Livelihood support in Ngoc Son commune

(Baonghean) - To contribute to helping and supporting people with disabilities and orphans to improve their lives, the Provincial Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities and Orphans has selected Ngoc Son mountainous commune, Quynh Luu district to implement the Livelihood Support Project. Up to now, after more than 2 years of implementation, the project has shown practical results.

Mai Thi Ha's family in village 8, Ngoc Son commune (Quynh Luu) is a particularly poor household. Her husband died early, and Ha had to work hard to take care of her small family. In addition to farming 2 sao of rice fields, she did whatever anyone hired her to do, but she still always lacked food. The small house was also seriously degraded. During the rainy season, she and her children were worried that the house would collapse. In September 2012, when the provincial Livelihood Support Project supported 7 million VND, she borrowed 11 million VND from her brothers and relatives to buy a breeding cow. Up to now, after more than 2 years of care, the cow has given birth to two litters. Ha sold the 2 calves for 24 million VND, which motivated her to borrow more money to build a new 3-room house with a closed upper room and a solid lower room. Temporarily assured about her place to live, from now on she will focus on making a living to ensure food and take care of her children's education. She confided: "The livelihood support project is truly the motivation for my mother and I to rise up in life."

Ms. Mai Thi Ha (right) in her new house.

Ngoc Son mountainous commune, Quynh Luu district has 287 disabled people and orphans, including 217 disabled people and 70 orphans. Most of these people have extremely difficult family circumstances and have to depend on relatives and the support of the community and society for their living. To help them create initial capital to do business, the Livelihood Support Project for Disabled People and Orphans was established and this is a great source of motivation for many households to develop their economy.

Participating in the project, 40 disabled people and orphans were supported and helped with seedlings, animals, construction of works such as houses, repair of toilets, wells, wheelchair access roads to cultural houses, medical stations, roads to houses for disabled people; providing wheelchairs for disabled people, bicycles for poor orphans to go to school, scholarships for poor orphans with good academic performance... with a budget of 175 million VND. Of which, 13 households received 13 cows and buffaloes for breeding and support money for building barns with a total value of 100 million VND. Mr. Ho Van Lap - Chairman of Ngoc Son Commune People's Committee, Head of the Livelihood Support Project Board said: "The beneficiaries of the commune's Livelihood Project all have the will to rise up. Up to now, many households have escaped poverty such as the family of Ms. Tran Thi Thanh in Village 1, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai in Village 2; some households have risen from poor to near-poor such as Mr. Ho Khac Thuong's family in Village 1, Mr. Tran Khac Tu's family in Village 6...".

The reality in Ngoc Son commune shows that the Livelihood Support Project is truly a motivation for many disabled people and orphans to rise up in life, helping them improve their lives, confidently overcome their inferiority complex, integrate, and live a useful life for the community and society.

Thuy Nga