Since the beginning of April, Ha Thi Que has volunteered to withdraw herself and her family from the village's list of impoverished households. This has left the people in her Xang 2 village (Chau Binh Commune, Quy Chau District, Nghe An Province) looking on in awe, as many are competing against each other to be on that very list.
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| Ha Thi Que: "My family is no longer in need of help." (Photo: Song Hieu) |
Ha Thi Que is 43 years old and of Thai ethnic minority decent. Her husband passed away in 1995, leaving Que to raise their 4 sons all on her own. The family of 5 struggled and encountered numerous difficulties trying to get by. All they had was a rice field covering about 1000 square metres that they harvested twice a year. Que's oldest son is now 22 years old, and the youngest one 16. Despite having a destitute life, Que managed to send all of her children to school.
In 2003, the authorities decided to list Que's family as one of the village's impoverished households that needed help. Since then, Que's family has been able to receive many special benefits.
Despite this classification, Que shared, "We are like everybody else. We can work. We don't want to receive help from the government every year." With that thinking in mind, Que and her 4 sons started to work hard to improve the family's condition of life. Gradually, Que and her sons developed a more stable life. Their piece of rice-field can now produce more than a tonne of rice a year. Using the loan that Que received from the government, she invested in cattle-breeding, and now also earns extra money from it.
With an unwavering determination, Que has managed to buy a motorbike, a TV and other material possessions for her family. What is even more remarkable is that Que has been able to build a new home in 2010.
This year, Ha Thi Que voluntarily withdrew her family's name from the village's list of impoverished households, and when asked why, she simply said, "We are no longer poor like we used to be. My family is quite stable now, and my sons are much older and more capable of doing things. It's not good to live relying on the mercy of other people."
It is noted that this is the first case where someone from the impoverished household list has volunteered to withdraw themselves in Nghe An Province.