Less than 1 year after the Government launched the temporary housing elimination program, the whole country has completed more than 260,000 houses for poor households, near-poor households, meritorious people and ethnic minorities. The program is expected to finish ahead of schedule. It is an unprecedented miracle - done at a " tropical" speed, with a "no- backward" spirit.
However, it is still necessary to recognize a reality: Eliminating temporary houses is the right step, a beautiful action, a very active participation of the political system. But without a stable livelihood and job, the new house will be just a short silence in the precarious journey of the poor.
Typically, in Ca Mau, before the merger, although housing was provided to more than 6,900 disadvantaged households, there were still more than 5,900 households in need of livelihood support. There have been officials who have frankly said: "We cannot let our new homes become places to... cover hunger. You have to have a long-term living plan for a house to be meaningful".
This is the right direction and needs to be expanded. Because only a stable income can help people keep their new homes, raise their children to study, take care of sick relatives and escape the precarious situation based on subsidies.
We need to change our thinking from individual support to comprehensive opportunities. Not only a house or a cow, but a closed production - consumption model, a vocational training suitable for the actual capacity of the people, connecting the market and ensuring output for the products.
In particular, localities need to pay attention to vulnerable groups: People with disabilities, ethnic minorities... This is a group that is vulnerable to falling back into poverty if there is a lack of specific livelihood policies.
Institutions also need to change and integrate livelihoods into national target programs, considering building a set of criteria for "sustainable poverty reduction" including criteria on employment, income, labor skills - instead of relying only on assets and housing.
The house has to go with the work. settling down is a necessary condition - but to get a career, you need to have a stable income. And to sustainably reduce poverty, we cannot stop at housing - but must go to work, to production models, to markets - where people truly change their lives with their own hands and intelligence.
