This project will establish a training centre and enable 20 at-risk single mothers to train in traditional Vietnamese naturopathic therapies and beautician skills, and find work in one of many local spas. This will enable them to escape dangerous family situations while still having the ability to financially support themselves and their children.
In traditional Vietnamese culture, when women get married they take on the burden of housework, cooking and caring for their in-laws’ family. Women are usually forced to give up the freedoms, hobbies and even clothes they loved in their pre-married life. These unequal power dynamics often lead to women being verbally and emotionally abused, with domestic violence very common.
Women who make the decision to leave these situations of abuse, particularly if they have children, are stigmatised by their families and society at large. This is due to the cultural taboo of divorce and mothers who escape are usually cut off financially due to the perceived shame they cause their families.
An essential way for these women to create stability for themselves and their children, is to obtain a reliable income from safe and rewarding work. By supporting this project, you will establish a training centre and ensure 20 women learn specialised skills over a six month period to become beauty therapists and/or traditional herbalists/naturopaths depending on their skills and preferences.
20 at-risk mothers will develop mastery of a skill they are passionate about and receive support to find opportunities to earn an income utilising their skills. This will give them the opportunity at financial independence from their abusive families, making it possible to leave and still support their children.
Each mother's child will have the chance at a safe life, free from violence, and daughters will have a role model who can show them that it is possible to gain economic independence and not just rely on men for their survival.
Each Just Peoples project is led by a local project leader from the country of implementation who designs and delivers the project alongside the local community. All Just Peoples project leaders are part of a global community of 15 project leaders who are all tackling poverty in their local communities and share learnings between them.
Hong Tang, the Vietnamese project leader who will deliver this project, is a single mother herself and has committed her life to supporting other mothers to escape abusive homes, address their psychological trauma and become financially independent. She has established a community of 34,000 single mothers across the country who support each other and designs her projects based on the most pressing needs and challenges they face.
Those interested in funding this initiative have the opportunity to meet directly with Hong, via video call. They'll be able to learn more about the local context for single mothers in Vietnam and determine whether supporting this project will help them meet their goals of contribution.
Following the delivery of this training, the project funder will have the opportunity again to meet directly with Hong to learn from her reflections about the impact that the initiative has had for the at-risk mothers and their families.
We believe in a world without poverty. Where people have the power to solve their own problems, their own way.
We believe that real, sustainable change comes about when people are given the resources to lift their own communities out of poverty. We tackle global poverty by supporting grassroots leaders to design and deliver locally appropriate solutions to the challenges their communities face. Just Peoples currently has 16 Project Leaders from across Africa, Asia and Mexico who are bringing to life a wide-range of projects based on delivering health, education, technological and economic outcomes for people living in poverty. The majority of our projects are designed and delivered by women and/or for women as we believe that supporting women around the world to step into their power is one of the most effective ways to change the trajectory for entire communities. Our Project Leaders are effective because they have a deep understanding of the local context of poverty in peoples’ lives, and have established respected relationships in their communities. Their insight and expertise make them the best people to understand problems, and implement lasting changes that work. So far we have delivered 125 grassroots projects globally, impacting the lives of over 100,000 people living in 13 countries around the world.
It is what the MCC groups are all about: men being accountable for learning about and responding to inequality and, importantly, supporting women who have been leading the charge for decades. Like many men, I am a newcomer to these issues and am learning as I go.
Also known as Australian Women Donors Network (ABN: 28 141 197 471), Australians Investing in Women is a registered charity endorsed by the Australian Tax Office as a deductible gift recipient (DGR1) under a special listing, all donations over $2 are tax deductible.