(Nguyen Thi Tuyet, 56 years old, dweller of Thanh Tay Hamlet, Thanh Long Ward, Chau Thanh District, Tay Ninh Province).
“I was born naturally blind and the poverty has been following me since the birth. I still found luck somehow by having a good husband and now three kids, but we still struggle with misery for years”.
There was indeed no valuable asset in her house. This stable structure was sponsored by a private enterprise called Thuy Trang. A proper shelter at least warmed up this family’s heart a bit, but they did need a lot more help to secure the livelihood, so to improve well-being materially.
Approaching the Cow Bank Project of ADRA was another “amazing luck” coming to this women and her family. With the initial funding of 8 million Vietnamese Dong (400 USD), Tuyet and her husband decided to endeavor with cow husbandry. All the family members utilized spare time for grass cutting to feed the cattle. Long spanning efforts until current moment, they have raised up the possession’s value up to 40 million VND (2,000 USD) lying in a pair of cows.
Spending time to collect food for the cattle, spending time to show love for them, but more importantly, utilizing proper techniques was holding the core component in husbandry. Tuyet has not minded to join in any training of ADRA, whether the workshop targeted the blind or the poor. She actively engaged into the practice and also diffused the know-how to surrounding people. Now, if someone had a chance to visit her place, they would see that the cage always stayed in cleanness, the excrement was washed frequently and the net was prepared for the cows.
The first female cow from ADRA project was having pregnancy, and in the next four months, they would have another calf to be transferred to other poor household suffering the same difficult situation. So from the small start-up investment and with the consistent effort and determination, this family of the blind and the sick currently owns a sustainable capital source to develop household economic and secure the children’s studies.
“Feeling but seeing, that’s how the blind like me nurtures happiness in hope, in a better future. I do not have chance to see the cows growing by day, but I try to concentrate my love in taking care of them. That is the way I express my love. I touch and rub the cows’ head and their shoulder; they somehow feel it and respond to me. Those moments are of greatest blessing in my life”.