Mr. Son: 'Hand-holding and guiding' helps women in the highlands escape poverty

(Baonghean.vn) - To create conditions for ethnic minority women to have stable jobs, the Women's Union of Anh Son district has taken many measures to improve the effectiveness of vocational training and job referrals for this group.

Identifying vocational training, job creation, and income increase for women not only helps them earn more income, but also gradually affirms their position in the family and society, confidently takes charge of themselves, and aims to ensure gender equality in all fields. In recent times, in addition to vocational training and job introduction, the Women's Union of Anh Son district has had many solutions to improve the quality of life for its members, focusing on women in rural areas and ethnic minority areas.

Brocade weaving class of SODI/BMZ project management board in collaboration with Anh Son district Women's Union and Vocational training and employment promotion center, Nghe An province Women's Union opened in Khe Gat village, Tam Son commune

Lo Thi Huyen in Khe Gat village, Tam Son commune shared: For Thai people, every job requires brocade fabric. Currently, there are many garment products on the market, so the traditional weaving profession is gradually fading away. Therefore, the desire to preserve the traditional identity of the nation still urges me to relearn the traditional brocade weaving profession, making products with my own hands that are imbued with the traditional and cultural characteristics of the Thai people.

Taking advantage of her free time, Lo Thi Huyen from Khe Gat village learns brocade weaving.

Over the past 5 years, the Anh Son Women's Union has effectively exploited capital sources from the Social Policy Bank, the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, the Charity Fund (TYM), the national employment fund, and international project programs; up to now, the union at all levels has managed over 120 billion VND, lending to more than 4,500 households.

In addition, the association also focuses on developing internal resources to support members in economic development, increasing income and sustainable poverty reduction through maintaining 395 wards and 468 savings groups with a total value of over 36 billion VND. Through these activities, the poverty rate in the district has been reduced from 21.54% in 2011 to 8.96% in 2015.

In addition, vocational training and job placement activities have been maintained and implemented more and more effectively by the association at all levels. Up to now, the association has coordinated with the Vocational Training and Job Placement Center of the Provincial Women's Union, the Industrial Promotion Center, and the Vocational Training Centers of districts in the province to organize 42 training classes on brocade weaving, broom making, incense making, chicken and pig raising, clean vegetable growing, mushroom growing, etc. for 2,520 female members.

Over the past years, the Women's Union of Anh Son district has coordinated to organize 42 training courses on brocade weaving, broom making, incense making, chicken and pig raising, clean vegetable growing, mushroom growing... for 2,520 female members. Thereby, many effective development models have been developed.

With the method of "hand-holding and guiding", through vocational training, most of Anh Son women have known how to apply knowledge to production labor, saving labor time, reducing production costs, increasing income, and improving life.

Ms. Ha Thi Hieu - Head of the Women's Association of Khe Gat village said: The whole Khe Gat village has only 54 members of Thai ethnic group, most of whom are engaged in agricultural production, focusing mainly on seasonal activities, so they have a lot of free time. Recently, the women of Khe Gat village have been organized 2 brocade weaving training courses by the Women's Union of Anh Son district in coordination with the Women's Union of Nghe An province.

Currently, the whole village has 11 weaving frames, each frame has 4-5 women participating. The handmade products are in high demand, in addition to the purpose of restoring the traditional profession, it also brings a source of income to improve life, many women have a stable income of 700,000-1 million VND/month, contributing to solving local employment and effectively implementing poverty reduction work in the locality.

Thai Hien

Anh Son