Descendants of the couplecoming from France , Belgium and Swiss gathered to attend the ceremony. They were very moved to receive the VWU’s noble award for their parents and grand parents. The ceremony took place solemnly with the presence of Mr. Ngo Quang Xuan, Head of the Vietnamese Mission, arepresentative from the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland, and friends of Mr. Tran Dinh Hue and Mrs. Vu Thi Loc.
Being far away from Vietnam for many years but Mr. Hue and Mrs. Loc were always mindful of the homeland and werevery active in mobilizing support for VWU.
Noticeable is the support and contribution of Mr.Hue and Mrs.Loc towards the Dairy Development Project implemented by Vietnam Women’s Union. Through the introduction of Mr.Hue, VWU established cooperation with and received assistance from a non governmental organization in Spain - World In Harmony (WIH) to implement the project in 1993. Moreover, thanks to Mr. Tran Dinh Hue’s advocacy work, the project has also received attention and assistance from other organizations such as the National Centre of Inter-institution Milk Economy in France (CNIEL) with an equipment chain for milk bacterilization and packaging, valued at US $ 145,000 and the French Organization for Child Protection and Care (AFSEA) with US$10,000 for milk packaging materials. Also, the Grand - Saconnex District (Switzerland) supported the project with US$ 5,000 and CHF 5,000 (equivalent to US$ 8,500) for the training of farmers. During their visit to Vietnam in October 2001, the delegation from Grand - Saconnex District donatedUS$ 5,000 to poor women in Hue City. Recently, before departing this life, the couple donated an amount of US$ 21,000 for the project to buy a specialized van for milk transportation and preservation which is a very precious gift to the project.
Over 12 years of implementation, the project has seen good results, helping poor women and their families to generate income, improve their lives and at the same time contribute to the development of dairy cow raising in the locality, ensuringsustainable agricultural development.
Mr. Hue and Mrs. Loc are relatives of Mrs. Tran Thanh Phuong and Mr. Christian Vanwert, representative of “North - South Cooperation” (Belgium) - an experienced financial consultant and a long time close friend of VWU . With his advocacy, the “North - South Cooperation” and Belgium Government funded VWU with several projects for hunger elimination, poverty reduction for the rural poor womenespecially the Vietnamese – Belgium Credit Project that has operated for nearly 10 years.
On this occasion, the VWU delegation and friends paid homage to the the couple at their graves.Their descendants said that their parents and grand parents are certainly very happy and proud to receive VWU’s Medal. Mr. Tran Dinh Thao, a son of the couple said that he could feel the Vietnamese bloodstream in his heart, He was really touched and proud for everything that VWU and Vietnamese representative agencies in Switzerland have done for his parents. He, personally, will try his best to continue what their parents started with VWU, contributing to the support of women in his homeland, whom he has always admired.
