Trà Vinh provides housing assistance to Khmer minority

Local authorities in Trà Vinh Province visit a Khmer family receiving a new house under the housing assistance programme. Photo mps.gov.vn

TRÀ VINH Sa Ruôl’s family in Bình Phúc Commune, Càng Long District in the southern province of Trà Vinh, no longer has to worry when heavy rains come.

After living for 10 years in a dilapidated leaky home, the Khmer family has been supported to move into a new solid, well-constructed house – a change that has transformed their living conditions.

They are one of the first families in the province to receive and move into 1,300 houses being constructed and provided as assistance to local disadvantaged households, including policy beneficiary families, the Khmer ethnic minority and those with contributions to the revolution and the movement of ‘All People Protect the Homeland Security’.

Sa Ruôl’s family has three children. Their breadwinner is Sa Ruôl who works as a construction worker, while his wife sells lottery tickets door-to-door. Their former house, with a metal sheet roof and leaf walls had fallen into serious disrepair.

“The Sa Ruôl family lives as a model household, getting along well with their neighbours. The local authorities have supported the construction of a new home for the family, and the local people are very happy about this,” said the Secretary of the Nguyệt Lãng B Hamlet Party cell, Thạch Sa Phách.

Trà Vinh, a province with over one million people, currently has around 3,400 poor households and 6,700 near-poor households, largely concentrated in border areas, coastal areas and Khmer ethnic minority communities.

To implement the National Target Programme for Sustainable Poverty Reduction from 2021-2025, the province has disbursed over VNĐ240 billion (US$10,435) in loans to almost 4,800 disadvantaged households, enabling them to invest in production to improve their livelihoods.

In 2023, Trà Vinh supported the construction of new homes for 475 poor, near-poor, and newly-escaped-poverty households, and provided nearly VNĐ6.6 billion ($287,000) in additional loans to 135 poor households to help them build decent houses.

The province aims to reduce the poverty rate by 0.3 per cent this year, with the Khmer ethnic minority poverty rate decreasing by over 0.5 per cent and the near-poverty rate dropping by 0.5 per cent, according to the national multi-dimensional poverty standards.

In recent years, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, in line with the government’s policy of ‘Joining hands for the poor – Leaving no one behind’, has mobilised resources to support the construction of over 15,000 houses and many boarding schools in the provinces of Sơn La, Điện Biên, Cao Bằng, Lai Châu, Tuyên Quang, among others.

Trà Vinh Provincial Police proposed the Provincial Party Committee to request and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to agree on the construction of 1,290 new houses for local vulnerable households. With additional contributions from benefactors, the budget has exceeded 10 houses, increasing the total number of houses built to 1,300 houses.

The beneficiaries of the housing assistance programme in Trà Vinh include households with housing difficulties, who are families with revolutionary merit or social policy beneficiaries and individuals who have actively participated in the movement of ‘All People Protect the Homeland Security’.

Notably, the programme has specifically targeted the Khmer ethnic minority group, with 760 out of the 1,300 total houses (over 58 per cent) being allocated to Khmer households.

Another Khmer family receiving a new house is Thạch Thị Mai’s also in Bình Phú Commune. They did not have a house, taking shelter in her uncle’s. Mai and her husband used to work as factory workers and cared for their two young children. However, Mai’s health gradually declined after contracting tuberculosis. Having a home of their own was a dream for the family with extreme challenges.

When moving into the new house, Mai was overwhelmed with happiness as her dream had become a reality.

“It marked a new beginning and motivation for me to focus on my medical treatment. My husband now also feels reassured and can concentrate on working to support the family,” she said.

A new house is built under the housing assistance programme in Trà Vinh Province. Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security

According to Venerable Thach Sok Xane, Chairman of the Patriotic Clergy Solidarity Association of Trà Vinh Province, the housing assistance programme, launched by the Ministry of Public Security and Trà Vinh Province, has brought joy and happiness to households facing difficulties in the province.

“The Khmer ethnic people will continue to promote the spirit of national unity, lead a good life and contribute together with the Public Security forces to effectively ensuring social order and security, thereby helping to build Trà Vinh Province into an increasingly prosperous and beautiful homeland,” he said. VNS