Wholehearted support for Vietnamese people in Cambodia
Chau Van Chi, President of the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Cambodia (KVA), has been working to support Vietnamese people in the area for nearly 40 years.
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| Chau Van Chi (left) receives Ho Chi Minh City's gifts to support overseas Vietnamese, and Cambodian people. (Source: NDO) |
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, along with the KVA's executive board, Chau Van Chi made every effort to contact the authorities so that compatriots living far from home could be vaccinated against the epidemic.
Born and raised in Battambang Province, which is a land of many famous delicious rice varieties and also where Tonle Sap Lake (also known as the Great Lake) is located, Chau Van Chi soon absorbed the diverse language and culture of the Cambodian people. Living in the love of friends and the local people, he feels this is his hometown.
The upheavals of history in the last decades of the 20th century caused the peoples, who drink the same Mekong water, to understand each other better and unite to rebuild the country after the destruction of the war. Together with the people of the country of pagodas and towers, the Vietnamese community in Cambodia also contributes to the restoration of many industries, producing food, foodstuffs, and other essential items for life.
In addition to the age of 20, Chi has participated in activities in the capital city of Phnom Penh. As such, he has helped people to understand the guidelines and policies of the host country, complying with local regulations to help ease the situation.
In the early 2000s, right after being elected as the President of the Vietnamese Association in Cambodia (later the Khmer-Vietnamese Association in Cambodia), Chi and staff from the KVA's executive board actively built branches of the association throughout the provinces and cities in Cambodia. Thereby, they have improved the conditions for bonding with people in the locality.
In addition to assisting the compatriots with paperwork and legal status, Chi was soon interested in the education of children of Vietnamese-origin people. Since 2006, he has mobilised universities in the country to grant 200 scholarships to the children, hoping that the next generation will have new knowledge to change their living circumstances.
Up to now, the KVA has mobilised localities, agencies and individuals in Viet Nam to join hands to help people buy residential land and build schools for their children in provinces and cities such as Phnom Penh, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Ta Keo, and Kampong Thom. As such, students have adequate qualifications to study further, many of whom have gone to Viet Nam to study at university.
When asked if he ever feels tired, Chi said that sometimes he wants to be with his family to do something. However, thinking Vietnamese-origin people in Cambodia, despite many difficulties, but they always look to the Fatherland, with hope of contributing to the construction of both countries, so he cannot leave the job unfinished.
As a member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee since 1999, every time he returns home to attend a conference or welcomes Vietnamese leaders on their visits to Cambodia, Chau Van Chi has received encouragement to work hard to help the oversea Vietnamese people in Cambodia have a better life.
Recently, he and the KVA's executive board have made efforts to contact local authorities across the country to help Vietnamese-origin people to be vaccinated against the epidemic. As a result, about 90% of households, including those without documents in 25 provinces and cities, have been vaccinated against COVID-19 by local health authorities.
In addition, medical equipment, food, and cash donated by organisations and individuals in Vietn Nam have been promptly delivered by the KVA and Vietnamese Embassy to people in Cambodia many times, contributing to reducing the damage caused by the epidemic. According to statistics, in the 2020-2021 period, more than 400 Vietnamese-origin people in Cambodia tested positive for SARS - CoV-2 virus, and about 40 cases did not survive.
On the eve of the new year, the KVA President was excited because the Cambodian government had controlled the epidemic and brought life back to the new normal. He hopes that Viet Nam and Cambodia will soon resume the same traffic routes as before so that people can visit each other and promote study and business cooperation.
With his efforts to work for the community, Chau Van Chi was awarded many certificates of merit and medals by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam Fatherland Front and agencies and organisations. Those awards are treasured and kept by him as the motivation to continue accompanying people to build a bright future.
(Source: NDO)
