More than 6,000 people from different walks of life thronged a riverside park in Ho Chi Minh City early on Sunday morning to join a walkathon and raise money to support disadvantaged people.

The walking event took place along Nguyen Van Huong Street in Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City, an administrative district under Ho Chi Minh City.

The fundraising walk gathered Nguyen Van Dua, former permanent deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee; Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, former deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee and chairwoman of the municipal People’s Council; and many other officials in the city.

The second edition of the walkathon this year was organized on a bigger scale than its previous iteration, said vice-chairman of the Thu Duc administration Nguyen Ky Phung.

More than VND18 billion (US$742,000) was raised in the event and will be used to fund social welfare programs of which poor people will be the main beneficiaries, he added.

Among the first finishers, Thu Suong revealed that her five-member family joined the walkathon which she described as a truly meaningful and humane event.

“Our family has beautiful memories this morning,” Suong said.

The event organizer on the same morning granted scholarships to college students and funding for disadvantaged households in the city to build houses.

Below are some photos of the fun-filled and meaningful walkathon:

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