Community Facilitator Works Tirelessly to Serve Farmers

By Heifer International

October 3, 2019

Last Updated: December 13, 2012

Story by Nguyen Thi Trinh | Project Assistant of Long An Province | Heifer Vietnam
Translated by Nguyen Xuan Quyen
| CNO | Heifer Vietnam

Nguyen Van Dau, a Heifer Vietnam community facilitator, is active, creative and enthusiastic. He graduated from an agricultural college and worked as an agricultural officer for several years before he resigned to return to his hometown to run his own farming business. For more than 10 years, he raised dairy cows, swine, fish and ducks, among other things. This hardworking man learned from books and from other farmers' methods to improve his animal production. As a result, he is perfect for the position of community facilitator (CF) of Heifer projects in Long An province. The job creates room for him to express his passion and his generous spirit.   

He is always friendly to project farmers, enthusiastically sharing techniques and experiences in animal and aqua-cultural production with them. When organizing any project activity, he always puts himself in the place of a farmer to better understand them and determine what training would benefit them most. He tirelessly works to ensure their rights, benefits and justice. Additionally, he regularly holds fundraising activities for Heifer’s needy farmers. For example, in the Vietnamese Lunar New Year of 2011, he facilitated the giving of 45 gifts (about $700) to poor farmers in My An and My Thanh; 130 gifts (about $400) for project children, to reward good grades, in the autumn of 2012; and provided support for one project farmer in My Thanh village whose house was damaged in a fire. This all comes from his spirit of sharing.

For his work, he schedules ample time for regular household visits to understand the farmers’ situation. These in-depth visits enable him to tailor his training and programs to better support the farmers. While he isn’t highly technologically savvy, he uses a computer to finish progress reports. He is always eager to learn more skills in all aspects of his life. Moreover, he is an experienced dairy cow farmer and serves as a knowledgeable consultant for the local management board to purchase high-quality cows. Additionally, he provides farmers with instructions on how to effectively raise cows and offers them solutions in case of sickness and diseases.

 

He always eagerly exchanges knowledge with other CFs by participating in all trainings conducted by Heifer Vietnam, and he uses these trainings to further enrich his skills and knowledge because he knows it will directly benefit the farmers that he serves.

“I enjoy taking part in trainings of Heifer Vietnam, because the knowledge from the trainings helps me in working and educating children,” Dau said. “This knowledge helps me balance my work, my production and my family effectively.” In trainings, Dau is always a center figure because he is experienced in working with the farmers and he does not hesitate to raise crucial issues related to project activities. This man embodies the spirit of enthusiastic giving.

 

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