Lan, five, lives with her grandmother in Ba Thuoc district, Vietnam. Her family is one of the poorest in their commune. Her parents do have land for agriculture, but no other income sources. They often lacked food for two to three months every year. Due to this situation, her parents had to go to other districts to work as hired labour. They would come back home to visit and take care of Lan for just three or four days each month. Lan was mainly cared for by her grandmother and lacked the love and care of her parents.
Mrs. Ong, Lan’s grandmother, said: “Even though she is only five years old, Lan often has to be far away from her parents. I love her very much. Every day, I am both a grandmother and a mother to her. I do hope that our family will have a better economic condition, so that her parents can stay at home to take care of, educate, and play with her.”
Change would soon come in the form of a cow. “Thanks to World Vision, our family was selected to be one of the beneficiary households for raising and breeding cows. We were trained in animal husbandry knowledge and techniques. Afterwards, we were supported with a breeding cow. It was a huge source of happiness to us.”
“After eight months of raising our cow, we now have a calf. I do believe this has helped my family’s economic situation to improve, and Lan’s parents will not have to go to other districts for work anymore. So, our family will be better able to take care of her and give her a brighter future,” Mrs. Ong smiled happily.
In 2020, with the goal of improving household incomes for poor families and helping them better care for their children, 60 households in Lan’s commune were supported with cows through funding from World Vision Malaysia.
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