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Microcredit to promote the economy and dignity of Vietnamese ethnic groups
by J.B. Vu
A project sponsored by Caritas in Kontum combines credit for farming and breeding to human resources development. We “learnt to raise pigs, plant vegetables and make organic fertilisers, save time and money, and protect the environment,” participant says. “Now my children have good conditions to go to school.”
Kontum (AsiaNews) – Support from a German doctors’ organisation is helping a microcredit initiative by Caritas in Kontum, in the plateaus of central Vietnam. The project is not only meant to provide help to the local economy but also train people.
About 107,000 € (US$ 140,000) in capital were allocated to the project for a period going from September 2009 to December 2012. The main beneficiaries are 540 members of local ethnic groups divided into 59 groups, living in three parishes: KonRơbang, KonXâmluh and PleiChuet.
The project entails providing capital loans with a specific repayment schedule. Its success is based on training beneficiaries and obtaining their agreement to the project’s objectives.
“The project allowed me to borrow money for farming and breeding,” one participant told AsiaNews. “I also learnt to run the family business. We learnt to raise pigs, plant vegetables and make organic fertilisers, save time and money, and protect the environment.”
“We learnt from the experience of communities in the Dioceses of Da Lat and Vinh Long,” he added. “Now my children have good conditions to go to school and we are enthusiastic about participating in our parish’s pastoral and social activities. We help each other.”
Thanks to the project, more than 600 people also received loans for breeding. School dropout and child malnutrition have also been reduced.
Parish vicars organised educational and training courses to help the development of human resources in local churches and communities, including how to manage financial accounts and keep records in accordance with international standards.
Since plateau ethnic communities tend be matriarchal, women play the main role in running households, from children’s education to family finances.
In light of the traditional culture, bishops, priests and religious worked with women in the saving and credit project.
The latter’s success has not only improved the local economy and increased family revenues but also enhanced residents’ sense of dignity.