(VNF)- Many members of the expat Vietnamese community in Singapore took part in a recent dinner to raise funds for needy students in their home country.

The dinner was meant to raise support for Hoa Phong Lan (Orchid) Scholarship Foundation, which will give away scholarships to disadvantaged, diligent students in Vietnam.

A painting auction held by the Hoa Phong Lan Scholarship Foundatio. Photo: Vietnamplus.

Based on the success reaped in recent years, the organizing board of Hoa Phong Lan Foundation has set up a target of raising approximately US$8,000 this year by holding painting auctions and voluntary donations.

The money will be used to hand over 60 scholarships to poor, high-achieving students, launch an overseas counseling program and set up a network linking the foundation’s scholarship recipients.

Dr. Luu Quang Hung, foundation chair, expressed hopes that the foundation will extend the aid from the expat Vietnamese community in Singapore to those in need back in their home country.

The Hoa Phong Lan Scholarship Foundation was initiated by a group of young Vietnamese expat intellectuals in Singapore in 2012 and has thrived on the immense mental and monetary support from overseas Vietnamese scholars and experts working in Singapore.

The foundation presented 47 scholarships to students at four high schools in Vietnam last year. Some of them claimed gold and bronze medals at the international Maths Olympiad in 2014 and 2015.

Last year, the foundation also organized several workshops meant to arm students with experience and opportunities to study abroad; held a film making contest to gather entries featuring needy, persevering students, and partnered with PDG Trust to hand away scholarships to needy Vietnamese students./.

by VNF