It is among the district’s practical activities in implementing Project 8 (Gender equality and resolving urgent issues for women and children) of the national target program on socio-economic development in mountainous and ethnic minority areas for the 2021-2030 period with the first phase in the 2021-2025 period (Program 1719 in short).
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A meeting of the “Leader of Change” Club at Thanh Thoi An Secondary School |
In over three years of implementing Project 8, Tran De district has had many good and creative approaches to raising local people’s awareness of gender equality and protection of the rights of women and children.
In 2023, the district’s Women's Union chapter distributed more than 5,500 leaflets, 240 posters, 2,500 documents of all kinds. The organization also built and multiplied good models and activities to support women in economic development. It addition, it established 16 community communication teams in 16 extremely disadvantaged hamlets, eight trusted addresses, and five “Leader of Change" clubs in schools. These have helped change locals’ mindset. Lots of economic development models were built and duplicated. Voices of women and children were protected and their practical engagement in social activities was raised.
In Vien An commune, models and activities aimed at women and children have received great support from local people and high appreciation from the local Party Committee and authorities. President of the Women's Union Organization of Vien An commune Kim Thi Chanh Thi shared that the organization not only encourages local people to promote the implementation of gender equality for women and children, but also launches economic models and assists its members with preferential loans to develop production, contributing to improving the quality of life for people.
Thach Thi Suol from the Khmer minority group is a role model. This Women’s Union member of Bung Sa hamlet, Vien An commune, used to live in poverty. Thanks to the support of the Women's Union Organization of the commune, she was able to access preferential loans to develop breeding cows and open a grocery store. Now, her family has stable income and their living conditions are improving.
The “Leader of Change” club at Thanh Thoi An Secondary School in the commune of the same name has attracted 25 members who are students aged 11-15 after nearly two years of operation. This club is a useful playground to help students improve their knowledge and self-protection skills, exchange, share, and participate in age-appropriate activities.
According to the school’s principal Tran Huu Tinh, the club’s members are the pioneers in changing perceptions, eliminating gender stereotypes and harmful backward habits and customs in students' lives, thus creating positive changes in attitudes, awareness and conduct in preventing and responding to violence, child abuse, reproductive health issues, and others.
President of the Women's Union Organization of Tran De district Huynh Nhu Y said that to further improve the effectiveness of Project 8, the organization would team with other local agencies and departments to organize competitions and festivals to share creative and effective models that contribute to eliminating gender stereotypes, preventing domestic violence and trafficking of women and children in ethnic minority areas. She added that the organization would also launch support models to promote gender equality and solve urgent problems for ethnic minority women and children, improve capability of ethnic minority female cadres and capacity on gender equality for local cadres and reputed people in the community while coordinating with the district’s health center to guide and supervise the effective implementation of policies to support women in safe childbirth.
The implementation of Project 8 in Tran De district has brought important results, contributing to meeting the goals of enhancing economic empowerment for women, promoting gender equality and solving urgent problems of ethnic minority women and children in the locality.
Translated by Mai Huong