At a farm in Soc Trang (Photo: VNA) Funded by the central and local budgets, the money will be used to resolve theshortage of housing lands, housing, farming lands, and clean water for 4,500households.
It will also be used to build infrastructure for agriculture, invest ineducation, build boarding schools, and preserve the customs and culture of theKhmer.
The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province has the largest number of Khmer people inthe region and they make up 28% of its population.
Ly Rotha, head of the local Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, said theinvestment would help bridge the gap in living standards and incomes betweenthe ethnic group and the wider population.
In recent years the province has mobilised funds from various sources todevelop livelihoods and jobs and invest in infrastructure in Khmer areas,significantly improving the ethnic people’s lives.
It has given cash and gifts worth 40 billion VND (1.7 million USD) to ethnichouseholds during festivals and ceremonies this year, and provided soft loansworth 56 billion VND (2.4 million USD) for them to carry on agriculture or dobusiness, according to the committee.
In Tran De district, where more than 50% of the population is Khmer,infrastructure and social welfare projects have received a lot of investment,helping many households escape poverty.
It has gifted minority families health insurance cards, seedlings and animalsfor breeding.
Lam Sen of Tran De district’s Lieu Tu commune said he received 50 million VNF (2,100USD) from local authorities, which he augmented with 22 million VND (930 USD),to rebuild his dilapidated house.
“With the new house, my family feels secure.”
In Thanh Tri district, where the Khmer account for nearly 34% of thepopulation, their lives have improved because of the effective implementationof support policies.
Nguyen Thi Pha Ly in the district’s Hung Loi town has been given a soft loanfrom the province’s fund for supporting farmers to buy buffaloes for breeding.
Local authorities also gave her a cow for breeding.
With two buffaloes and cows each, she has managed to escape poverty, she said.
Lieu Trinh Huy, head of the district Ethnic Minority Affairs Board, said theshortage of housing land and houses for ethnic people would be resolved by2025.
The district also aims to train 50% of ethnic people of working ages invocational skills and provide 98% of ethnic people with health insurance by2025, he added.
Soc Trang hopes to reduce the rate of poverty among the Khmer by 3 – 4percentage points a year.
It has 9,900 poor Khmer households, or 9.8% of the total Khmer number,according to the local Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs./.
VNA
