Motivation for the poor in Chi Linh

More living expenses

In a dilapidated house built a long time ago with peeling walls, Ms. Pham Thi Anh (born in 1991), in Kiet Dong residential area (Van An ward) lies quietly on a small bed. An accident in 2013 left her paralyzed in all four limbs. After Ms. Anh's accident, her husband broke up with her, and she and her daughter had to depend on their elderly mother. The whole family only depends on a few fields of rice and the monthly allowance of more than 1.2 million VND for Ms. Anh's extremely difficult circumstances. Ms. Anh's mother, because she has to take care of her daughter and grandchild, cannot take on a part-time job.

Seeing the difficult situation of Ms. Anh's family, the People's Committee of Van An Ward proposed and the People's Committee of Chi Linh City approved to support her family with 500,000 VND/month. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Ms. Anh's mother, shared that this amount of money is very valuable to the family because besides the subsidy, the family has almost no stable source of income. "Anh is bedridden and has to buy many supplies as well as take care of her health. Anh's daughter is in 8th grade, although many contributions are exempted, she still has many other expenses. Since receiving this support, our family has also had more money to buy household items for the two of us," Ms. Hoa said.

For the family of Vu Thi Giang (born in 1980), in Chi Minh ward, the amount of 500,000 VND/month has reduced part of the spending burden. Born with an intellectual disability, Giang has depended on her parents for all her activities since childhood. But Giang's father is also severely disabled and cannot do heavy work, so the family has no income. Ms. Dang Thi Linh, Giang's mother, said that currently, in addition to the subsidy of more than 2 million VND from her children and husband, her family also receives an additional 500,000 VND from Chi Linh city for families with special difficulties. "All of the family's activities depend on the subsidy from all levels and sectors. Currently, all 3 people in the family are often sick and hospitalized, so this amount of money is very valuable to my family," said Ms. Linh.

Efforts to maintain

With the desire to help those who are truly in difficulty have a support system to overcome difficulties in life, since 2018, Chi Linh has had a policy of supporting the lives of these people. They are people who are poor, have policies, social security, are sick, have illnesses or have sudden risks that, in addition to monthly subsidies from the community, are not enough to meet the minimum living standards.

The support is implemented by the People's Committee of Chi Linh City in phases, with strict procedures, ensuring the right beneficiaries. Mr. Nguyen Van Khuyen, a labor, war invalids and social affairs officer of Van An Ward, said that in each phase, he will coordinate with the Secretary and Head of the residential area to verify each person in need of support and make a list to send to the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of the city. The city will conduct an assessment of each person and post and publicize the specific list for the people to know. "By doing so, we ensure that the implementation is fair and that the money of the benefactors is used for the right purpose," said Mr. Khuyen.

According to statistics from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Chi Linh City, the number of people receiving support in each period is not fixed but changes regularly according to actual needs, but is always maintained at 120-140 people/period. The support fund is contributed by agencies, socio-political organizations, unions, philanthropists, and businesses to the city's "For the Poor" Fund. The City Fatherland Front Committee is assigned to launch and organize campaigns for the "For the Poor Fund" and organize support for poor households through the above fund. Cash support is transferred to beneficiaries by the City Social Policy Bank.

According to Ms. Le Thi Duong, Head of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Chi Linh City, with the desire to "leave no one behind", the entire political system of Chi Linh City has joined in an effort to maintain the above activities. The amount of support and the number of people eligible for support are not much, but this is a practical and meaningful action when sharing with difficult circumstances. They are all people who are truly disadvantaged, all of whom cannot support themselves and must completely depend on others. "We hope that more benefactors will contribute and support the fund so that it can continue to operate and multiply, further expanding the amount of money as well as the number of beneficiaries," Ms. Duong said.