Commemorating the 64th Anniversary of the Agent Orange Disaster in Vietnam (August 10, 1961 - August 10, 2025) Helping Agent Orange victims integrate through employment

When the mini speaker at the grocery store announced that the account had received a transfer of 30,000 VND to buy a bottle of cooking oil from a customer, Ms. Mai Thi Yen Phuong (a victim of Agent Orange/dioxin, residing in Tran Bien ward) reminded her mother - Ms. Nguyen Thi Khiem: The customer had paid in full. Although she has polio, Ms. Yen Phuong can still help her mother sell goods by knowing whether the customer has paid or not. Ms. Nguyen Thi Khiem, although not familiar with technology, is still confident in selling goods in a cashless manner.

Báo Đồng Nai•09/08/2025

Mr. Le Van Hon, son of Mr. Le Van An (residing in Long Ha commune) does carpentry at home with preferential loans. Photo: Ngoc Huyen

Currently, Ms. Mai Thi Yen Phuong's grocery store is one of many self-employment models for Agent Orange victims and their families deployed in Dong Nai , to help Agent Orange victims integrate.

Help Agent Orange victims and their families find jobs

Recently, the Association of Agent Orange/Dioxin Victims at all levels has coordinated with various agencies to implement many forms of helping Agent Orange victims and their families find jobs according to their disability status and wishes. More importantly, through work, Agent Orange victims can travel and interact with people, instead of just staying at home like before.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Diu (residing in Long Binh ward) is over 70 years old this year but has to take care of her husband and 40-year-old son, both victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. Ms. Nguyen Thi Diu said: She has many children. Her grown children still help her take care of her father and disabled younger brother. But everyone has their own family so she does not want to add more burden to her children. Therefore, when associations and unions in Dong Nai province helped her with over 100 million VND in capital so that she could start a grocery business right at home, she was very happy.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Huu Chinh, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, said: The Central Committee of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin highly appreciates the leadership of Party committees, authorities, and coordination between associations of victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin at all levels in implementing the Emulation Movement for Victims of Agent Orange. Thanks to that, depending on the cause of exposure, the level of exposure, and the disability status, victims of Agent Orange in Dong Nai not only fully benefit from the State's policies, but also receive assistance from social resources.

Although the shop has only been open for two months, the small grocery store has helped Ms. Diu earn enough income to support the family of three, instead of having to rely entirely on her children. She bought a table and chairs for her husband to sit and drink tea and chat with customers who are neighbors when they come to buy goods. Thanks to that, the mood of her husband - a veteran who was exposed to toxic chemicals - has improved significantly.

For the family of Agent Orange victim Le Van An (residing in Long Ha commune), timely financial support from associations and organizations has given the family a lot of motivation in life.

Mr. Le Van An said: After completing his military service and returning home, thanks to preferential loans, he opened a carpentry workshop at home, specializing in making furniture, tables, chairs, beds, cabinets, etc. Thanks to his good craftsmanship, his carpentry workshop always maintains a stable number of customers, creating a source of income for his family.

As for Agent Orange victim Le Thanh Cong (living in Trang Dai ward), although both legs and one arm are disabled, every day he rides his three-wheeled motorbike with a bag of tools to repair household appliances as requested. The job helps him earn an income to take care of his own food and partly to help his wife raise their children.

Mr. Cong shared: “With the financial support from the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, I was able to buy a cutting machine, a welding machine, a drill and some other materials in accordance with my wish to become a mechanic. In addition, the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin also introduced customers who needed to repair machinery so that I could have a job and earn income to take care of my family.”

Proactively seek social resources

A notable point in the process of implementing models to help people create jobs for themselves is that departments, branches, associations and unions mostly use resources from socialization. This first of all shares the burden with the state budget in implementing social security work; at the same time, it demonstrates the community's solidarity in caring for victims of Agent Orange.

There are currently 13,000 victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin living in Dong Nai. Since the beginning of 2025, the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin has provided capital for production and business to 102 families with members who are victims of Agent Orange with a total amount of over 1.2 billion VND. This capital is entirely from contributions from individuals, agencies, units and businesses.

According to Chairman of the Provincial Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin Mai Van Nho, this capital is used by Agent Orange victims, people with disabilities and their families to do small businesses, raise poultry, and buy small capacity machines to work at home. Some families only start their business when they receive capital; many cases, when they have capital, they repair more machines and add goods to earn more income. In addition, each commune and ward is providing capital to 5-20 Agent Orange victims and their families to create jobs.

Along with mobilizing local resources, Dong Nai also proactively connects foreign non -governmental organizations, foreign associations, and foreign-invested enterprises to join hands in implementing social security activities locally, including creating jobs for Agent Orange victims and their families...

At the opening ceremony of the Convenience Store model in Dong Nai sponsored by the Kingdom of Belgium on July 23, 2025, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium to Vietnam Karl Van Den Bossche said: Through partners in Vietnam and Dong Nai, the Kingdom of Belgium is implementing the Convenience Store model to help victims of Agent Orange and their families in Vietnam create jobs, thereby having a stable income. In the coming time, there will continue to be many convenience stores deployed by the Kingdom of Belgium for victims of Agent Orange in Dong Nai province.

Along with mobilizing and connecting resources, Dong Nai ensures that resources reach the right people in need through strict implementation of the survey and funding assessment process. In particular, beneficiaries who are victims of Agent Orange and their families are guided to use resources for the right purposes and they and their families must make efforts in their work.

Lam Ngoc - Van Truyen

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202508/ky-niem-64-nam-tham-hoa-da-cam-o-viet-nam-10-8-1961-10-8-2025-giup-nan-nhan-chat-doc-da-cam-hoa-nhap-bang-viec-lam-9232d6e/