Seventeen-year-old Tam is in her last year of high school, and has had the privilege of being the Head of her local Child Club in rural Vietnam over the last few years. Having first joined the Club in 2006, she has worked together with 30 other members to organise activities for children in her village.
“We consider child club members and leaders active role models within the community. Tam plays a key part in developing the club in the area. She is a perfect example of a proactive, skillful and confident youth who has her voice heard and makes choices on her own” says Lam, the village General Secretary.
As the Head of the Club, Tam is in charge of planning and preparing the content of every meeting €“ all year round. As part of her role, she also attends leadership training sessions supported by ChildFund.
Children who are members of the club learn about their rights in an interactive and interesting way; with training sessions covering areas such as child abuse, risk, and injury prevention. Annual refresher training also provides club leaders with updated knowledge on child-focused issues, which they can then pass on to their fellow peers.
Child-to-child communications activities have also been introduced by ChildFund, to every Child Club. This means that children can set up and conduct all club activities by themselves.
“Participating in club activities means we have a space to share our thoughts with our peers. Tam is very enthusiastic about leading the club. She is the one who motivated me and my friends to learn about child injury prevention, what our parents can do at home to protect us, and what we can do to be free from child abuse and exploitation,” says Hoa, a member of the Child Club.
Since child protection projects have been implemented in Tam’s village, there have been fewer cases of child labour and early marriage in the area.
“In recent years, we have not heard of any early marriages taking place. The youth in my community, especially the girls, now know a lot more about their rights and what they can do to have a better life in comparison to their parents. We try to learn more about the world outside where we live. Thanks to the Child Club, we now have a platform to facilitate children`s learning effectively”, says Tam.
Living in a small, remote village, only reachable on foot and two hours away from the commune centre, life has been difficult for Nguyet (pictured above). She explains: “It’s not always easy for us to raise our children. This is a difficult area to farm. There is not much arable soil and we can hardly make enough for our family of eight, if it wasn’t for the husbandry.”
Raising goats is a new income generation activity in Cao Bang, and is suited to the local conditions. Goats here forage in the mountains, and families don’t need large food supplies to keep them.
As a mother of four children, ranging in age from 6 months to 11 years old, Nguyet was keen to find new ways to improve the household income. Borrowing VND10 million ($US500) from ChildFund`s village credit scheme, together with the money earned from selling a cow, her family have now bought 12 goats to raise.
“We have to take good care of them, which means letting them go out to eat early. In the afternoon we walk up to the mountain, about three kilometres away, to fetch them to come home,” Nguyet explains.
ChildFund decided to introduce the goat program after conducting some research in the local area. Nguyen Thi Phuong, ChildFund’s livelihood project officer, explains: “There have been two benefits to introducing this new form of agricultural activity. First, we have diversified the income generation activities for poor households. Second, goat-rearing can minimise the risks faced by households who raise chickens and pigs – those animals often get ill and die more easily. Goat rearing is proving to be a sustainable activity which guarantees an income for families.”
Making use of local resources and choosing suitable animals for husbandry is the key to initial success. After 6-12 months, goats can either reproduce, or be sold to provide income for families. Families can then invest in bigger herds, and have income to cover the costs of their children’s food, education and healthcare.
“I hope we can make enough so that we can send our children to school; to have a better education than me and their father could. We are working and trying our best to make that happen. With education, they can definitely have a better life. Even if they choose to farm, I assume they would be knowledgeable enough to know where to farm and what to do,” shares Nguyet.
