A dry roof above your head and drinking water out of a well nearby is not natural in many villages we visit.
Streets to the villages are often not usable and bridges are under water in the rainy season, when the water level is high. Time and again children drown on their way to school.
In the hot climate of Vietnam artificial irrigation is needed to grow plants and fruits.
For this reason we try to bring drinking water to the people in the villages, by building wells. Wells in agriculture are substantial for independence, as they are necessary to grow vegetables in the dry season and serve the villages as an income base.
And regularly another bridge project is due, to build another “bridge into the light”, or the renewal of streets, to make the villages accessible at least with motorbikes. This makes it easier to supply basic goods to the villages and avoids migration of the poor people into a new uncertainty.
As the families migrate as day-laborers, uprooted from poverty, war and postwar period, buildings, which serve as meeting points, are often missing. The adaption or complete construction of Kindergartens and care for the children, while both parents are working (sometimes for just 15€ per month to make their living), helps to convince those families to settle down. We also support “roof-building programs” to improve the huts and after building a well for our kindergarten, we often observe that a real village comes into being. People settle down and start to make a living for their families.
Recently we have to deal with a new problem: Inflation and skyrocketing prices concerning food, construction-material and fuel. This is not a specific Vietnamese problem, but the expression of international food shortage, not only caused by weather or catastrophes, but also due to speculations on the commodity prices.
This new development strikes especially the poor people and creates a threatening life situation. We are asked to adapt our budget to this situation and request sustained donations for this reason.