border districts of Trung Khanh and Ha Lang in northern Cao Bang province in a programme entitled “Spring at border 2018.” They also brought a warm spring to border guards at Thi Hoa Border Guard Station with gifts and art performances. “Spring at border 2018” continued to take place in Ha Quang district of northern Cao Bang province on January 27. Also, the Vietnam Youth Federation’s chapter in Hung Yen province provided free medical examinations for 200 policy beneficiaries in Da Loc commune, An Thi district. Twenty gifts, each worth 1 million VND (44 USD), were given to disadvantaged families in the locality. Vietnam-China friendship association established in Soc Trang The Vietnam - China Friendship Association in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang was set up at its first congress held in January 26. To Ai Vang, vice head of the province’s delegation of National Assembly deputies, was elected as President of the association for the 2018-2023 tenure. The association has set the task to deepen the cordial relationship between Soc Trang and Chinese localities, contributing to the Vietnam-China friendship. Soc Trang province is home to more than 65,000 people of Hoa ethnic group, accounting for 5.2 percent of the province’s population. The same day, a ceremony marking the 68th year of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties (January 18, 1950 - 2018) was organised in Ho Chi Minh City by the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) and the Vietnam-China Friendship Association in the city. Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association in HCM City Duong Quan Ha stressed that the traditional friendship between the two countries has been consolidated by their leaders and people over the years. The Consul General of China in HCM City Chen Dehai lauded the local friendship organisations’ contributions to people-to-people exchanges of the two countries. Vietnam and China are important trade partners of each other and cooperation in other fields has also seen strong growth, the diplomat said.- Workshop discusses biomass energy planning in Soc Trang A consultation workshop on biomass energy planning in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang by 2020, with a vision to 2030, was held in the province on January 25. The event was co-organised by the provincial Department of Industry and Trade and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Deputy Director of the department Le Thach Thanh said Soc Trang boasts huge advantages in agro-forestry development, which provides sources of biomass energy. Biomass energy planning plays a significant role in promoting the province’s efficient use of biomass sources for electricity production in combination with agricultural development and improvement of local people’s livelihoods. A biomass power plant of 12 MW using bagasse has been put into operation in the province while three new thermo power plants and wind turbines will be built in the coming time. At the workshop, consulting agencies introduced legal framework for biomass planning, along with methodology, procedures and results of drafting provincial-level biomass energy plans and lists of proposed projects. Participants also discussed regional biomass energy planning, cooperation between Soc Trang and other localities in tapping biomass energy potential, as well as environmental impacts and solutions to financial issues. 1968 uprising lessons remain significant to Vietnam today The Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising in spring 1968 has left valuable historical lessons, especially those on how to promote the strength of the national great unity in the nation building and safeguarding cause today. The statement was made by Nguyen Van Hung, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation, at a symposium on the general offensive and uprising held by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in Hanoi on January 26. The lessons stressed the need to gather high consensus of the entire Party, army and people under the sound leadership of the Party Central Committee and the strategic directions of the Central Military Commission; to specify clearly defence and security tasks in the national protection; to involve the entire people in defense and security; and to take advantage of support and help from international friends, according to Hung. At the symposium, delegates focused on clarifying the sound guidelines and leadership of the Party Central Committee, the Political Bureau, and the Central Executive Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam in the Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising. They analysed the reasons behind the victory and historical lessons of the general offensive and uprising for the resistance war against US forces and the nation’s revolutionary cause. Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Manh Ha from the Institute of Party History said that the general offensive and uprising was a turning point of the resistance war. It had been the biggest military effort and showed the highest determination to win of the entire Party, army and people since the beginning of the war. It also created the most strong wave of protests against the US’s war in the US itself and all over the world, Ha added. The general offensive and uprising began in the early morning of January 31 in 1968 when liberation forces at the same time launched attacks on the enemy’s bases in cities such as Hue, Da Nang, Quy Nhon and Sai Gon, and hundreds of towns from Quang Tri to Ca Mau. The offensive helped the liberation forces destroy huge amounts of facilities and logistics used by the US and the Southern regime’s armies. People in rural areas also took this opportunity to rise up against the US-backed government’s administration at commune and district levels. Sai Gon-Gia Dinh (now HCM City), the headquarters of the US-backed Southern regime, was a focus of the Mau Than offensive. Tet gifts presented to people with disadvantages nationwide One thousand gift packages worth a total 700 million VND (30,800 USD) have been presented to people with disadvantages nationwide to help them enjoy a happy Lunar New Year (Tet) as the traditional festival approaches. On January 25, a delegation of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter presented gifts to low-income families, the elderly and ethnic minority people in Phu Rieng and Dong Phu districts of southern Binh Phuoc province. Meanwhile, the Vinh Phuc provincial Confederation of Labour held a Tet celebration for local workers. At this event, it handed more than 400 million VND (17,600 USD) to 40 workers to help them build houses while offering 635 million VND (28,000 USD) in aid for 324 others. About 1,150 gift packages were also presented to workers in the northern province ahead of Tet. The same day, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin visited and sent Tet gifts to war veterans who are AO/dioxin victims in Vinh Phuc province. On January 22 and 23, the association also presented Tet gifts to AO/dioxin victims in the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. From now to February 10, about a week ahead of the Lunar New Year, it plans to continue the tour offering Tet support in many other provinces, including Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Tay Ninh and Binh Phuoc. Vietnam to raise forest coverage, exports Vietnam aims to raise its forest coverage to 41.6 percent and to earn 8.5–9 billion USD from exporting wood and forestry products while providing jobs to 25 million people in 2018. This was announced at a meeting of the State Steering Committee on Forest Sustainable Development Target Programme for 2016-20. Addressing a meeting in Hanoi on January 25, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, Head of the State Steering Committee on Forestry Sustainable Development Target Programme, said “Forest protection and development must go hand in hand with socio-economic development, environmental protection and improving the people’s living conditions.” “To achieve these targets, the first thing we have to do is to complete our national institution and policies on forestry production and development,” Dung said. “Forestry restructuring should start from good planning – an effective tool in the state management towards forest protection and development”. The Deputy PM also asked the Ministry of Planning and Development to work closely with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review all ODA projects on forestry development, particularly in the Central Highlands, northwestern region and coastal areas. Dung set a target for the Steering Committee to complete a proposal on forest restoration, protection and sustainable development in the Central Highlands from 2016-25 by the end of the first quarter of 2018. A report presented at the meeting said that by late 2017 the forestry coverage was 41.45 percent, an increase of 0.26 percent compared to that of 2016. In 2017, more than 235,000 ha of concentrated forestry were planted – achieving 102.4 percent of the target. Meanwhile, the volume of wood products extracted from concentrated forest plantation was 18 million cubic metres, 6 percent over the targeted plan.  Meanwhile the value of wood and forestry product exports was nearly 8 billion USD, an increase of 9.2 percent over the previous year. The programme for Sustainable Forest Development for 2016-20 and Decision 419-TTg, issued on April 5, 2017, established the national programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the mitigation of deforestation and forest degradation, conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forest resources through 2030. French audience enjoy a night of Vietnamese music and culture A concert titled Chạm (Touch), hosted by the young musician Hoàng Thu Trang, brought French audiences a glimpse of Vietnamese music and culture. The event was held in the cultural centre Espace Cosmopolis in the city of Nantes on February 3. This is one of a series of art activities organised in the framework of AuxCoeurx du Việt Nam (To the Hearts of Việt Nam) to celebrate Việt Nam Month in Nantes. The event is organised by 80 non-professional artists who are Vietnamese students, Vietnamese residents of France and French people living in Nantes, Paris, Lorient and neighbouring provinces and cities. Aux Coeurs du Việt Nam is organised by Việt Nam Loire Atlantique Friendship Association and the Association of Vietnamese Students in Nantes. The event features more than 20 activities introducing Việt Nam, its history, people and culture. It takes place from January 31 to February 18 in Nantes. An exhibition featuring the costumes of the 54 different ethnic groups in Việt Nam was held at the opening event on Wednesday. The concert Chạm (Touch) brought the audience to Việt Nam – the S-shaped country in the southeast Asia with spectacular landscapes, rich culture and diverse food. Each song in the concert included French subtitles and be accompanied by fine images, which helped to give the audience the opportunity to ‘touch’ and feel the quintessence of Vietnamese culture. “I combine traditional Vietnamese music with modern melodies, accompanied by images and light in order to bring the best experience to audience. There have been many difficulties as most participants are non-professionals and many in the team do not speak Vietnamese fluently but must perform in Vietnamese. We have been practising for three months to mount an hour on stage. Music will make us overcome all the geographic and language barriers and bring us close together,” Trang said before the event. In this concert, Trang launched her latest song – Hà Nội Của Em, Hà Nội Của Anh (Your Hà Nội, My Hà Nội). Mái Đình Làng Biển (Communal House of a Coastal Village) song is a sweet, peaceful melody about Vietnamese heritage and the đình làng (communal house), a place of community and worship that has been preserved for years. Cheerful, festive melodies depicting the traditional Tết of Vietnamese people with the signature items of peach blossom flower and bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) will also be featured. The beautiful and poetic images of the capital of Hà Nội with Hoàn Kiếm lake, the flower season, the street covered with golden leaves and small alleys are illustrated in the two songs Hà Nội 12 Mùa Hoa (Hà Nội, 12 Flower Seasons) and Hà Nội Của Em, Hà Nội Của Anh (Your Hà Nội, My Hà Nội). The concert also introduced the audience to the unique features of Vietnamese music such as the flute or ca trù (ceremonial singing). Nearly 80 non-professional artists prepared for the concert. They include Musique Rendez-Vous music band, comprised of Vietnamese students in France, and NEST VIỆT orchestra, whose 40 members are Vietnamese mothers and their children growing up in France. Vũ Tuyết Chinh in Nantes said, “As a mother of two Vietnamese French children, I find it important to teach them Vietnamese and develop the love for Việt Nam. I have spent three months with the team and my children to prepare for the event. I practise with my children, learn Vietnamese songs and will have the opportunity to perform on such a big stage to introduce Vietnamese music and culture. It is such a memorable and precious experience for me and participants.” Hoàng Thu Trang, who started composing at the age of 12 and graduated from Hà Nội Conservatory of Music, is currently living in Nantes. She is the founder of the music band Music Rendez-Vous in France. Over the last few years, Trang has organised more than ten concerts with the band across France to introduce and promote Vietnamese music and culture. Work starts on memorial house for VGCL founder Nguyen Duc Canh The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and the northern port city of Hai Phong on February 3 started construction of a memorial house dedicated to Nguyen Duc Canh, founder of the Tong Cong Hoi Do Bac Ky, the predecessor of the VGCL, on the occasion of his 110th birthday. Addressing the ceremony, VGCL President Bui Van Cuong recalled the revolutionary life of the late communist, who was once Hai Phong Party Committee Secretary. He said that the memorial house is expected to serve as a venue to remember the late leader. Located in An Dong commune, An Duong district, the project covers 3.04 hectares and is scheduled to complete in 2019 on the occasion of the 90th founding anniversary of the Vietnam Trade Union. In 2007, locals of Hai Phong built a memorial house for Canh and martyr Ho Ngoc Lan in Thong Nhat shoe company in An Duong district. Canh was born on February 2, 1908 in Diem Dien village, in today Thai Thuy district of Thai Binh. Being enlightened by the revolutionary ideology, he joined various patriotic movements in 1925-26 when he was studying in Thanh Chung Nam Dinh High School. Then he joined the Vietnam Youth Revolution Association, which was a turning point in his revolutionary life. In 1928, he was assigned to work as Hai Phong Party Secretary. In 1929, the working class movement had developed well and Canh had made lots of contributions to Tong Cong Hoi Do Bac Ky (the predecessor of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour). In March 1929, at House No 5D, Ham Long street of Hanoi, the first Communist unit in Vietnam was established with eight members including Canh. In June 1929, he was elected to be a provisional member of the Central Committee of the Indochina Communist Party. In April 1931, he was captured by the French. Though he was tortured by the invaders, he did not reveal any secrets of the Party. He was sentenced to death by the French and was killed in 1932. Earlier on February 2, a scientific seminar was held in Hai Phong to discuss the contributions of Canh to the working class and trade union development of Vietnam. Vietnam-Cambodia Association helps tighten bilateral ties The Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association has held a lot of activities in 2017 to contribute to tightening the friendship and solidarity between the two nations. In the year, the association organised free health check-ups and treatment for people in Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province, and granted 1,000 gifts including medicine and medical equipment to locals, heard the association’s conference to review its operation in 2017 and put forward 2018 tasks. The association’s local chapters also held numerous activities such as helping build houses, presenting scholarships to students, and providing medicine for people in Cambodia’s border provinces. Speaking at the event, Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Prak Nguon Hong affirmed that the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association’s activities have helped nurture the friendship and solidarity between the two countries’ people. On this occasion, the ambassador granted Orders of the Royal Cambodia and the Cambodian Prime Minister to the association and its outstanding members. Workshop on CPV’s founding, 1968 General Offensive held in Algeria The Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria held a seminar on February 2 on the occasion of the 88th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) (February 3) and the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Spring General Offensive and Uprising  (January 31). Speaking at the event, Ambassador Pham Quoc Tru highlighted the significance of the foundation of the CPV on February 3, 1930 as well as the role of the Party in the country’s revolutionary cause and main achievements Vietnam has gained over the past nearly nine decades. He also recalled major developments of the 1968 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, which marked a strategic turning point for the resistance war against the US and its lackeys. Other delegates also focused discussions on the two topics of the seminar. They clarified the role of late President Ho Chi Minh and other Vietnamese leaders in the Party building and development process as well as the struggle for national liberation, building and safeguarding. The event helped consolidate the trust in the Party among Party members and overseas Vietnamese in Algeria, helping them understand more about the foundation of the CPV and the role of the late President.- Government provides rice for Nghe An’s farmers Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on February 2 instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate rice from the national reserves to support people in the central province of Nghe An, who had suffered from a poor crop. Accordingly, more than 794,710 tonnes of rice will be sent to the province. The provincial People’s Committee is responsible for promptly distributing the rice to people in need. VNN