HCM CITY, August 03: Disability Resource and Development Viet Nam has launched a website to provide people with disabilities information about laws related to them.

Vo Thi Hoang Yen, head of the HCM City-based non-profit organisation, said she hoped the site would of benefit to them and help protect them.
"When the DRD Viet Nam was founded… a student sent me a letter saying he was seeking information about the disabled but could not find it anywhere."

Many disabled people did not know their rights or the benefits the Government offers.
The Government's websites published legal information related to many fields, meaning people with disabilities find it hard to get through the clutter and access the information related to them.

The DRD Viet Nam has invited legal experts like Le Thi Bich Tho, Dang Thi Tuyet Mai and Dang Duc Tri to help update its website. They will also provide disabled people with legal advice and represent them if required.

The site will assist them with administrative tasks like obtaining birth and marriage certificates, licences, pensions, and others.

But www.luatvachinh-sach.drdvietnam.com will also be very helpful for people without disabilities seeking information about legal provisions.
According to the General Statistics Office, 15 per cent of the population has disabilities. Of them, less than a fifth have a high school degree and less than 1 per cent have gone to college or graduated.

The DRD Viet Nam said the disabled faced not only attitudinal and infrastructure barriers in Viet Nam but also often lacked confidence, basic education, working skills and knowledge of the law, which pose hurdles to their efforts to find work and climb out of poverty.

Since 2005, the DRD has been working to support and raise awareness of issues affecting people with disabilities.
It collaborates with other organisations that support such people in the south and is in touch with over 2,000 people with disabilities.

Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn