HCM City Medicine and Pharmacy University (HMPU) and the University Hospital have recently presented an honorary doctorate to Erich Johann LeJeune, President of the German ‘Heart for Heart’ Foundation for his charitable contributions to the Vietnam health sector.

Mr LeJeune underwent a hard livelihood and experienced devastating wars so he deeply understood sufferings of the poor and war victims in Vietnam.

He was deeply moved by the ‘Napalm girl’ picture taken by Huynh Cong Ut (Nick Ut) when the US army dropped napalm bombs in Trang Bang, Tay Ninh in 1972.

Together with hundreds of people, he took to the streets to protest against the war and call for the return of peace to Vietnam.

In 2003, Erich and his wife set up the ‘Heart for Heart’ Foundation with the aim of supporting the poor people in Germany and Vietnam.

The foundation has so far provided free heart surgeries for thousands of poor children in the Mekong Delta region, the central highlands and remote areas.

VOV