Dreaming of Pigs

Written by: Vi Van Thuan – Education Project Assistant, Quan Hoa ADP

While many young people in both urban and rural areas believe a university education is the key for their future, 17-year-old Ha Thi Thu nurses a different dream at home in her poor mountainous village.

“I want to make my pigsty bigger for a large number of sows in the future,” she said, speaking at her house in Quan Hoa district in the northern province of Thanh Hoa.

After finishing secondary school, the teenage girl could not continue her education at university because her family was too poor to pay for it. However, instead of feeling sorry for herself, she has decided on her path in the future: raising sows.

After attending a World Vision event offering vocational guidance for local young people, Thu decided to join a training course on raising sows, also organised by the organisation.

After one month, Thu had learned the basic techniques needed to raise healthy sows. At the end of the course, all 15 of the participants, including Thu, were given one sow each to start their smallholdings.

“Since attending the training class, Thu has helped me a lot in looking after our pigs,” her mother, Ms Ha Thi Luyen, said. “None of them gets sick now and they’re all growing faster than before.”

“Apart from the pig that World Vision gave to us, we also bought six piglets using some of our savings,” Ms Luyen continued. “My daughter has taken care of all of them and we sold the ones for pork after three months. We’ve used some of the profit for our daily expenses and the rest to buy seven new piglets,” Thu’s mother added.

Thu’s family’s living conditions have improved now that her pigs are proving to be a promising and sustainable source of income.

“We don’t have to borrow money from our neighbours to buy rice anymore,” Thu said. “My family has also just bought a new TV, so I don’t have to go to my friends’ to watch it anymore. We now have meat to eat every day and my mum’s even bought some new clothes for me.”

After closing Thu’s class, World Vision opened a similar training course for 70 more young people in 2013.

“Raising pigs is suitable for local families because they usually have pigs already that generate income,” said Nguyen Van Do, Head of the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. “However, most of them aren’t aware of the effective methods of raising their animals. That’s why the World Vision training is so important in increasing locals’ incomes.”