“If it had not been for this loan, I would not have been able to help my children finish their education and training without my husband beside me.”
How we help:
In partnership with the Farmer’s Union and Women’s Union, Project RENEW has launched an economic development program that offers revolving credit loans used to purchase cows and water buffaloes for families living with disabilities.
Our achievement:
These loans have helped hundreds of women living with disabilities out of poverty in Trieu Phong, Hai Lang and Cam Lo Districts. To date, 165 families have benefited from these loans with many more families hoping to take part in this program.
How can you help?
With $14950, 20 families like Ms. Thuy will not only get a buffalo to raise for generating income but also have a belief in a better life.
HER STORY:
Ms Hoang Thi Thuy was content living her simple life with her husband and four children until October 2010 when a mortar stole away much that she loved. Two years later that day still haunts her today.
While routinely clearing weeds from around their acacia trees, Thuy’s husband hit a UXO. Thuy was working some distance away but was still wounded by the mortar fragments which penetrated her forehead and nose. Not as lucky, her husband was severely injured and died in the hospital five hours later.
The sudden death of her husband left Thuy and her four children devastated. The pain of losing her husband was tremendous and that coupled with her worry of being able to support her family was overwhelming. Her eldest son was about to finish medical college, her daughter was training to become a hairdresser and her youngest boy was still in kindergarten. Tearing up, she said: “I don’t know whether I will be able to carry on and raise my children”.
Although unable to ease the pain of losing a loved one, Project RENEW was able to ease some of Thuy’s worry by offering much needed financial support. With a loan provided by Project RENEW’s micro-credit program, Thuy bought a water buffalo which later gave birth to a calf. Her third son, a seventh grader, is now able to help her to tend to cattle after class. She happily shared her intention of selling this calf for about 14 million VND (approximately 700USD) after raising it for a year and a half. This puts her annual income at about 9 million VND afford her children education and repaying the loan.
“My eldest son graduated from medical college and is now receiving further training at Hue Central Hospital while his younger sister has already finished her hair-dresser training. If it had not been for this loan, I would not have been able to help my children finish their edu-cation and training without my husband beside me,” said Thuy while looking at her youngest son who recently received a merit certificate from his primary school.