800 thousand cans of beer, 24 million VND and the joy of 3 women in the border area

From joy in Cao Veu

On the occasion of Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20) this year, Ms. Lo Thi Hang (born in 1992) in Veu 3 village, Phuc Son commune (Anh Son) had another unexpected joy, which was receiving a breeding cow worth 8 million VND. This special gift comes from the program "Accompanying women in the border areas" jointly launched by the Vietnam Women's Union and the Border Guard Command.

Lo Thi Hang’s family is one of the poorest in the village, because the couple has just moved out, lacks land for production, has two young children, and the cost of education and living is quite expensive. To make money to cover daily expenses, Hang’s husband has to find a job as a hired hand; while she goes into the forest to pick bamboo shoots.

Leaders of Anh Son district, the district Women's Union and Phuc Son Border Guard Station presented a cow to Ms. Ho Thi Thuy (Veu 4 village). Photo: Cong Kien

Ms. Hang shared: “For a long time, my husband and I have dreamed of having a breeding cow to raise, and then gradually build a herd to make capital, but unfortunately we do not have enough money, do not have large assets to mortgage to borrow from the bank. Fortunately, today we have received support from our superiors, we will try to take good care of the cows so as not to disappoint the women in the whole district.”

Similarly, the family of Ms. Ho Thi Thuy (born in 1986) in Veu 4 village also faces difficult circumstances due to lack of land and fields for production, raising two small children and having to work for hire every day to make ends meet. This time, Ms. Thuy also received support for breeding cows from the program "Accompanying women in the border areas".

Similar to Ms. Hang and Ms. Thuy, Ms. Luong Thi Hong (born in 1984) in Veu 2 village has 3 small children, so life is more difficult. In addition, she is often sick and needs regular treatment, so she cannot save money to invest in livestock development. Receiving breeding cows from the program "Accompanying women in the border areas", she is extremely happy.

“When we heard about the support for breeding cows, my husband and I were so happy that we couldn’t sleep for several nights. Yesterday, my husband went to the forest to cut down trees and collect palm leaves to build a barn. I took the opportunity to clear a piece of land on the edge of the hill to plant milkweed,” Ms. Hong confided.

To the gathering of sisters throughout the district

Before going to Cao Veu border area to witness the joy of 3 Thai ethnic women, we had the opportunity to go to Bong village, Thanh Son commune (Anh Son) and witness the scene of women gathering scrap. Ms. Ha Thi Hang, a member of the village, said that in the past, used beer and soft drink cans were often thrown away in the backyard, and occasionally, scrap buyers came to pick them up.

Since the day the women's association launched a campaign to collect scrap to raise funds to support women in difficult circumstances in the border areas, she has always hung a sack behind the kitchen, and whenever she has a beer or soft drink can, she puts it in. In her free time, she also walks along the roads and to the riverbank to collect scrap.

Not only Ms. Hang, but most of the women and mothers in Bong village are actively collecting scrap. According to Ms. Ha Thi Quy - Head of Bong village Women's Association, by mid-October, the women in the village had collected nearly 700 cans of beer, soft drinks and 8kg of waste paper, and submitted them to the Commune Women's Union to raise funds to support poor women in the border area.

Women of Long Son commune (Anh Son) collect scrap. Photo: Cong Kien

The movement to collect beer cans and scrap took place throughout the villages of the mountainous district of Anh Son. Typically, women in Thach Son commune collected nearly 1,500 beer and soft drink cans, 62 kg of scrap iron, 76 kg of plastic and 48 kg of waste paper, with a total revenue of nearly 1 million VND. Women in Long Son commune collected nearly 1,300 beer and soft drink cans, nearly 200 kg of plastic and 5 kg of waste paper.

In Tao Son commune, 12 women's associations collected nearly 5,200 beer cans, 86 kg of plastic and 15 kg of cardboard, with the proceeds of VND1.5 million. Similarly, Tuong Son commune spent more than VND2 million to give to poor women in the border area...

Ms. Pham Thi Hong Thao - President of the Women's Union of Anh Son district said: "Implementing the program "Accompanying women in the border areas", the Union coordinated with the Phuc Son Border Guard Station to help a number of women in difficult circumstances in Cao Veu. Initially, the union members collected nearly 800 thousand beer cans, 1,200 kg of plastic, 1,100 kg of iron, 320 kg of waste paper, and sold 24 million VND to buy 3 breeding cows to give to 3 women in especially difficult circumstances".