The burden on the shoulders of the little sparrow
“You are 67 years old this year and you only weigh 27kg, but you still have to work for hire! If you don’t work, how will you eat? Your family is the poorest in this hamlet!” Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy, Phuoc Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district, Ben Tre province, started the story like that. As the main breadwinner in a family of 7, her monthly income is only about 3 million VND.
Her parents also worked as hired laborers and sold food on the roadside, so poverty has haunted her since she was young. In 1981, she got married. Although she worked hard as a hired laborer and helped her mother sell food on the roadside, the couple was still poor. Her aunt and uncle have two children. The eldest, born in 1982, is currently a container truck driver, married and lives with her aunt and uncle. Although they live together, they have one house and two kitchens, and all activities are separate. Only the daughter's family actually eats together. Thuy Lieu, her daughter, is 32 years old this year and is the mother of 4 children, the oldest of whom is only in 4th grade. Two years ago, because her husband ran away from debt and disappeared, Lieu had to take her 4 children back to her grandparents, raising them by herself. Lieu also used to work as a garment worker, but the company had no orders, so she had to stay home to take care of her children. Since then, Ms. Thuy has become the main breadwinner for her family of 7. "I don't know what to do, I just have to go with the flow!"
Low and unstable income will inevitably lead to debt. Before her mother passed away, she left her a pair of earrings but had to pawn them for 1 million VND to pay for electricity and water bills. Up to now, she has not been able to redeem this only keepsake and only has enough money to pay interest of 35,000 VND per month. Similarly, she also owes the Social Policy Bank 30 million VND and can only pay interest. “Ms. Thuy has been a poor household for 4 years now, with no ability to escape poverty. Before, she sold noodles, coffee, sugarcane juice, and had some income, but after the Covid-19 pandemic, she ran out of capital and all her belongings were damaged!” said Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, Party cell secretary, head of Phuoc Trach hamlet, Phuoc Thanh commune, Chau Thanh, Ben Tre.
Sparrow Smile
One morning in October, Ms. Thuy was surprised by the “huge” gift that Uoc Mo Xanh had delivered to her house. “I’ve never received a gift in my life, so I’m so nervous! I don’t know what it is, but thank you!” After being silent for a while in front of the gift, Ms. Thuy pulled back the curtain. “I really appreciate this gift, it has all the supplies to open a shop. I especially appreciate the signboard, I never thought I would have to make a signboard, it’s so expensive. But the signboard is so beautiful! Let’s open for business tomorrow!”
That afternoon, the neighbors saw Ms. Thuy smiling, as agile as a sparrow, going to the market, buying noodles, spices, vegetables, onions... to prepare for sale. The joy kept them from sleeping. It was only 2am when they went to the market together, choosing each kilo of meat, buying each kilo of bones to make broth. “So excited! At this age, I never thought I would be able to sell again! My old age now depends on this shop!”
After more than a month, Ms. Thuy's shop regularly sells 50-60 bowls and more than a dozen glasses of sugarcane juice every day. The profit is about 180-200 thousand, enough to help the family ease the difficulties.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu, Vice President of the Women's Union of Phuoc Thanh Commune, Chau Thanh, Ben Tre believes that with the support of Green Dream and F88, the noodle shop will be an opportunity for Ms. Thuy to escape poverty and the union is very grateful for giving this opportunity to a typical poor family in the commune.
Green Dream is a program to support disadvantaged women to start a business by F88. Implemented since the first quarter of 2024, Green Dream has so far helped 5 disadvantaged people in Ho Chi Minh City and Lam Dong to start a successful business, thereby becoming the masters of their family's economy and indirectly reducing gender inequality. "Giving a fishing rod, not a fish" is the criterion of Green Dream and this is also a solution to help disadvantaged women rise sustainably!" - F88 leaders affirmed.
