AUTUMN 2009 ADRA WORKS
South Vietnam, along the Mekong River, sustained heavy destruction and losses during the long years of war. The ethnic Cham communities, established in the area more than 400 years ago, became a forgotten minority. ADRA is working to lift these communities out of poverty.
"Without ADRA's support, I don't know if my mother and I would still be alive. I am 50 years old, and my husband died 10 years ago," says Thi Sa Ró. "I have raised my four sons on very little; the oldest three are all working. My youngest is 12 years old. Thanks to ADRA, he is my first child to attend school. He is in the third grade, and since learning about first aid from ADRA, he wants to be a doctor."
In the second year of a five-year project, this ADRA Vietnam program—which was featured in ADRA's Really Useful Gift Catalog 2008—works with the Cham ethnic minority and has already loaned 62 cows to families.
In an area far off the beaten path, ADRA's work in the community is multifaceted. Training is held on the issues of child labor and human trafficking, hygiene, the basics of first aid, nutrition, and the care and keeping of cows.
After receiving training and building a small shelter, Thi Sa Ró received her cow from ADRA. While the cow provides the family with milk, it also is a form of capital. The family cow will be bred, and the calf will be returned to the ADRA cow loan bank to benefit another family. Once this happens, Thi Sa Ró will own the cow herself. It will become her first asset. She is already selling the manure to the cashew nut farms to be used as fertilizer, and this provides a small amount of income for her family.
"My cow is growing very well," Thi Sa Ró exclaims. "I am responsible to do all things well for this animal. ADRA is taking a chance on my community and me. We must learn and do our best to show that we are worthy of this great blessing.
"I enjoy our cow. I feel affection for her, and my son and grandson like to feed her. She is like a part of our family now," Thi Sa Ró says softly.
For most of her life, Thi Sa Ró has not had access to clean water. "I would always need to find a neighbor who was willing to share their water with us. Sometimes I would have to walk a long way before someone would let me fill my bucket, and then I would have to take the water back to my home. Now I am so blessed to have my own small well," states Thi Sa Ró.
While ADRA provided all the materials for the well, the family dug the well themselves. Together, ADRA and the family built the well. With a cement casing ring and platform, the well is kept covered, and the platform keeps mud from forming around the well.
"To show that we will always be grateful for this clean water, we looked at the tag on the cow's ear and practiced making the characters in the dirt," says Thi Sa Ró. "We didn't know what the characters were, but we drew them in the wet cement of the base of the well because we knew they represented ADRA."
"ADRA has made our life so much better. The difficulty of my life has gone from very great to I can manage. I am very grateful. Thank you to ADRA and the people who help ADRA," says a beaming Thi Sa Ró.
