New Zealand Consul General and Trade Commissioner Scott James and children at the Maison Chance charity. Photo courtesy of the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam

More than 7,000 kilograms of fruit and 1,000 litres of milk from New Zealand on July 6 were delivered to four charity organisations for children and disadvantaged adults in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, VNS reported.

Ten New Zealand fruit and dairy companies including Bostock Group, Fonterra, Fresh Fruit Company of New Zealand (Freshco), Golden Bay Fruit, Heartland Fruit, Kiwi Crunch, Meadowfresh, Mr Apple, T&G Global, and Zespri International, made a joint contribution to support Vietnam in the fight against chronic malnutrition in children.

The beneficiaries of the donations this year include Operation Smile, Vinacapital Foundation, Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation and Maison Chance.

"I am delighted to see how an initiative to aid the Vietnamese people during the Covid-19 pandemic has evolved into an annual programme that benefits local communities, particularly those who are underprivileged,” New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson said.

The New Zealand embassy will continue assisting the New Zealand’s leading fruit and dairy exporters, who generously provide nutritious and fresh products to support vulnerable children and women in Vietnam. This small yet impactful gesture demonstrates our genuine concern and commitment to improving the well-being of the Vietnamese people.

New Zealand Consul General and Trade Commissioner Scott James and children at the Maison Chance charity. Photo courtesy of the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam

New Zealand Consul General and Trade Commissioner Scott James says that this is a great initiative.

“Over the last three years this programme has provided an opportunity for New Zealand companies to share their exceptional produce with under-served communities here in Vietnam. It’s a tangible and heartening demonstration of New Zealand exporters deepening their engagement and relationships with the Vietnamese community and coming together to make a difference,” he stressed.

This is the third consecutive year that New Zealand fruit businesses have donated New Zealand fruit in Vietnam.

The programme has expanded each year since its inception in 2021, when five New Zealand companies donated New Zealand apples and kiwi fruit to eight Vietnamese hospitals, staff and patients during the Covid-19 lockdown in HCM City, in conjunction with the ‘Be Strong Vietnam Campaign’ launched by Sống Foundation and the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi.

The following year in 2022, seven New Zealand fruit exporters donated 10,000kg of fruit to five children’s and women’s charities in Hanoi and HCM City.

Meanwhile, this year marks the first time New Zealand’s leading dairy producers have joined the campaign, adding milk to the donations of fresh fruit.

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