STORY 3: A Fish Farming Project Increases Income for 15 Families

“We are among one of the poorest households in our village but we have been able to improve our situation this year after receiving an interest free loan from ActionAid – it has changed our lives,” explained Vang Thi My (45).

She continues; “I live with my husband and five daughters in a very old and decrepit house in the rural village of Dong Ha. Like many poor families here, every day we have to get up very early to work hard in the fields but our income is never enough to feed all of our children. It’s hard to know what to do sometimes to improve our situation. Sometimes it doesn’t even matter how hard we work- we just never have enough money for basic things. It’s heart-breaking. Our house for example is very old and is made from wood. I remember last year, before I got help from ActionAid, the tile roof was broken and it leaked when it rained. We had one very heavy rain last year that destroyed my daughters’ school books and we couldn’t afford to fix the leak, or replace their books. That particular moment nearly me on the verge of tears. As a parent you always try so hard for your children but then when you reach a point where you can’t provide them with even the basic things, well it’s difficult to keep going.

There seemed to be no end to our struggle until one day ActionAid invited myself and 15 other parents to attend a training course on how to farm fish. After the course, each household received an interest free loan of VND 3,680,000 [EUR 130] to buy small fish to breed. We put these into the river and used a cage to block off a section. After a year of feeding them, my husband and I sold half of the fish in the market and made a profit of VND 10,000,000 [EUR 350]. We used that money to repair the roof this year and we also used the money to buy my daughters some new school books. I was so happy to see their little faces light up when I gave them their books. This semester they are doing very well at school. Thank you so much for helping to make this change in our lives.”

Among many other achievements this year, your child sponsorship has meant ActionAid could provide 15 families, like My’s, with an interest free loan. These families now have an additional stable income from fish farming to provide them with the means to ensure their children have a brighter future.