From a bread cart and a motorcycle to startup funding, livelihood support programs are helping many disadvantaged women create jobs, gradually stabilize their lives, and improve their livelihoods through their own hard work.
Timely support
"Mrs. Bi, one fully loaded banh mi, no onions. I'm starving!" Young man Tuan called out as he parked his motorbike.
Recognizing the familiar voice of the regular customer, elderly Van Ngoc Thuy, who lives on Dinh Bo Linh Street in Binh Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, smiled and replied, "You're not going back to your hometown this summer? Staying in the city to work? Let me make you a special one." As they chatted, she spread pate and filled the sandwich with meat, eggs, pork floss, Vietnamese pork sausage, and other ingredients.
For more than two years, her cart, "Ba Bi Banh Mi – Delicious from the Heart," has become a familiar stop for neighborhood residents and students living in a nearby dormitory. Every afternoon, customers come to her small cart for a quick meal or simply because they are craving banh mi. Few know that behind the business is the story of a woman who once struggled to make a living.
Eager to learn, Mrs. Van Ngoc Thuy attended baking and business startup courses organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union and also tried selling baked goods online. However, the Covid-19 pandemic brought her business to a standstill. Around the same time, her mother was diagnosed with leukemia, placing even greater financial strain on the family.
Two years ago, after being recommended by local authorities as an example of a woman striving to overcome hardship following the pandemic, Thuy received a bread cart from the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union. For her, the cart became a means to start over after a series of setbacks.
"I was overjoyed. Since receiving the cart, I've had a new way to support myself and my family. Our lives have gradually become more stable," she said.
A 59 year old woman, a member of the Tay ethnic group and of the Women's Union in Ba Ria Ward, also received assistance when she needed it most.
For years, she has earned a living supplying fermented shrimp paste to markets in Phuoc Tinh and Long Hai. Every day, she rides more than 10 kilometers to collect and deliver goods. Her old motorcycle frequently broke down, disrupting her work.
Last month, the Ba Ria Ward Women's Union mobilized social donations to provide her with a new motorcycle worth VND15 million.
"With the new motorcycle, getting around is much easier, and my work has become more stable," Hanh said.
For Nguyen Thi Truong, 57, who lives in Long Toan Neighborhood 2 in Ba Ria Ward, making fried shallots has been her family's main source of income for many years. However, profits were too low for her to save enough capital to expand production. Even when demand increased, she could only purchase limited quantities of raw materials and was forced to turn down orders.
She recently received VND3 million in livelihood support from the Ba Ria Ward Women's Union to purchase additional raw materials.
"With the extra capital, I can buy more ingredients and no longer have to reject as many orders as before. My business is more stable, and I can better support my children's education," Truong said.
Women's Unions support sustainable livelihoods
Beyond providing initial livelihood assistance, Women's Union branches across Ho Chi Minh City continue to help members develop their businesses by connecting them with financing to expand production.
Through Project 939, "Supporting Women's Entrepreneurship," Cao Thi Dung, Director of Unigar Garment Company in Ba Ria Ward, obtained a VND200 million loan to invest in additional machinery, expand production lines, and create more jobs for local women.
According to Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Cuc of the Ba Ria Ward Women's Union, the union continues to monitor members' businesses after providing livelihood assistance, evaluates how effectively the support is being used, and helps connect them with additional resources if they wish to expand.
"When members use the support effectively, the union continues to accompany them and mobilize additional resources so they can further develop their businesses", Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Cuc said.
Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Ngoc Linh of the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union said that in addition to providing livelihood equipment and startup capital, Women's Union branches also organize vocational training, entrepreneurship workshops, job placement programs, and help members access preferential loans.
The program aims to create opportunities for women to improve their lives through their own labor. Many women who have achieved financial stability later return to support the union by sharing their experiences and helping other disadvantaged women, spreading a spirit of mutual assistance throughout the community.
In the first six months of 2026, Women's Union branches across Ho Chi Minh City provided 214 startup livelihood support packages worth nearly VND1.8 billion. They also assisted more than 4,260 households headed by women classified as poor or near-poor, helping more than 1,120 women escape poverty or near-poverty.
