Supporting livelihoods for the poor is of interest to departments and branches of Huong Tra town.

From the support "fish"

The program to support breeding cows for poor households in Huong Tra town is considered to be highly effective in local poverty reduction activities. Ms. Le Thi Hiet, a poor household in village 1, Binh Tien commune, is a particularly difficult case but has had the opportunity to rise up after benefiting from the commune's poverty reduction program. Before receiving breeding cows, she was trained in the process of raising, caring for, and composting straw for food; at the same time, she was supported in building a barn for the cows to grow well. Thanks to that, her family has overcome the difficult period.

“The commune provided me with two cows to generate a living, which are very suitable for my family’s working conditions. Currently, the commune continues to create conditions for me to be included in the list of support for crop development, creating additional income to help my family escape poverty sustainably,” Ms. Hiet shared.

Along with the activities of supporting breeding animals, the People's Committee of Huong Tra town issued decisions on implementing social security policies in a timely, practical and effective manner. In 2024, the town paid monthly social security allowances to nearly 54,000 beneficiaries with more than 40 billion VND; provided emergency support for 3 cases with an amount of 61 million VND; paid electricity bills to 1,051 poor households and social policy households with an amount of nearly 173 million VND; supported tuition and study fee exemptions and reductions with an amount of more than 880 million VND for 2,063 disadvantaged students.

The health support policy has also helped the poor, near-poor, and vulnerable people in the area to have easier access to health services right at the grassroots level. In 2024, Huong Tra town issued 336 health insurance cards to poor households with a total amount of over 163 million VND; 850 health insurance cards to near-poor households with a total amount of over 413 million VND; and managed and issued over 3,586 health insurance cards to vulnerable people with a total amount of over 3 billion VND. The town also spent money to support electricity bills for poor households and social policy households for 1,051 households with a total amount of over 172.6 million VND.

In particular, implementing socialization, the town mobilized resources from individuals, organizations, and businesses to participate in supporting the construction of houses for poor households, near-poor households, and households in especially difficult circumstances. As a result, resources were mobilized to support the construction and repair of 32 houses, with a cost of 1,085 million VND.

Come to hand over the "fishing rod"

According to Vice Chairman of Huong Tra Town People's Committee Do Ngoc An, to help poor households escape poverty, preferential capital sources must be brought to the people. In 2024, in the town, 175 near-poor households borrowed capital with an amount of VND 11,100 million. In addition, newly escaped poverty households and other policy beneficiaries were supported by the Farmers' Association, Women's Union, and Youth Union with loans for 1,672 times, with an amount of VND 91,734 million through the social policy credit program. The total outstanding loans to poor households, near-poor households and other policy beneficiaries is more than VND 429,125 million.

Along with creating conditions for access to preferential loans, Huong Tra town also supports vocational training for workers from poor and near-poor households, which is considered a way to give the poor a "fishing rod". In 2024, the town opened training classes on straw mushroom growing techniques for hundreds of students and opened 3 classes on pig, cow and chicken farming techniques for 61 students, aiming to closely link vocational education with job creation, sustainable livelihoods, and ensuring social security.

Huong Tra Town Continuing Education and Vocational Training Center coordinated to open vocational training classes for hundreds of students, including a makeup training class. After the training course in 2024, many students later opened hair and makeup salons with good results. A typical example is Ms. Nguyen Thi My Linh, in TDP 3, Tu Ha Ward. After attending the vocational training class, she was supported to access a social policy loan of 70 million VND to start a hair and makeup salon, which initially helped her have a stable job and generate a high income.

Mr. Do Ngoc An added that with high determination and active and synchronous participation, by the end of 2024, the poverty rate in Huong Tra had decreased to 1.07%, exceeding the target set by the Resolution of the 14th Town Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025.

Along with promoting the implementation of activities of "giving fishing rods" to the poor, Huong Tra town is conducting inspections and evaluating the effectiveness of implementing livelihood models and poverty reduction work by address in communes and wards to strive for the goal of reducing the poverty rate to less than 1% by the end of 2025.
Article and photos: Ba Tri