 Luot is helped by her
children
Vietnam, Brussels: with
Mekong Plus
Jamel Balhi, who has
already run a dozen times around the world, and who came
to run with us in Vietnam, is part of our
team!
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Every year the villagers prove their
solidarity with the poorest: last September for the new
school year, community participation was overwhelmingly
huge: 79.000 children and adults ran several kilometers.
Large banners everywhere, loud speakers... a true
festival! Absolutely everyone was clearly aware of what
was going on. People also contributed small donations:
in total, more than 5.000 € were collected.
Even if poverty recedes in Vietnam,
Madam Luot and her 6 children will continue to belong to
the poorest 10% who face extreme hardship. One cannot
understand how they manage: with all statistics counted
and considered, they earn only 4 € per person per
month*.
“My husband died of disease. Now, my
greatest concern is for my children to continue their
education. Mekong Plus helped me with a microcredit loan
to purchase piglets and also provided scholarships for
the children -52 euros in total. Additionally, a
paravet comes regularly to advise us about the
livestock. After a few months I sold 3 pigs and kept the
sow for reproduction. I suffered some financial losses
as well but finally I was able to make a profit of 35
euros after selling 4 pigs. Little by little I was able
to raise more and more pigs. I also produce rice alcohol
which provides a small additional income. My sister
works on another farm and gives us 23 euros per month.
We have one hectare of land. I could
not cultivate it by myself so I rented it out for 130
euros per year, just enough to afford my children’s
school fees and pay for their books. With the help of
the project I decided to take back the hectare of land
and use it to cultivate cassava. The boys helped me a
lot. It has been a fantastic success: 430 euros! I
can consider buying a net to raise chickens and ducks
around our house. The children do well at school and
their teachers recommended them for scholarships to
Mekong Plus. The elder children are studying at
university and a technical school, too. I am so
grateful, I think they will be fine now. Our income
has almost doubled!”
Luot expresses a sincere thank you to
Mekong Plus, but what really matters is the support she
receives from the community; they are determined not to
deceive the thousands who ran for solidarity so that
even the poorest could go to school.
Bernard KERVYN, with Du of the Ðúc Linh team.
07/02/2009
*After taking into account the purchasing power, this
is equivalent to about 50 euros in Belgium
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