VietNamNet Bridge - On June 5,
volunteers from TNT Vietnam
participated in the “End Hunger: Walk the World” program as part of a global
event to fight against child hunger and malnutrition.

This is a joint effort between TNT and its
corporate partner, World Food Program (WFP), a United Nations frontline agency
mandated to combat global hunger, in order to improve awareness and raise money
to support disadvantaged children. In Vietnam, this year is the 9^th
consecutive year that TNT organizes the program.

“Hunger and malnutrition are the biggest threats to global
health worldwide. TNT is the first partner of WFP which is the United Nations’
front line agency fighting hunger worldwide. Our mission is management of our
operations with respect for society and the environment in all of the
communities in which we operate around the world. This means taking
responsibility for the company’s part in the community and doing what is
necessary to preserve and improve the world for future generations,” said Hardy
Diec, Country General Director of TNT Vietnam.

“We are proud to
continue our partnership with WFP to help provide support for less privileged
people,” he added.

The walk is a 24-hour relay all over the world, with
participants in each of the world’s time zones walking five kilometers. It
began in Auckland, New
Zealand and finished in Samoa.

In Vietnam,
over 200 employees from TNT, their families,
friends and partners walked at the Hanoi
Botanic Garden to show
their solidarity in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

In Vietnam,
half of the amount collected locally will go to the Education For Development
(EFD), an international organization that works with Vietnamese partners to
support improvement and expansion of educational services for disadvantage
children and youth. This year EFD is supporting improvements in special schools
for children with disabilities and in vocational training centers for disables
and disadvantaged youth. The rest of the local fund will be going to WFP.

“This is the second year that EFD has worked together with TNT to make a
difference in the lives of disadvantaged Vietnamese children and youth. TNT
shares the same vision as EFD, which is a world where every young person has
the opportunity to develop themselves to their full potential through
education,” said Hanna Smokcum, Country Coordinator of EFD said

Since its inception in 2003, Walk the World program has brought over 2.1
million participants and raised enough money to provide school meals to over
200,000 children a year. Last year, through the “End Hunger – Walk the World”,
130,000 people have walked in 157 different locations, raising enough
money to provide school meals for one year to more than 14,600 children in the
world’s poorest countries.

PV