Helping Agent Orange victims integrate through employment

When the small loudspeaker at her grocery store announced that the account had just received a transfer of 30,000 VND for a bottle of cooking oil from a customer, Mai Thi Yen Phuong (an Agent Orange/dioxin victim, residing in Tran Bien Ward) reminded her mother, Nguyen Thi Khiem, that the customer had paid in full. Though suffering from polio, Phuong can still help her mother run the shop by confirming whether customers have paid or not. As for Khiem, though not tech-savvy, she feels secure operating the shop in a cashless format.

Le Van Hon, son of Le Van An (residing in Long Ha Commune), works as a carpenter at home with preferential loan capital. Photo: Ngoc Huyen

Mai Thi Yen Phuong’s grocery store is one of many self-employment models launched in Dong Nai for Agent Orange victims and their families, aimed at helping them integrate into the community.

Providing jobs for Agent Orange victims and their families

In recent times, all levels of the Agent Orange/dioxin Victims’ Association have coordinated with other organizations to implement various forms of assistance, helping victims and their families find jobs suited to their disability status and personal wishes. More importantly, having work allows victims to go out and interact with others instead of remaining isolated at home as before.

Nguyen Thi Diu, over 70, is living in Long Binh Ward, and she must care for both her husband and her 40-year-old son, who are victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. She said that she has many children, and while her grown-up children still help her care for their father and disabled younger brother, each has their own family. Not wanting to burden them further, she was delighted when associations and organizations in Dong Nai provided her with more than 100 million VND in capital to open a grocery store at home.

Though her store has only been open for two months, it already provides Diu with an income to support her family of three, rather than relying entirely on her children. She bought an additional set of tables and chairs so that her husband could sit and drink tea while chatting with customers, who are also neighbors, when they came to buy goods. As a result, her husband - a war veteran exposed to chemical toxins - has been in much better spirits.

For the family of Agent Orange victim Le Van An in Long Ha Commune, timely capital support from associations and organizations has provided great motivation in life.

After completing his military service, and with the help of a preferential loan, Le Van An opened a carpentry workshop at home, specializing in furniture, tables, chairs, beds, and wardrobes. With strong craftsmanship, his shop has maintained a steady flow of customers, generating income for his family.

For Agent Orange victim Le Thanh Cong in Trang Dai Ward, despite having disabilities in both legs and one arm, every day he rides a three-wheeled motorbike carrying his toolkit to fix household appliances on request. This work provides him with enough income to cover his living expenses and help his wife support their children’s education.

Cong shared: “With capital support from the provincial victims’ association, I was able to buy a cutting machine, welding machine, drill, and other materials to pursue my desired trade in mechanical repair. In addition, the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin has introduced me to customers needing machinery repairs so I have steady work and income to support my family”.

Colonel General Nguyen Huu Chinh, President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, stated that the central association highly appreciates the leadership of Party committees and authorities, as well as the coordination between all levels of the victims’ associations in carrying out the “For Agent Orange Victims” emulation movement. Thanks to this, depending on the cause and degree of exposure and the disability condition, victims in Dong Nai not only receive all state policies but also benefit from social resources.

Proactively mobilizing social resources

A notable feature in implementing self-employment models is that most resources are drawn from social contribution. This not only reduces the burden on the state budget in carrying out social welfare work but also reflects the community’s solidarity in caring for Agent Orange victims.

Currently, Dong Nai is home to 13,000 Agent Orange/dioxin victims. Since the beginning of 2025, the provincial victims’ association has provided production and business capital to 102 families with Agent Orange victims, with a total amount exceeding 1.2 billion VND. This funding comes entirely from contributions by individuals, agencies, organizations, and businesses.

According to Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, the capital is used by victims, people with disabilities, and their families to run small businesses, raise poultry, or purchase small-capacity machinery for home-based work. Some families start new trades after receiving the funds, while others use it to repair equipment or add stock, thereby increasing income. Each commune and ward is currently helping between five and twenty victims and their families create self-employment opportunities.

Alongside local resource mobilization, Dong Nai also actively connects with foreign non-governmental organizations, overseas associations, and foreign-invested enterprises to join hands in social welfare activities, including job creation for Agent Orange victims and their families.

At the inauguration ceremony for a convenience store model in Dong Nai sponsored by the Kingdom of Belgium on July 23, 2025, Karl Van Den Bossche, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belgium to Vietnam, said that through Vietnamese and Dong Nai partners, Belgium is implementing this model to help victims and their families in Vietnam create self-employment and secure stable incomes. In the future, more convenience stores will be opened by Belgium for Agent Orange victims in Dong Nai Province.

Along with mobilizing and connecting resources, Dong Nai ensures that assistance reaches the right beneficiaries through a careful process of surveying and reviewing before granting capital. Beneficiaries, victims and their families, are also guided on the proper use of funds and are required to make their own efforts in their work.

By: Lam Ngoc - Van Truyen - Translated by: Quynh Nhu - Thu Ha