Thi Noi, an Anh Chi Em beneficiary in Vietnam
DIEN BIEN region, with our programme ANH CHI EM
For my children and my community, I move forward, I think things over, and I take action!
I was born in the village of Na Luong, in the Dien Bien region of North Vietnam. Despite financial hardship, supported by my family, I completed my schooling. Then I got married and we built a small house on stilts. Life wasn’t easy; food was scarce. We were fortunate in owning some land but we were too poor to afford suitable tools to cultivate it or to raise livestock. And without official documentation for our land… it was impossible to obtain a loan from a conventional bank using our land as collateral! So, we were just scraping by.
Support that paved the way
Three years ago, I attended an Anh Chi Em (ACE) presentation meeting. ACE loaned me some money and made it possible for me to receive training in ways of developing our land. With a loan of four million dongs (€150), I bought a sow and feed for our chickens. A year later, we had sold eight piglets. The proceeds, together with a new loan, enabled us to enlarge our livestock enclosure. Then, with another loan, we developed our pond and turned it into a fish farm.
Enrichment at all levels
We were able to save some money and we then extended the house, bought a fridge, improved our day to day life… but more importantly, our children could attend school.
We also learned so much from the training sessions; things which went far beyond agricultural activities: AIDS prevention, hygiene in the home and within the village, managing the family budget… The programme has been a real blessing for our community!
Projects with the community
We have many plans! First for our business: with a new loan, we will expand our rearing of livestock, enlarge our fishponds and grow coffee on one hectare of land. Then, with the community: I am an elected representative and I am trying to use the knowledge I gained from a social worker training course between 2009 and 2011. We hope to attend new training sessions with ACE to learn how to take advantage of modern production techniques, develop our business… and work our way out of poverty.
