Program background

Tra My Area Development Program (ADP) is located in Bac Tra My, a very poor mountainous district situated southwest of Quang Nam Province. Bac Tra My has a scattered population of about 37,315, which is divided into more than 7,300 households. Ethnic minority groups: M’nong, Cadong, Xe Dang, Kor and Kinh group make up most of the population.

Most households live by animal raising and farming rice, however harsh weather conditions, traditional slash-and-burn practices, and lack of arable land contributes to serious food shortages for 2-4 months a year. Limited access to health-care, inadequate sanitation and a lack of clean drinking water results in many people suffering from preventable diseases, like malaria, malnutrition and diarrhoea. Schools are under resourced, lacking essential equipment like desks and chairs. Many children are forced to drop out of school early to help support their families.

Program description

Tra My ADP is an integrated, long-term program working closely with local partners to directly support more than 29,500 people combat the effects of poverty and improve their standard of living. Interventions focusing on agriculture, income generation, education, health-care, childcare and protection, economic assistance and capacity building are tailored specifically to the communities needs. This holistic approach encourages community participation and ownership, builds a firm foundation for the program’s sustainability and addresses the root causes of poverty.

“ We highly appreciate World Vision‘s approach in reaching out to the poor and remote communities, and bottom-up planning and implementing process has benefited the poor a lot,”

Mr Duong Lai, Head of Program Management Board in Tra Kot Commune.

Program Development

Health

• Annual health-checks are provided to primary school children, monitoring their development and overall health. Follow-up treatment and care is provided when necessary.
• A network of nutrition collaborators has been established, providing peer education on child-care and nutrition to mothers of malnourished children.
• In collaboration with other NGOs a HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness raising campaign was launched for youths, encouraging lively discussions and information sharing, ensuring the district’s HIV/AIDs prevalence remains low.
• Construction of household and school latrines has enabled community members to improve their hygiene and sanitation practices.
• Installation of gravity-fed water systems has increased the community’s access to safe drinking water.

Agriculture

• Agriculture training on disease prevention, proper use of insecticides and fertilizers, and new farming techniques provides farmers with the necessary skills to improve their crop yields, in turn, increasing their incomes and providing families with nutritious food.
• Farmers receive training on improved agricultural techniques and have adopted the VAC model
• (gardening, fish rearing, and animal husbandry), and the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) method. These techniques assist farmers to improve the quality and quantity of crops they can produce, and enables households to diversify their incomes.
• Households receive small loans to start their own small gardens, improving their capacity to earn an income.

“Effective assistance of World Vision has taken my family out of poverty and hunger now.”

Ms.Nguyen Thi Lieu, a beneficiary in Tra Giac Commune.

Education

• WVV has set up adult illiteracy classes for poor adults, who often do not speak the national language and live in remote, mountainous areas. Using the Regenerate Freire Literacy Empowering Community Techniques (REFLECT) approach (developed by Action Aid), community members (primarily ethnic minorities) learn basic reading and writing skills, and receive training on a diverse range of life skills, such as safe motherhood, income generation, and agriculture development.

REFLECT links “the literacy process to a wider, poverty-focused and rights-based approach to development and change.”   Teachers experienced in community development use participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools to facilitate discussions. The purpose of these classes is to address the local people’s poverty-related needs, while improving their capacity to make positive changes to their own communes and hamlets. There are plans to integrate the REFLECT approach into other ADPs in the near future.

• Ethnic Minority children receive scholarships to attend school and are provided with school uniforms, alleviating the financial burden from their families.
• Construction of kindergarten and primary school classrooms, and the provision of essential equipment such as desks and chairs, provides safe and effective learning environments for school children.
• Teachers receive training on new teaching methods, increasing their professional skills and improving the quality of education taught at kindergarten and primary schools.
• Schools are financially supported to organize outdoor activities, giving primary, secondary and high school children the chance to further develop their co-ordination and literacy skills. Activities include: football games, music performances, literature workshops and handwriting contests.

Capacity building

• Hamlet facilitators receive training to improve their management skills and increase their capacity to organize and facilitate program activities. This participatory approach ensures community members are actively involved in the program, helping to build community ownership and sustainability of program activities.
• Training is conducted for district officers and commune leaders on gender issues. Women’s rights are discussed and promoted.