The Ho Chi Minh City government has urged people not to give money tobeggars even as it seeks to take them off streets and put them inshelters.
It has asked religious organisations to persuade their followers not to donate money either.
Butfirst an attempt will be made to track down the families of beggars andhomeless people and send them home. If it does not succeed, they willbe sent to social centres starting on December 28.
The social centres have been ordered to accommodate them and provide education, vocational training, and jobs.
Forbeggars who are not Vietnamese nationals, the People's Committee hasinstructed related agencies to work with the Department of ExternalAffairs to send them home.
Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairmanof the People's Committee, said the city has seen the number of beggarssurge recently since many pretend to be disabled or have serioussicknesses to cheat people. It has ordered investigations to identifyorganisations and individuals who force people to beg.
Instructingdistrict authorities to closely monitor this phenomenon, Thuan toldthem to set up a hotline for people to report to.
The People's Committee said since begging tarnishes the image of the city, the campaign is a vital social task.
LeThi My Hien, director of the HCM City Open University's Centre forApplied Social Work, said it is a good policy to offer beggars asustainable alternative to seeking alms.
"If we donatemoney to them, they will continue begging because they think it is veryeasy to earn money this way. Since I began doing social work, I have notgiven money to any beggar despite being moved by their situationsometimes."
Most beggars did not keep the money they getsince the whole thing was organised by people who manage them, thelecturer at the university's Faculty of Sociology- Social Work-SoutheastAsia Studies said.
The new policy should be complementedby having adequate shelters to accommodate the beggars, train andprovide them with suitable jobs. Having adequate human resources is alsoimportant for the campaign's success, she added. The city hasexhorted people to contact the Department of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs at (08) 38292491 or 0903959929 during office hours and a24-hour hotline at (08) 35533258 at the city's Social Support Centre.-VNA
It has asked religious organisations to persuade their followers not to donate money either.
Butfirst an attempt will be made to track down the families of beggars andhomeless people and send them home. If it does not succeed, they willbe sent to social centres starting on December 28.
The social centres have been ordered to accommodate them and provide education, vocational training, and jobs.
Forbeggars who are not Vietnamese nationals, the People's Committee hasinstructed related agencies to work with the Department of ExternalAffairs to send them home.
Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairmanof the People's Committee, said the city has seen the number of beggarssurge recently since many pretend to be disabled or have serioussicknesses to cheat people. It has ordered investigations to identifyorganisations and individuals who force people to beg.
Instructingdistrict authorities to closely monitor this phenomenon, Thuan toldthem to set up a hotline for people to report to.
The People's Committee said since begging tarnishes the image of the city, the campaign is a vital social task.
LeThi My Hien, director of the HCM City Open University's Centre forApplied Social Work, said it is a good policy to offer beggars asustainable alternative to seeking alms.
"If we donatemoney to them, they will continue begging because they think it is veryeasy to earn money this way. Since I began doing social work, I have notgiven money to any beggar despite being moved by their situationsometimes."
Most beggars did not keep the money they getsince the whole thing was organised by people who manage them, thelecturer at the university's Faculty of Sociology- Social Work-SoutheastAsia Studies said.
The new policy should be complementedby having adequate shelters to accommodate the beggars, train andprovide them with suitable jobs. Having adequate human resources is alsoimportant for the campaign's success, she added. The city hasexhorted people to contact the Department of Labour, Invalids and SocialAffairs at (08) 38292491 or 0903959929 during office hours and a24-hour hotline at (08) 35533258 at the city's Social Support Centre.-VNA
