Local authorities in Da Nang City have honoured Edward Smith - Honourable Chairman of the Sympathetic Hearts Charity Foundation, in recognition of his active involvement in helping Vietnamese poor children with congenital heart complaints.

The 78-year-old Australian national has received Certificates of Merit from municipal People’s Committee Chairman Huynh Duc Tho, and from the hospital’s leader.

The Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children’s representative presenting a Certificate of Merit to Edward Smith (right). (Source: baodanang.vn)

Edward Smith, born in 1941, also had heart disease and went under an operation 10 years ago. Since having a heart transplant, he started doing charity works to help children with heart disease.

Since 2015, he has donated over VND 1 billion (USD 42,900) to 135 patients at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children who needed to be operated. He also donated a variety of equipment to the hospital such as high-frequency oscillatory ventilation, echocardiography and incubator that worth over VND 3.3 billion (USD 141,900).

On November 23, Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children held a ceremony to honour Smith and gave him a certificate of merit by the chairman of Da Nang People's Committee for his contribution to the heart operation programme for disadvantaged children.

At the ceremony, Smith said he wanted to help children with difficult background and would keep helping the children and support the hospital in the future.

According to Nguyen Son, deputy director of Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children, the majority of their patients are children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Smith's contribution has been tremendous by helping enable as many life-saving operations as possible.

In Hue, from 2013 until now, he has helped as many as 400 poor children with heart problems enjoy free surgery, totalling about VND 2.5 billion (USD 107,500), at the Hue Central Hospital./.

VNF