Yen lives with her oldest daughter and two grandchildren in a remote farming village in northern Vietnam. Although they worked hard in the rice fields, they still struggled to make ends meet. Yen’s son, youngest daughter, and son-in-law all left the village a few years ago to try and secure employment in the city.
The COVID-19 health crisis hit Vietnam hard, as it did many countries across the globe. Yen’s son lost his job at a factory. Her daughter and son-in-law suffered due to a decrease in their hours of employment and wages. Yen began to worry when she found out her children had nowhere else to go and were returning home.
“I wondered what means of livelihood my children would have. How are we going to survive with only a small rice field and uncultivated land?”
For the first time in a long time, Yen began to have hope for a brighter future when she learned that a Samaritan’s Purse livelihood project was coming to her community. Her family would receive a cow through the project, along with training in cow raising, cow shed building, grass planting, and financial management. They also learned how to start a small cattle husbandry business.
Yen knew she could never have afforded a cow on her own. “I am extremely grateful for this opportunity since it allows my family to have a new means of livelihood,” she said.
Yen’s family, along with more than 60 other households in her village and a neighboring village, participated in the trainings and received cows. Yen’s cow was already six months pregnant, which meant she would soon have two cows—a promising start for a new livelihood.
“Thank you, Samaritan’s Purse, for bringing this project to my family.”
Yen immediately applied what she learned during the Samaritan’s Purse training by making sure the cow was well fed and kept warm during the cold winter days. She kept track of the pregnancy and carefully calculated the cow’s due date.
On the day of calving, thanks to Yen’s training, she realized that the cow was experiencing a breech birth and would be at a high risk of death. She immediately called the local veterinarian, who partnered with Samaritan’s Purse for the livelihood project.
Because of Yen’s quick call for help, and the timely support of the veterinarian, a healthy calf was born. “I was excited to see the newborn calf stand up and walk with the mother just a few hours after birth,” Yen said.
The experience has strengthened Yen’s confidence in her ability to begin a cattle husbandry business.
“We can now confidently borrow loans from the local bank. I hope we will be able to buy more cows to form a herd of 10 cows,” she said. “My children can finally have peace of mind to return home and start a livelihood on our land that has been abandoned for years. Thank you, Samaritan’s Purse, for bringing this project to my family.”
Equip hard-working farmers to provide nutritious food and sustainable income for their families through practical training and supplies needed to plant and harvest abundant gardens and other crops.