"Keep the flame of love burning"

(Baonghean) - The "Building a Happy Family" club is increasingly spreading and attracting strong interest from members of the Women's Union in Quy Hop district. The activities of these clubs have contributed to "keeping the flame" of love alive in each home, helping women become more confident in life.

The "Building Happy Families" Club in Quang Huong hamlet, Chau Quang commune, was established six years ago and has now become a "common home" for 60 couples in the hamlet. Club meetings have become opportunities for interaction and exchange, not only helping women learn from each other's experiences in economic development and child rearing, but also providing a place to share family concerns and resolve anxieties and problems related to family relationships. Thanks to this, the mothers and sisters have gained more life experience to cultivate happy homes for themselves.

A meeting of the "Building a Happy Family" Club in Quang Huong hamlet, Chau Quang commune (Quy Hop district).

Ms. Truong Thi Thu, a member of the Tho ethnic group, initially faced many difficulties when she married into a Thai family. Ms. Thu shared: “In my family, I am simultaneously a daughter-in-law, a wife, and a mother, taking on many roles at once. Sometimes I felt confused about how to maintain harmonious relationships between my parents-in-law, husband, and children. There were customs and habits of my parents-in-law that I found difficult to adapt to; at times, my mother-in-law and I disagreed on how to care for the grandchildren. Because of this, my husband and I often argued and spoke harshly to each other. Fortunately, the sincere advice and guidance from the women in the club helped me resolve many situations. I gradually learned how to interact with the people I love most in my family. Thanks to participating in the club's activities, we women have improved our knowledge of raising children, from meals to education, and have learned to empathize and share, helping our children develop comprehensively.” After more than 3 years of participating in the "Building a Happy Family" club, she has accumulated knowledge on family care and skills in harmonizing relationships to keep the flame of her home burning brightly and happily; her two children are always healthy, excel in their studies, and are well-behaved.

In Quang Huong hamlet, nearly 100% of the residents are ethnic Thai people. Most of the women have low levels of education and lack the knowledge and life skills needed to nurture their families. Initially, they were hesitant to share their concerns and difficulties in family life. Therefore, to attract members to participate in the "Building Happy Families" club, the women's association of the hamlet actively promoted and encouraged participation, integrating it into cultural programs, exchanges, and even skits created by the women themselves. As a result, the "Building Happy Families" club has maintained its activities for many years and has proven to be very effective.

Ms. Vi Thi Binh, Head of the Women's Association in Quang Huong hamlet, happily shared: “Since joining the club, the members have consciously learned from each other to do business and develop the economy. To date, nearly a dozen households in the hamlet are raising chickens and pigs on a large scale, contributing to improving the economic lives of families and making the hamlet increasingly prosperous. The 'Building Happy Families' Club also serves as a 'bridge' between members. During club meetings, warm, happy families who raise their children well are highlighted as examples for other members to learn from. Thanks to this, in Quang Huong, children are increasingly cared for, and the number of students attending university and college is increasing (currently, the hamlet has more than 10 children who have achieved academic success).”

The "Building Happy Families" Club also established an intervention and mediation team, with the participation of police officers and village cultural officials, to help maintain peace in families. Previously, some families in the village were not harmonious, and several couples frequently argued and clashed. Members of the mediation team directly visited each family, both to educate residents about the Law on Gender Equality and women's rights, and to advise and persuade them. In some cases of domestic violence, the mediation team even invited the families involved to testify before the community. Thanks to this active involvement, in recent years, families in the village have experienced virtually no conflicts, the happiness of many couples has been restored, and each home has become more peaceful.

The "Building Happy Families" club in Trung Thanh village, Chau Thanh commune, attracts members by integrating club activities into local community events such as holidays and festivals, and incorporating them into village meetings. As a result, the club attracts families where both mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are active members. Ms. Lo Thi Que, an active member of the club, shared: "Even though we live in a multi-generational family, participating in the club's activities makes it quite easy for mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law to find common ground." She said: “Previously, in Thai families, there were still unequal notions about the relationship between parents-in-law and daughters-in-law. Daughters-in-law's daily lives were often discriminated against, such as eating later and not being allowed to contribute opinions on important family matters… Therefore, I often talk to my daughters-in-law to help them understand the family's customs and traditions so they can be considerate and please the elders, ensuring a harmonious family life. Through club activities, mothers-in-law like us also better understand the thoughts and feelings of young daughters-in-law. Today's daughters-in-law have modern ways of thinking and living that are very different from ours in the past. Knowing this, we always let our daughters-in-law be natural and comfortable in their clothing, creating opportunities for them to do well in their work and socialize with friends…”

In Quy Hop, the "Building Happy Families" Club was established on the foundation of clubs such as "No Third Child" and "Preventing Domestic Violence," which have been operating for nearly 10 years. Currently, there are over 50 "Building Happy Families" clubs spread throughout the district, attracting more than 2,000 members. The club has become a "common home" not only for female members but also for mothers and husbands in their families. Ms. Truong Thi Bich Hiep, Vice President of the Women's Union of Quy Hop District, said: “After many years of operation, the Club has not only contributed to helping women improve their knowledge of business, raising children, practicing family planning, and building a happy family, but it has also become a place to mend relationships for many families; a place for women to confide in each other, share, help each other, and build more progressive family relationships. In the future, we will focus on innovating and diversifying the content of activities and forms of propaganda of the Club to attract 100% of women and other family members to participate in the Club, so that everyone can work together to build happy families. We aim to effectively promote the activities of the Clubs towards the goal of building families that are "prosperous, equal, progressive, and happy," while also contributing to building solidarity and mutual support in the community.”

Dinh Nguyet