“Women who control the economy will control their lives”

That is the sharing of Ms. Vang Thi Cau, Vice President of the Women's Union of Dong Van district (Ha Giang province). Born and raised in the Dong Van stone plateau, Ms. Vang Thi Cau, like many other Mong women, only knew how to "sell their faces to the land and their backs to the sky", farming corn on steep cliffs.

Seeing many people going to school, she also wished to learn to read and write to have the opportunity to change her life. Going to first grade at the age of 16, Vang Thi Cau both worked, helped her parents earn money to raise her younger siblings, and persevered in going to class.

With a special program to eradicate illiteracy for ethnic minorities, after 4 years of studying, she finished secondary school. Not satisfied with just knowing how to read and write, she continued to register for the 9+1 program, then continued to college, university and graduated with a bachelor's degree at the age of 39.

"Back then, the roads were difficult to travel, so every Friday night I took a sleeper bus to Hanoi, studied for 2 days on the weekend, and then returned to Ha Giang on Sunday night. I traveled so much that I got used to the driver's face," Ms. Cau recalled. Knowing that his wife was eager to learn, her husband always supported her, and even when she graduated from the University of Education, he encouraged her to study for a second degree in Party History.

Vice President of the Women's Union of Dong Van District (Ha Giang) Vang Thi Cau (right) guides the work of the women of the White Flax Cooperative.

He took care of the housework and taking care of the children while she was at school. "Many days, when it was time for Mom to get on the bus and Dad hadn't come home yet, our children had to be sent to the neighbors. The whole family, from parents to children, studied together every night. When the child graduated from high school, Mom also graduated from university," Ms. Cau shared.

With qualifications, she worked as a preschool teacher and then moved to work at the Women's Union of Dong Van District. As Vice President of the Women's Union of Dong Van District, Ms. Cau closely followed the strengths and characteristics of the locality to propose activities to support women's development.

Ms. Cau said: "If we teach women here something that is too new or too difficult, it will be very difficult to absorb. Meanwhile, Mong women are all good at embroidery and sewing. Flax is a typical plant here, so I decided to establish a weaving facility."

Thinking is doing, she established the White Flax Cooperative, gathering poor women and women who had been bought and sold to become members, together growing flax, weaving fabric, and sewing clothes. With the concept that women who are in control of the economy will be in control of their lives, the members of the Cooperative have strived together in their work.

From 15 initial members, after nearly 7 years of operation, the White Flax Cooperative now has 125 members, with an income of about 4-6 million VND/person/month.

Not only meeting local demand, Ms. Cau also actively participates in fairs, finding new sales channels to increase consumption for the Cooperative's products. After a period of building and developing the Cooperative, Ms. Vang Thi Cau transferred the title of Director of the White Linen Cooperative to Ms. Sung Thi Si and now to Giang Thi Vac, 19 years old, who was once the godson of the Women's Union of Dong Van district.

Ms. Cau hopes that there will be more young girls in Dong Van land confidently asserting themselves and contributing to building their homeland.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/phu-nu-lam-chu-kinh-te-se-lam-chu-duoc-cuoc-song-20240509133844244.htm