Dantri Newspaper cohosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for a housing project for seven poor households in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai with local authorities and the Minh Tri Thanh Academy.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dantri Editor-in-Chief Pham Tuan Anh expressed his sincere thanks to local authorities and donors for joining the newspaper to support people who were badly hit by Typhoon Yagi.

"We've received over VND7 billion and tonnes of goods sent by donors to our charity programme, which has been set up to provide urgent support and help rebuild facilities for the storm victims," he said.

Anh also shared that Dantri has started constructing 40 houses for disadvantaged people nationwide this year, and 30 have been completed.

"We're going to build 36 more houses by the end of the year," he said.

At the ceremony, Dantri and donors presented VND700 million in financial support to seven households to help them rebuild their houses damaged by the typhoon. Of the sum, the Minh Tri Thanh Academy supported VND500 million.

The Tiger Marketing Vietnam Company presented 25 electric cookers worth over VND107 million to local families.

A Minh Tri Thanh Academy representative, Nguyen Thi Lanh, also offered ten children who lost their mothers and fathers in the natural disaster monthly financial support of between VND2.5-3 million each. The support will be provided until they turn 18.

"If they want to continue their study when they get 18, we'll continue to help so they can have a better future," she said.

The family of two-year-old Nguyen Anh Thuy and her grandmother, who are nearly 70, was among the seven households to have received Dantri's support to build their new house. Thuy's parents both died in a landslide while working at the Southeast Asia - Nam Luc Hydropower Plant's operations building on September 10. Thuy lives with her elderly grandmother in their old house, which has badly deteriorated.

According to local authorities, Thuy's new house will be 110 square metres and include a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung has asked organisations and individuals to join forces to build 100 new houses for disadvantaged families nationwide between 2024 and 2025.

As a ministry publication, Dantri Newspaper has begun a campaign to build the houses with financial support from the newspaper's readers and donors. Each family will receive at least VND50 million.