Helping women escape poverty in Nghia Dan

(Baonghean) - Through measures encouraging grassroots initiatives, many women's associations in Nghia Dan district are developing creative ways to escape poverty and improve the spiritual lives of their members. One association has established a savings fund of up to 300 million VND for women to borrow, another has dedicated thousands of working days to help single women, and yet another has organized a fund based on working days to save money for impoverished members…

The Women's Association of Dong San hamlet, Nghia Lam commune, has 48 members, the majority of whom are ethnic minorities facing many difficulties in their lives. In 2005, stemming from an idea of ​​some members, the association proposed the establishment of savings and credit groups to help member families in difficult circumstances. Each month, each person contributes 50,000 VND to help members in need borrow capital to develop their businesses. From an initial capital of about 10 million VND, the association now has a fund of 300 million VND. On average, each member can borrow from 2 million to 20 million VND depending on their needs to develop various models. Thanks to this, many women in the Dong San Women's Association have escaped poverty and improved their lives. Ms. Phan Thi Hoa, a member with particularly difficult circumstances, borrowed 10 million VND from the association's savings fund in 2008 to invest in pig farming. In 2012, she received another loan of 20 million VND from the fund to expand her operation. On average, she raises 15 to 30 pigs and about 1,000 broiler chickens each year.

The mushroom farming model of Ms. Ngo Thi Hoa, Hamlet 5, Nghia Trung Commune (Nghia Dan District).

For Ms. Truong Thi Anh, the 20 million VND loan from the association when her family was facing the most difficult times was very meaningful. Today, she owns a chicken farm, exporting over 10,000 broiler chickens annually. Ms. Le Thi Anh shared: “When times were tough, borrowing money wasn't easy; sometimes the bank procedures took a long time, and interest rates were high. Thanks to the association's loan, my family boldly invested in raising chickens, and now we are doing quite well.”

Not only the families of Ms. Hoa and Ms. Anh, but many members of the Dong San branch have escaped poverty thanks to loans, especially the regular monthly savings contributions maintained by the branch, with each member demonstrating a high sense of responsibility. This innovative approach has enabled the Dong San branch to lift 2 to 3 households out of poverty each year. Based on the model of the Dong San branch, the Nghia Lam commune Women's Association has expanded to include 7 more savings and credit groups, with a total savings of over 400 million VND across the commune. For nearly 10 years, the women's movement to help each other escape poverty through savings and credit groups has become a support system for hundreds of disadvantaged members in Nghia Lam commune. Ms. Le Thi Hung, Chairwoman of the Women's Association of Nghia Lam commune, said: "Nghia Lam is a disadvantaged commune, and the women mainly engage in agricultural production, so their lives are precarious. Since the establishment of the savings and credit fund of the branches, the association has coordinated with the commune's agricultural extension service to provide training and build economic development models for women to learn from. As a result, there are increasingly more successful economic models in the women's branches. In the future, the commune's women's association will continue to expand this model to all 19 branches in the commune to help women alleviate poverty."

Nghia Dan currently has 22,000 women's association members, primarily engaged in agricultural production. However, they have developed many innovative approaches and models, such as brocade weaving in Nghia Thinh, broom making in Nghia Hoi, rock sugar production in Nghia Hung, and mushroom cultivation in Nghia Trung. Many women have boldly introduced valuable crops into production. Over the years, the women's movement for innovation in poverty reduction has been implemented in many branches, each with its own approach depending on the conditions and circumstances of each locality. In Nghia Khanh commune, the "pink brick" model helps disadvantaged women build houses; in Nghia Loc, providing labor assistance to single and disadvantaged women has become a regular practice…

Ms. Ho Thi Thanh, Vice President of the Nghia Dan District Women's Union, said: "In implementing Directive 03 on continuing to promote the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's moral example in Nghia Dan, many creative models have emerged from local branches... In 2014, the Nghia Dan District Women's Union continued to expand these models, especially the savings and credit model like the Dong San branch, to mobilize internal resources from members at the grassroots level and help many women escape poverty."

Nghia Dan is a locality with a high poverty rate. In addition to support from all levels and sectors, mobilizing internal resources and innovative approaches such as those of women's associations in the area will contribute to reducing the poverty rate and affirming its position.

Text and photos:Dinh Thuy