HCM CITY (VNS) — American NGO Operation Smile will sell paintings and artworks donated by local and foreign artists to fund surgeries for Vietnamese children with cleft palates.

It has received 14 works for auctioning at its annual charity event called An Evening of Smiles at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel on April 20. The donors include Vietnamese artists Than Trong Dung, Dinh Ngoc Thang, Ly Quy Trung and two expatriate artists, Helene Kling and Sally Cox.

The organisers said the night hopes to raise enough funds for reconstructive surgeries for around 500 children.

Like last year Rob Blain, CEO of property consultant CBRE Asia Pacific, which has supported the NGO since 2003, will conduct the auction.

Last year it raised US$220,000, which funded operations for 1,000 children.—VNS