A typical story of To Cam in Son La

This is the story of Ms. C.T.H., a resident of Nam Bong village, Muong Chanh commune (Sơn La province), one of the women who accessed interest-free loans from the Livelihood Support Fund, raised through the Let’s Orange Campaign organized by For Vietnamese Stature Foundation (VSF) in collaboration with TH Group and BAC A BANK.

Before receiving the loan, Ms. H.’s family economy mainly relied on coffee cultivation, producing about 5-6 tons per year, but the income was unstable. Whenever the crop failed, the couple had to do day labor to make ends meet. The biggest challenge was the lack of capital to invest in new livelihoods, so despite their hard work, life was just barely sufficient.

With a 6 million VND loan from the Livelihood Support Fund, Ms. H. added 3 million VND of her own to purchase three goats. After only six months, the family sold one goat weighing 12kg at approximately 100,000 VND/kg, while keeping the others for breeding.

“Goats are easy to raise, grow quickly, and the capital circulates fast, so I feel secure. Now we don’t have to work far from home, yet we can still earn extra income,” she happily shared.

In addition to providing interest-free loans, VSF collaborated with CARE Vietnam to organize training sessions on livestock raising techniques, vaccination, and disease prevention for women borrowers.

“Before, we didn’t know how to vaccinate, so goats often got sick. Now, with guidance, our herd is healthier and less prone to disease,” she said.

Diversifying livelihoods has helped her family achieve a more stable life. From purely growing coffee, she and her husband now discuss and share responsibilities in animal husbandry and farming, strengthening her role and voice within the family.

Besides Son La, the program has also been implemented in Lao Cai and Dien Bien. To date, over 1.3 billion VND has been raised for the Livelihood Support Fund through Let’s Orange Campaign activities, helping 212 ethnic minority women access interest-free loans, develop livelihoods, increase income, and improve quality of life for themselves and their families.

Alongside the Livelihood Support Fund, VSF also organizes training sessions on gender equality in relation to family economic development, domestic violence prevention, and more, aiming to strengthen women’s voice and decision-making power in families and communities, creating sustainable and long-term change.