Good ways to "Join hands for the poor"

To help disadvantaged women members develop economically and escape poverty, women's associations at all levels in the province have created innovative models and approaches to mobilize resources to support women in a practical and effective way.

Women's association members in Hoi Hien village collect scrap materials to help disadvantaged women and children.

On weekends, the women's association of Hoi Hien village, Tho Long commune, is busy collecting scrap materials and bringing them to the "Green House" for sale to raise funds. The amount earned varies depending on the quantity of scrap collected, ranging from a minimum of 50,000 VND to over 200,000 VND per sale. Especially during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the association earns between 1 million and 1.5 million VND. This money is meticulously recorded and used to support poor women and orphaned children in need throughout the year.

Ms. Nguyen Thi My, head of the women's association in Hoi Hien village, said: "After 4 years of implementation, the association has sold scrap materials 38 times. All the money collected has been used to give gifts to 43 disadvantaged women and children. Seeing this meaningful and humane act, many member families and residents are very conscious of collecting scrap materials to donate to the association."

Implementing the "From Scrap Collection to Millions of Gifts" program to raise funds for gifts for disadvantaged members and their children, the Women's Union of Tho Long commune has developed a "Green House" model for collecting scrap materials. To date, the entire commune has 20 green houses across 26 village women's union branches. The money collected from selling scrap materials is pooled by the branches to build a "Humanitarian Fund".

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, President of the Women's Union of Tho Long commune, said: "The collection of scrap materials has now become a regular practice in the branches. Some branches have not yet built a 'Green House' but have still arranged a place to collect scrap materials to raise funds. In addition to collecting scrap materials to help those in difficult circumstances, the Women's Union of Tho Long commune also connects and supports women with capital and knowledge to develop their economy , and directs the branches to strengthen mutual support in terms of savings, labor, and livestock..."

The Women's Union of Tho Long commune and the Women's Association of Hoi Hien village provide monthly financial support to Do Danh Thien, funded by collecting scrap materials.

Through this approach, in 2025, the Women's Union of Tho Long commune helped 17 disadvantaged member families; and connected with sponsors 7 disadvantaged orphaned children out of a total of 11 children in the commune.

Ms. Le Thi Sam, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Thuong Xuan commune, said: "To help disadvantaged women develop economically, we have reviewed the number of members facing difficulties, categorized them to develop a support plan. The main forms of assistance include providing loans, guiding women to produce in the right direction and achieve efficiency; mobilizing funds in groups; strengthening mutual support and assistance with labor and livestock; saving money in piggy banks; purchasing health insurance cards... At the same time, we mobilize resources to donate gifts and connect mothers to sponsor orphaned children. With this approach, in 2025, the branches have helped more than 400 members in difficult circumstances with a total value of nearly 600 million VND; coordinated to help 6 households escape poverty and 10 households escape near-poverty."

The Resolution of the 19th Provincial Women's Congress, term 2025-2030, clearly states: "Striving to help 1,700 women's households escape multidimensional poverty and near-poverty during this term." To achieve this goal, the Provincial Women's Union has directed 100% of its branches to review and compile a list of poor women's households, investigate the causes, and develop appropriate and practical assistance plans.

At the grassroots level, the Women's Union is effectively maintaining successful models and practices for poor women and disadvantaged children. Typical examples include "Saving money in plastic piggy banks"; "Godmother - connecting love"; support for building shelters of love; savings groups for purchasing health insurance cards; labor exchange groups; and collective economic models managed by women. By 2025, the Women's Union at all levels had assisted over 8,500 poor and near-poor households through various forms (labor, livestock, seedlings, fertilizers, etc.) worth over 8 billion VND; supported the construction of 45 shelters; sponsored and connected over 2,300 disadvantaged orphans; the "From collecting scrap to millions of gifts" movement distributed nearly 30,000 gifts with a total value of over 10 billion VND; and mobilized and supported 94,451 women in purchasing health insurance cards.

Through these activities, the organization has become a solid support system for its members and women, while also fostering a spirit of mutual support and assistance in times of difficulty, contributing to the local area's successful implementation of the sustainable poverty reduction program.

Text and photos: Le Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-cach-lam-hay-chung-tay-vi-nguoi-ngheo-288857.htm