The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday hosted a conference to assess achievements during its ten-year campaign to alleviate poverty.
Le Thanh Hai, Politburo member and HCMC Party Committee Secretary, Le Hoang Quan, member of the Central Party Committee and Chairman of the city People’s Committee, and Duong Quan Ha, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in the city were amongst the participants at the conference.
During the last ten years, HCMC has helped over 46,000 famillies from around 100,000 poor households to cross the poverty line lying below the VND12 million (US$571) per year mark.
At the end of 2000, the city Steering Committee on Poverty Alleviation had reported that 100,000 households were living below the poverty line in HCMC.
Since the campaign to alleviate poverty was launched in 2001, it has mobilized over VND740billion (US$35 million) for the poor, donated about 24,000 houses and repaired more than 9,000 dilapidated homes. Besides, about 306,000 scholarships and 7,500 bicycles have been distributed to disadvantaged students.
At present, the number of poor households has dropped to nearly 6 percent of the city population.
Overcoming dark days
Mach Thi Cam Van from Long Thanh Ward in District 9 said that her family had four members and their only bread earner was her husband, who was an assistant mason. Her two children were finding it difficult to pay their school fees.
In 2002, the HCMC Fatherland Front presented her family with a house and loans worth VND23million (US$1,100), part of which she used to start a grocery shop.
Her family was also given a milk cow and her children were assisted with scholarships for nine consecutive years.
Today, she lives happily on an income of VND6 million (US$285) a month from her grocery shop and from milk sold from her cow. She says she has bought a motorcycle and other items for her house.
Nguyen Van Sanh from Ward 3 in District 11 is also free from poverty after receiving assistance from the campaign program. Sanh was funded to buy machine equipment to do outsource work for production units and now has a stable income.
As a way to show his appreciation, Sanh has brought up lonely elderly people and assisted the poor and sick with money, food and clothes for the last 10 years.
