The woman "carrying the sky"
The chance conversation between Tu and her mother suddenly reminded me of the character of the old man Hac in the writer Nam Cao, when the young son wanted to keep the puppy to raise but she still had to sell it because it was a pack of instant noodles, a box of milk for her husband and children. The life of people in difficult circumstances is always like that, hard to the point of harshness and full of heartbreaking decisions.
Ms. Tu's family's house is only thatched, different from the tiled and concrete roofed houses of Binh Thanh commune, Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen. But it strongly resembles the appearance of the female owner, thin, small and somewhat austere. "My family's life is really difficult. The monthly income is only about 1.5 million VND. I often get sick but I don't dare to treat it because I have to worry about food, school fees for my children, and medical expenses for my husband, which are increasing day by day," Ms. Tu confided.
Her husband, who used to be the main breadwinner, can now only do odd jobs around the house after a work accident left him with a sprained rib. She herself often suffers from pain due to sprained ligaments, colitis, gastritis, and spinal degeneration, along with low blood pressure. Her two school-age children are also malnourished and slow to grow. That is understandable, as the family rarely has an egg or a piece of meat for a meal. The rest of the time, it is mostly boiled vegetables and roasted peanuts.
On cold winter days, when many people are still afraid to go out, Ms. Tu's quiet footsteps have been tirelessly working on the tea hills. Picking tea for hire. The salary is only about 8,000 - 9,000 VND/kg but it is a significant income. However, the tea season is seasonal, so the income from picking tea is sometimes available, sometimes not. When not picking tea, she accepts to repair clothes, using an old sewing machine that often breaks down, but only has a few customers each month. Without complaining, without comparing, and without expecting any support from the outside, Ms. Tu patiently works every day, to take care of each meal, medicine, milk box for her children, her husband and finally for herself.
“I really want to raise livestock because it will give me an extra source of income, and I can stay home to take care of my husband and children, and sew and repair clothes. But that is just a dream, because I don’t have money.” That is the desire but also the “bottleneck” for Ms. Tu and her whole family.
Ms. Ninh Le Thuy, President of the Women's Union of Binh Thanh Commune, shared: "Ms. Tu's family is poor, life is very precarious, but she is a resilient and hard-working person."
"Fulcrum" Green Dream
I thought that wish would always be far away until the Green Dream program came to me with a herd of 10 breeding pigs and all the necessary food and supplies for me to start my own livestock business. I could not hide my emotions: “I was very happy to receive the pigs. This has been my dream for a long time but I never dared to think it would come true. Now I have hope to improve my family's life.”
For her, the journey of raising livestock has just begun but is full of promise. The light in Tu's eyes now is hope, the belief that life tomorrow will be less difficult. "The green dream has brought new hope, not only economically but also helped Tu have more motivation to continue to rise!", Ninh Le Thuy could not hide her emotions when witnessing Tu's family's happy day.
Green Dream is a livelihood support program to help disadvantaged women start a business, thereby becoming economically independent and changing their lives with the support principle of "Giving a fishing rod, not a fish". The program has been implemented by F88 Company since 2024 and has been deployed in a number of provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Lam Dong, Ben Tre and Thai Nguyen. "The biggest goal of Green Dream is not necessarily to give opportunities for change but to "unlock" the faith, determination and strength of disadvantaged people. Because I believe that when they have a support, a belief, they will create a better life", the leader of F88 affirmed, "In 2025, Green Dream aims to help at least two people in difficult circumstances rise up and take control of their lives each month".
