"Rewriting your life" through emigration.

In the remote highland villages of Thanh Hoa province, there are women who dare to cross the mountains to find a livelihood. The journey of ethnic minority women in Muong Chanh and Quang Chieu districts to work abroad not only helps them change their lives but also opens up new avenues for the community.

Ms. Ha Thi Et is the pioneer who led the movement of Khmu women from Lach village, Muong Chanh commune, to work abroad.

Lach village, in Muong Chanh commune, is nestled amidst towering mountain ranges and has been plagued by poverty for many years. In this seemingly isolated space, Ha Thi Et, a woman born and raised in the village, quietly began her journey of "leaving." Before 2015, like many other Khmu women, Et was illiterate. She had to rely on her husband or relatives to read to her. The turning point came when a literacy class, organized by the Women's Union of the commune in collaboration with the Quang Chieu Border Guard Post, was opened in the village. After the course, she gradually learned to read and write, becoming more confident in accessing information and navigating life.

It was also from that literacy class that she began to think about a different path. In 2016, she registered to work in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Khmu woman from Lach village to leave her home. This decision caused a stir among her family and villagers. Some worried that women from the highlands "might suffer if they go far away," even viewing it as a "gamble." However, she went anyway, carrying with her the hope of changing her family's life.

Unlike others, the Party Secretary and head of Lach village, Luong Van Phanh, understood that changing the villagers' way of thinking required more than just words; concrete evidence was needed. With that in mind, he decided to borrow 100 million dong for his wife, Ha Thi Thong, to work in Saudi Arabia. The regular remittances, the newly built house, and the children's good education were all things the villagers witnessed firsthand. After completing her 5-year contract, Thong returned home, continued her language studies, and applied for work in Taiwan. In the new environment, the work demanded high discipline, but in return, the stable income of nearly 30 million dong per month allowed her to proactively save and secure her family's future.

Based on these evident results, village meetings no longer just discuss harvests, but also begin to exchange information about procedures for working abroad, borrowing capital, vocational training, and language learning. Those who went before became close advisors to the villagers. To date, Lach village has 30 workers employed abroad, including 6 women. The income sent back has helped many families build houses and invest in production. By 2025, the average per capita income is expected to reach over 37 million VND, and the village will only have 2 poor households under social welfare support.

In Lach village, change began with literacy and pioneering journeys, but in Mong village, Quang Chieu commune, that journey was a silent, tearful sacrifice. The story of Ms. Ha Thi Pen is an example. Having experienced a failed marriage, in 2019 she married Mr. Lo Van Lieu, a man with a congenital mobility disability. In 2022, their son was born, but before their joy could be complete, poverty struck. In her dilapidated thatched house, she understood that clinging to farming would not lift her. In 2023, after many sleepless nights, she decided to leave her child to work abroad. On her departure, she carried with her the guilt, the pressure of making a living, and a 170 million dong loan. In a foreign land, she refused to be weak and began her days of arduous labor. Every month, she regularly sends about 15 million VND to her husband to gradually repay the loan, raise their children, and realize their dream of a stable home. In the recent local poverty assessment, her family officially escaped poverty.

According to Le Van Hieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Chieu commune, there are currently 247 laborers working abroad in the commune, including more than 50 female laborers from the Dao, Thai, and Mong ethnic groups. On average, each laborer sends back 180-250 million VND per year, bringing the total remittances to the locality to approximately 45-60 billion VND annually.

Three women, three different circumstances, but they meet at one common point: amidst the rugged mountains, they have all managed to break free from their vicious cycles.

Text and photos: Tang Thuy

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/viet-lai-cuoc-doi-nbsp-bang-con-duong-xuat-ngoai-273103.htm