A Field Visit by SRD Executive Director in Quang Tri Province

From October 6th to 7th, 2015, the executive director of the Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), Mrs. Vu Thi Bich Hop, had a field visit to Hai Lang and Gio Linh districts, Quang Tri province.
In the Hai Lang district, the executive director visited beneficiaries and support groups for the people with disabilities (PwDs). She was shown disaster preparedness kits and information warning systems in the area, and had a meeting with representatives from the district's People's Committee and the steering committee for the project "Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction for people with disabilities in Quang Tri Province" (coded VM053)

The Director visiting the household of Mrs. Le Thi Yen

The director visiting the households of the elderly and people with disabilities in key areas

At the meeting, the implementation of the project in recent years was discussed. The People's Committee and the steering committee expressed their appreciation for the relevance, effectiveness, and practicality of the project. Particularly they praised establishing PwDs and community support groups, organizing a village-level rehearsal for natural disaster prevention, installing information warning system, providing livelihood for poor and vulnerable households, and organizing capacity building activities for people in general and especially for those vulnerable in responding to natural disaster. According to the district's Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs department, 4,000 residents are the object of social policies, 1,133 of whom are PwDs. However, the project activities were only implemented in three communes. Therefore, the leaders of the district People's Committee expressed their desire for SRD and donors to consider further support for phase II of the project in order to help more PwDs and vulnerable people access and benefit from it while making the response to natural disaster activities more comprehensive with the participation of the community and people with disabilities. The People's Committee of the district and the communes committed to creating favorable conditions and being willing to closely coordinate with SRD to execute the project effectively and sustainably.

The director meeting with the leaders of the district People's Committee and the project steering committee

The executive director of SRD thanked the People's Committee and the communes for their cooperation and commitment. She said she will consider and discuss with the donor, Caritas Australia, the expansion of the project. She also expressed her concerns about the instability of the market price for chickens and pigs affecting stability, choosing livelihood models that are easy and sustainable for people with disabilities, and the difficulties in finding aid now that Vietnam is a middle income country.
In the Gio Linh district, the executive director of SRD participated in two events: the launching ceremony for a PwD club in the Trung Hai commune and a project launch for the workshop "Empowering people with disabilities" (VM054)
The launching ceremony for the people with disabilities club in the Trung Hai commune was lively and enjoyed the full participation of representatives from the Gio Linh People's Committee, leaders of departments in district communes, and 50 members of the club and their families. At the launching ceremony, the director shared her thoughts with people with disabilities and her wish that the club will be stable, maintained and developed along with clubs that were established and are currently operating in four other communes in phase I of the project.
In the afternoon of October 7th, 2015, the project launching workshop for VM054 was conducted in the People's Committee office of the Gio Linh district with the participation of over 40 delegates from the departments of the province-level and district-level, representatives of the People's Committee and the steering committee, and members of the PwD clubs of 5 project communes. At the workshop, the director signed a Memorandum of Understanding between SRD and the Gio Linh district's People's Committee on the cooperative implementation of phase II of the project funded by Caritas Australia. On behalf of SRD, she thanked and acknowledged the contribution of the district People's Committee and the relevant partners in recent years to the achievements of phase I. She also proposed an orientation for the next phase of the project in order to achieve effectiveness for people with disabilities in accordance with the project "Empowering people with disabilities".

The Director of SRD and the representative of the Gio Linh district's People's Committee sign the Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperative implementation of phase II of the project

-SRD-

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