In the context that most of the program characters are very poor and live in remote regions of Vietnam, it is very difficult for them to frequently visit and nurture relationships even when they find their relatives. SeABank has gone with "As if never been apart" program since September 2010 to give savings books of VND 15,000,000 each to characters in difficult circumstances in order to partially make up for the suffering that they had over the years away from home and start a life full of happiness after the reunion.
From Sept 2010 to Sept 2012, SeABank has funded 22 savings books of VND 330 million in total for the underprivilege people in the "As if never been apart" program and they have used the money for many meaningful activities:
A typical example is the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Doi (the character in program No. 50), who formerly served in the Army Regiment 812, Division 309 and is currently living in Buon Don district, Dak Lak. Given the savings books of VND 15 million by SeABank, he decided to use that amount to buy a tractor to reduce human work for farming as the way from home to the field is very far. Mrs. Ha Thi Suon (Mr. Doi’s wife) said that before they both had to work from dawn to dusk. Thanks to the tractor, their work productivity has increased significantly with less working hours. Her family is deeply grateful to the "As if never been apart" program and SeABank as well as the teammate for helping them improve their life quality.
Or another case is Mrs. My Non (the character in program No. 57), who was a student moving to the North from the South during the war time and is now living in Tien Giang. She lost her family since childhood. Her mother and relatives are living with their children and grandchildren in My Loc,Phu My, Binh Dinh in very disadvantaged circumstances. SeABank gave the family of My Non’s mother a savings book of VND 15 million through a direct visit made by SeABank representative in Binh Dinh. The money was used to build a new house for her mother to replace the damaged one.
Mr. Le Quoc Long – Deputy General Director of SeABank said that: “As if never been apart is a TV program with profound social and humanity meanings. This program has helped so many people who lost relatives to search and reunite with them.
We think that the savings books donated to the reunited characters under difficult circumstances and support of travel expenses to the search team are practical and SeABank can express our attitudes and responsibilities towards the society and the community.”.
“As if never been apart ” is a non-profit humanitarian program of Vietnam Television Station, thus its budget for searching, updating and linking information is very limited. Therefore, along with giving savings books to the characters, SeABank will continue to accompany and support the travel expenses for the search team to connect information and help separated people find each other again. The cooperation between SeABank and "As if never been apart..." is highly appreciated by Vietnam Television, the Editorial Board and search team.
"As if never been apart" program is broadcasted live on VTV1, VTV4, VTV9 at 8 p.m. on the first Saturday night of every months. Information about the program and family search is posted on the the website www.haylentieng.vn
