Tag Archives: Vietnam

From the Field: New Beginnings

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section.

Heifer International works with families to help direct men and women toward gender equality. As men and women participate in projects together, communities develop a sense of unity and respect. After joining Heifer, project participants not only see major improvements in their income and living conditions, but regain trust and hope in their relationships. Where despair may have seemed overwhelming, new beginnings unfold as friendships produce respect and families are reunited.

Heifer Vietnam project participant Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, 39, with her two daughters. Photo by Nguyen Xuan Quyen, Communication and Networking Officer, Heifer Vietnam

Heifer Vietnam project participant Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, 39, with her two daughters. Photo by Nguyen Xuan Quyen, Communication and Networking Officer, Heifer Vietnam

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, a 39-year-old Heifer Vietnam project participant, is a resilient woman with a painful past. Trang married her first husband when she was 25 years old and quickly found herself in an abusive relationship. After her husband beat her and threw her into a river for buying rice, Trang divorced him and began a new life. She remarried and is grateful to now have a respectful and honest husband. She and her current husband harvest rice and rent out their tractor to earn a living in their village. Trang works hard to make the most of every opportunity and has hope that her two daughters will live a happy life.

Sriman Thapa, a 9-year-old boy from Nepal, was bullied becuase of his parents disabilities. After his mother contributed goats in a POG, the teasing stopped. Photo by Alina Karki, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Temp, Heifer Nepal

Sriman Thapa, 9, was bullied because of his parents’ disabilities. After his mother contributed goats in a POG, the teasing stopped. Photo by Alina Karki, PME Temp, Heifer Nepal

Sriman Thapa, 9, lives in Nepal with his mother and father. He was relentlessly bullied because his parents are “laata,” meaning deaf and mute. The constant teasing established Sriman’s identity with his parent’s disability. When his mother contributed to another family in a Passing on the Gift® (POG) ceremony, the bullying stopped. By caring for her community, Sriman’s mother changed her son’s life and her community’s perspective.

Due to conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Beglaryan family left their Armenian village for several years. They returned home just before the first POG took place. A fellow villager presented the family with a cow, which inspired them to believe in a prosperous future. The Beglaryans want to improve their livelihoods and the economic life of their community. Their belief in this new beginning will help others push forward with hope.

Learn how you can help families find new beginnings worldwide

Heifer Vietnam Participant Renews Mind and Community

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Giau of Heifer Vietnam

Photo by Lam Trinh Hong Nhung, Program Officer, Heifer Vietnam

Giving animals to impoverished families is not enough. Heifer International prepares its project participants with specific training so they can succeed. Heifer helps families learn a new way of living, which renews their minds from the psychological and social effects of generations of poverty.

Giau is a member of the Heifer Vietnam project Improving the Capacity of Disadvantaged Farm Households in Chau Hung A District of Vinh Loi, Back Lieu Province Through Values-Based Holistic Community Development.

As a child, Giau’s family was too poor to afford her school fees. She never learned to read or write until a friend recently began teaching her. Now, Giau keeps excellent records of her family’s finances and investments.

She received the gift of a cow in June 2010 and has already passed on the gift to another family in her community. Giau also plans to help her son expand his mechanic business with the profits from selling cows.

Through resourceful and practical investments, Giau was able to purchase fishing nets and invest in the project’s group savings fund to cultivate vegetables. She and her husband catch fish from the river in front of their house and sell them at the local market.

In her community, Giau encourages Heifer participants to invest in cows instead of making short-term, high-risk endeavors. She views the cows as insurance and has created a network of support for her community to understand the goals of Heifer Vietnam.

Giau of Heifer Vietnam

Photo by Lam Trinh Hong Nhung, Program Officer, Heifer Vietnam

Learn how you can help support the work of Heifer International

From the Field: Heifer Brings Families Together

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section.

Gender and Family Focus is one of the key elements of Heifer International’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development. Communities worldwide are greatly impacted as families work together to achieve their goals. As men and women, sons and daughters, share responsibilities we are one step closer to eliminating hunger and poverty.

Norik with his calf. Photo by Knarine Ghazanchyan, Program Coordinator, Heifer Armenia

Norik with his calf. Photo by Knarine Ghazanchyan, Program Coordinator, Heifer Armenia

Norik Mkrtchyan, 14, lives with his parents and two brothers in Lukashin Village, Armenia. He helps take care of the family’s animals and works along side his father and brothers in their garden. Neighbors look to Norik’s father, Armen, for vegetable marketing advice, and his mother works preparing cheese. Norik received a cow from a Heifer-supported YES! Youth Club and plans to pass on its first calf to another club member.

Before joining a SHG in Cambodia, Loek Bunthoeun had to leave his wife and two children behind to work in Phnom Penh city. Most of his income had to sustain him as he migrated to the city for work. Now, Loek and his wife generate income with their family’s organic vegetable garden and are planning to expand their garden and begin raising pigs.

In Vietnam, Danh Hoang, 45, lives with his wife and four children. They are members of a self-help group (SHG) and plan to seize every opportunity to live a sustainable life. Danh’s two sons help their neighbors with the rice harvest while their mother weaves coconut leaves for roofing material. Danh received training through Heifer Vietnam and plans to pass on the gift to another family in need.

Learn how you can help bring families together.

From the Field: Project Goals Produce Smiles

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This weekly post shines a light on a handful of stories from Heifer.org’s “From the Field”From the Field section.

The mission to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth may seem an overwhelming goal, but Heifer Armenia participant Artur Hovsepyan actively became part of the global vision when his family received a cow named Nargiz through Passing on the Gift®. Artur’s family had lived in very poor conditions, which led him into a deep depression for three years. But thanks to Nargiz and her new calf, Artur regained hope for the future and is once again an active member of his village.

Vietnam Animal Distribution Ceremony

Heifer Vietnam participants receive a heifer at the project’s second animal distribution ceremony on February 21. Photo by Nguyen Thai Loc

In Vietnam, participants of Soc Thao commune of Phu Tam village received heifers at the project’s second animal distribution ceremony. Eager recipients’ laughter filled the busy village as 125 people congratulated each other. One self-help group member said Heifer’s unique tools will allow families to pull themselves out of poverty and give their children a brighter future.

A Farmer Field School in the Northern Philippines recently received a grant for a permanent composting site. Before the project began, most villagers accepted poverty as a way of life. After practicing Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development, they are happy to successfully reach a goal. The site will provide new knowledge in organic farming to improve family’s gardens and help the group become organic vegetable producers.

Heifer Around the Web: A Little Girl Determined to Change the World

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Every Sunday we will highlight some of the people who are funding our work creatively or helping us spread the word of our mission online. If you spot Heifer International while you’re surfing the web or know of a fun or creative fundraising effort, please share it with us here in the comments!

It’s so inspiring to read blogs about those who give of their time and hard-earned money to help us in our mission to end hunger and poverty. These caught my eye this week:

With the huge jackpot looming, there had been talk everywhere about what people would do once they won the lottery. We were lucky enough to be mentioned in one would-be winner’s plans.

This mom blogs about how “some bedtime tears and $7.00 turned into two flocks of chicks and two strongly worded letters to President Obama and Secretary Clinton. And a little girl determined to change the world.” A great read on Redefine Girly, Pigtail Pals blog.

Mary Steenburgen talks home decor, entertaining, and her candle company, which donates $2 from each candle purchase to Heifer International.

These people made the news last week for their creative fund-raising efforts on behalf of Heifer International:

Fairfield Grace United Methodist Church in Connecticut hosted an annual Bunny Breakfast last weekend with proceeds going to Heifer International. Check out the cute pics!

Jana Bass mixes her business (all-natural goat milk skin care line) and generous spirit by bringing one of her goats to talk to third-graders about Beatrice’s Goat, a true story about a Ugandan girl who received a goat through Heifer International, allowing her to sell milk and afford an education, hoping to inspire them in their own fundraising efforts to buy a goat to help a family in need become self-sufficient.

Students in the Davies World Language Department in Fargo Schools competed to raise the most loose change for Heifer International’s matching project in Vietnam, so their hard work’s results will be doubled. Team Pig won, Team Sheep came in second, and Team Rabbit came in third, with a total donation of $2,185.00. (I love those team names, don’t you?)

Mike Ainsworth of Illinois is gearing up for a 420-mile cycling tour to raise awareness on world hunger and Heifer International. Read the whole story here.

And last but not least, here’s an interesting little snippet about a Heifer project in Cameroon, found on a climate action website:

Julian Mengue, a government program participant set up with the help of Heifer International, turns her animals’ manure into fuel, saving money AND helping the environment at the same time.

New Match Brings Hope to Vietnam

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Half of farmers in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam live on less than $1 a day. The families in this area struggle with limited land for production, illiteracy, unemployment and lack of clean water and sanitation. As a result, the child malnutrition rate is very high – causing stunted growth and a wide range of diseases.

The main reasons for malnutrition are poor access to resources and lack of awareness about nutrient dense food crops and how to best use available food crops. As malnutrition is intricately linked with poverty and cognitive development of children, decreasing childhood malnutrition in poor farmers’ households is an urgent aspect in the poverty-ending mission of Heifer’s work.
Photo by Matt Bradley, courtesy of Heifer International
Through a special Heifer International matching project, we hope to help more than 4,300 households in the poorest parts of the Mekong Delta region gain self-reliance by providing them with a cow, small animals and extensive training so they can maximize their income from their small farms.
The Vietnamese government has such confidence in our work that it is offering to match more than $765,000 if we can raise an equal amount from our donors. That means every dollar you contribute to Heifer today will have twice the impact, but we must raise a total of $1.3 million to fully fund this important project.
We’ve already raised $236,068 toward our goal. Help us take advantage of the full match by giving today.

An Amazing Woman

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Following the small concrete path, we were surprisedat a lively painted thatched house peacefully surrounded by green paddyfield, pig pen, henhouse and garden of flowers. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lien, the houseowner, welcomed us with her warm smile. Aged 41, Lien is one of 20 self-helpgroup members of the project “Improving the disadvantageous farm households’ capacity in Tra Vinh Province through VBHCD.” She was married to Mr. Nguyen Van Nhut, aged 39. They have oneson named Nguyen Minh Du who is in grade 9. After marriage, the couple wasgiven a 2,000 square meter paddy field from their parents. Working hard on rice farmingand selling their labor in their spare time for several years, the couple afforded an additional 10,000 square meter paddy field by their savings.


Receiving one heifer, therevolving fund and trainings from Heifer Vietnam, Lien was enlightened. She learned how to takecare of her family in a better way and successfully applied modern production techniques. Raising a large swine heard, she built a concrete pig pen and set up awater system to bathe the pigs for more convenience. She also created a recordbook to keep track of every pig’s health. She learned how to make nutritioncake and to store straw for the cow. Furthermore, she grows grass and green vegetables around thehouse for a stable food source for the animals in order for low expense andanimal food security. In addition, she finds that making an action plan plays akey role in the goal of ending poverty. Thanks to applying new techniques inanimal production, her pigs are very healthy and make a good profit for herfamily despite the plague in her neighborhood.


Through the 12 Cornerstonestraining, her family learned many useful things such as improved nutrition offamily meals, sharing and caring among members in the family, children’seducation focus, and full participation in every group activity. With theactiveness and enthusiasm in group activities, she was voted as the leader ofher self-help group. by leading her family with the guide of the 12 Cornerstones,her family is full of warmth, caring and happiness. The family business hasmade a good progress thanks to a well-organized production plan. The relationshipbetween her family and neighbors is stronger by the spirit of caring and sharingwhich is demonstrated by a practical action of sharing some fish after everycatch she has.


Since taking part in the project, there have been some goodchanges in her family. She spends the increasing income on family expenses like meals, daily consumption and her son’s education. She also invests on newcrops and keeps the saving for house repairs. The family atmosphere is cozy. Thecouple discusses and supports each other in farming, house chores and business,while the son helps his parents tend the cow and collect grassand vegetables for the pigs. Nhut supports and motivates Lien to join groupactivities. As a result, she has gained self-confidence and activeness tospeak out in front of the crowd and raise her own ideas of every issue. “Iwould like to express my sincere gratitude to the donors for giving us bothphysical and spiritual strength in order for us to achieve a better life today.Heifer has helped improve our source of income and enabled us to make plans forour goals, to envision for our future, and more importantly, I am a person ofself-confidence and hopefulness.” said Lien.

Editor’s note: This post is part of a series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.

In Vietnam, There’s Strong Belief For a Bright Future

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In December 2011, we paid a visit toa family in Heifer project in Binh Thanh village, Thanh Phu district, Ben Treprovince. In front of the clean leaf-thatched house, the wife, Nguyen Thi Diem,warmly welcomed us. Her husband, Tran Van Tuan, was recycling the pond for newshrimp. The couple has three children; two daughters and one son. Theschool-aged eldest daughter dropped out of school and worked in another city tosupport the family. The middle is in grade 6 and the youngest son is at nurseryschool.


Tran told us about the hardshipthat his family endured several years ago. They started the family life withempty hands because their parents were too poor to support them. The couple hadto stay on the land borrowed from a neighbor. After five years working as hiredlaborers, their savings was enough for them to buy a 5,000 square meter paddy field. Itwas not easy for five people living on the income from such a small piece of cultivated land. The couple continued working as hired laborers. Tran also wentfishing and worked as a mason for extra income.

In 2010, the couple joined Heiferproject. The project supported them with a heifer, 1,000 post larvae shrimp and thefunding for a cowshed and income-generating activities. Diem used therevolving fund for duck and chicken production that benefited them with income andeggs for their daily meals. Every day, the husband keeps fishing and working asa mason. He wants to be a skillful mason so that he could build a house by hisown for his family.

Tran attended many technical trainings held by Heifer inwhich he learned how to tend the cow and raise shrimp. “Now I know how to feedthe cow and take care of the cow in breeding season. I also know some symptomsof the heat period and cow’s diseases. My cow is in a good state of heath. She isgoing to give birth next month. The post larvae are growing well. I hope we will gain high profit,” Tran says.

His wife was also eager to join othertrainings of Heifer such as Cornerstones, gender equity, environmentprotection and climate change. “After attending the training onenvironment protection, we decided to build a toilet to keep the surroundingenvironment clean,” Nguyen says. She happily shared with us about the changes of her family afterjoining the project. “My husband is friendlier and more opened to other people.At home, he also helps me with housework. The children also help us cut grass to feed the cow and do some house chores. We are very happy whensharing everything together.”

The couple proudly showed us the meritcertificate of good study records of the middle daughter. In the spirit of sharingand caring, the couple is willing to help other people when needed. They evengave up their round to other fellow group members who need the loan most fromthe group savings fund.


The couple hopes that their animalproduction could give them high profit so that they could realize their dreamof a concrete house and support their children to school. Tran sincerelyexpressed his gratefulness to Heifer for helping his family, “Thanks Heifer somuch for giving us a chance to get rid of poverty. I believe that with Heifer’ssupport, my family will have a big and valuable asset after passing on. Accordingly,I hope that Heifer will thrive and continue to assist more needy farmers whohave the same background like my family.”


Editor’s note: This post is part of a new series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.