Poor students get helping hand from PepsiCo Vietnam and STF
By Tuong Vi in HCMC
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| Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, former president of PepsiCo in Indochina, awards scholarships to students in HCMC- Photo: Ngoc Xuan |
PepsiCo Vietnam and the Saigon Times Foundation (STF) granted ten scholarships to junior and senior students of HCMC University of Economics, University of Agriculture and Forestry, and University of Industry on Saturday at HCMC University of Economics in HCMC.
It is part of a VND550 million program called Long-term Scholarships STF-Pepsi that STF under Saigon Times Group and PepsiCo Vietnam has been running since the 2008-2009 academic year. The recipients are poor students with good grades from ten universities in HCMC, Hanoi and Danang.
VND100 million in scholarships was awarded to 10 students on Saturday, VND10 million each for their last two years of study. On August 14, the two organizations granted VND50-million in scholarships to five students in Can Tho City, and the program will go to Danang and Hanoi in September and October.
Also at the scholarship awarding ceremony, Pham Phu Ngoc Trai, former president of PepsiCo in Indochina hosted a discussion with 2,000 students of HCMC University of Economics and other universities. He shared his experience and gave useful advice to students about study, finding jobs and getting involved in charity activities.
PepsiCo and Saigon Times Group also has a blood donor program since 2008 and a project to provide computers for schools in remote areas since May.
After the ceremony, there was a meeting with actor Chi Bao and singer Ha Anh Tuan as well as an introduction about the book Understanding the Heart written by Minh Niem. The book is a collection of fifty articles about the spiritual side of dealing with heart disease. All the profits from book sales will be donated to poor children and provide surgery for children with heart problems.