For three months, between April and June 2015 inclusively, the SRD’s sister office located in the central region of Vietnam carried out activities to support PwD and vulnerable groups in developing relevant livelihood models. This activity fell under the “Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction for People with Disabilities in Quang Tri province” project coded VM053.

The activity took place in the three communes of Hai Chanh, Hai An and Hai Vinh with the purpose of supporting PwD, families with PwD and vulnerable groups in applying livelihood models that were relevant to their demands and capacities. As a result, their economic situation and income would be improved.

SRD's staff introducing chicken raising model to PwD

Throughout the three-month implementation, SRD’s officers, with the support from the People’s Committee of Communes, conducted field investigations while visiting families registered in the program. Among the 35 households registered for the program, each of them fulfilled the given criteria to participate in the program which were: families living in poor conditions, families with PwD and multiple children and the capacity and commitment to participate. Out of these, 22 households were selected for supports in implementing the livelihood model relevant to their demand and economic circumstances. Pig raising, chicken raising and small business ownership for income generation were the three main livelihood models chosen.

The households supported by the project live in poor conditions and often have bedridden PwD, households with three or four children with disabilities (CwD), are households located deep in the mountain, and are households with no water and means of transportation.

In the program, under the guidance of the project’s staff, technical animal husbandry and the procedures for trading contracts, tools (commitment forms, invoices, implementation plans) etc. were taught. The participating households were given the capital to implement their respective livelihood models. The capital was given two times to ensure an effective implementation.

                                      Mrs Le Thi Phuong from the Tan Luong village of the Hai Chanh district in Quang Tri province

As somebody involved with the support program and a representative of the locals, Mrs Le Thi Phuong from the Tan Luong village of the Hai Chanh district in Quang Tri province said “If the project had not supported me, I would have never dreamed of farming a flock of chicken. I will try to raise them in the best way to improve my family’s economic situation as soon as possible”.

-SRD-