Accompanying vulnerable women and children

At the handover ceremony of the “Warm House of Love” at the end of September 2020, Ms. Phan Thi Quy in Hamlet 8, Dai Son Commune (Do Luong) was very moved and happy because from now on she has a solid roof. Ms. Quy is a single mother, has heart disease, and is constantly sick; she and her child live in the same house with her mother, who is over 80 years old.

She also has a piece of land that her younger brother bought for her to live separately for many years, but she has not been able to build a house. Faced with such difficult circumstances, the District Women's Union mobilized support to build a house for her family. After nearly 2 months of construction, the level 4 house was completed with an area of ​​42 square meters. The total construction cost was 132 million VND, of which the District Women's Union supported 40 million VND; social organizations, brothers, relatives, neighbors, and hamlet 8 joined hands to support the remaining amount and labor days... From the joy of settling down, Ms. Quy and her children have more motivation to work hard to have a more stable life.

The Women's Union of Do Luong district gave money to support the construction of a house for Ms. Phan Thi Quy in hamlet 8, Dai Son commune. Photo: PV

Many other poor, single women in Do Luong district receive attention and sharing from women's associations at all levels, units, businesses...

Understanding the situation of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet in hamlet 9, Tru Son commune, poor health, her husband is disabled and unable to work, the family has many children, while the family's economy only depends on production in the home garden for insignificant income, the Women's Union of Tru Son commune proposed and was supported by the District Women's Union with 2 breeding goats worth 5 million VND through the form of a livelihood model... To ensure the model is effective, cadres and members of the commune Women's Union are assigned the task of regularly following up and instructing the family on livestock raising techniques and disease prevention methods.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet in Hamlet 9, Tru Son Commune (Do Luong) was supported with 2 breeding goats worth 5 million VND through the livelihood model. Photo: PV

According to Ms. Thai Thi Hien - President of the Women's Union of Do Luong district: The special emulation campaign "90 practical actions for women and children" launched by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union started in March and ended in September 2020. Each union base chooses the content and method of practical action, suitable to local realities to implement; and each cadre and member has at least one practical action associated with the emulation movement and campaigns of the union...

Based on the actual situation of a group of members, disadvantaged women and children in the whole district have many difficult circumstances, especially difficult, and have not received much attention from the community. With the role and responsibility of the association and having practical activities in response to the contest, the District Women's Union has chosen the movement "Accompanying disadvantaged women and children in the community".

To make the campaign effective, the District Women's Union directed all levels of the union to proactively review and classify women and children according to their characteristics to find solutions to help and support them in order of priority in the following forms: building charity houses; livelihood models; donating bicycles, tables, chairs, books, etc. Regarding resource mobilization, the Union has been creative in many forms such as launching the movement "Turning scrap into useful jobs", mobilizing contributions and support from members; directly calling on businesses, charity organizations, and philanthropists inside and outside the district to support activities for disadvantaged women and children.

From the "Turning scrap into useful things" movement to raise funds, many women in especially difficult circumstances have been supported with health insurance cards, breeding chickens, breeding goats... Photo: PV

After 7 months of implementation (from March to September 2020), the whole district has mobilized a total amount of nearly 2.1 billion VND. Of which, supporting the construction of 18 "Warm Houses of Love" (total amount of 890 million VND); awarding 29 livelihood models including: breeding chickens, breeding pigs, goats, cows (amount of 127 million VND); donating 60 bicycles, textbooks, notebooks (with an amount of more than 67 million VND); awarding 36 sets of desks and chairs to students worth 27.8 million VND.

Through social networking sites, the association at all levels has called on philanthropists, officials and members to donate nearly 443 million VND. In addition, from the collection movement "Turning scrap into useful work" (setting up scrap collection points at restaurants), selling glass water bottles and safe plastic food containers to raise funds, the association at all levels has given 1,204 gifts worth nearly 230 million VND, including insurance cards, breeding animals, animal feed, rice, clothes, wheelchairs... to disadvantaged women and children in especially difficult circumstances in the area.

The special emulation campaign was closely combined with regular movements of the association at all levels, contributing to the successful implementation of the key tasks of 2020. And through this emulation movement, the whole district had 798 typical actions of the association at all levels, cadres and members to help 3,440 disadvantaged women and children; giving women more strength to overcome difficulties and stabilize their lives...

Ms. Thai Thi Hien - President of the Women's Union of Do Luong district shared: Activities towards disadvantaged women and children in the community have been recognized by Party committees and authorities at all levels, highly appreciating the creativity and practical action choices of women's unions at all levels in the district; contributing to the implementation of social security work in the area, while affirming the practical work of women's unions in the political system.