The Vietnamese charitable organization “Understanding the Heart” launched Wednesday a fundraising program in New York to support poor children who are undergoing heart treatment.

Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of the Vietnamese permanent delegation to the UN, said that in Vietnam, over 10,000 babies are born with heart disease every year and only 30 percent of them receive proper medical treatment.

He called on charities and sympathetic US citizens to help Vietnamese children with heart disease by supporting the organization.

At the fundraiser, the organization gave a presentation on its five ongoing projects which include one to provide heart surgery for children in need; a program to build charitable houses; a project to support poor children; the awarding of scholarships and raising the public’s awareness on the issue.

Thanks to help from the Vietnamese Embassy in the US, similar events were held in Houston and Washington D.C. on April 2, reported the organization.

Many American citizens and organizations, as well as the overseas Vietnamese community expressed their sympathy and promised to support Vietnamese children with heart disease.

Esmeralda V. Brown, Director of the Southern Research and Development Center, said that her organization is preparing to visit Vietnam to work with local medical centers and provide assistance to Vietnamese children with heart disease.

First established in July 2010, “Understanding the Heart” has got financial assistance from individuals, non-governmental organizations, the business community and domestic and foreign partners to help needy children in Vietnam.

Source: VNA