Changing lives

Vegetable seeds help us to recover after floods

"After the deadly floods in October 2010, the only way we could rebuild our livelihood was by planting vegetables", says Mr Khuong.

There were two deadly floods within weeks of each other, with devastating impact on Quang Binh Province. Challenge to Change received funds from Caritas Switzerland and Swiss Solidarity to support 1000 families with emergency supplies and enabling them to recover their livelihoods. Local fieldwork was carried out by a Vietnamese charity - the Association for Empowerment of People with Disabilities.

Storm-resilient housing in Quang Binh Province

Mrs Ton says:

"I lost three sons in 1968, during the American war. I have two daughters, but they are too poor to support me now."

"The terrible flood came in October last year. Before the flood, the poorest families were already living in the most vulnerable houses. I lived alone in a temporary house with a straw roof and no front-door. The flood washed away the soil floor and the little furniture that I had. I was hungry, when the water rose. It was the worst flood I'd ever seen."

Mr Thuan returns to Bo Trach District

I live on a plain, near the sea, in Hoan Lao Commune. I was born and raised in Phuc Trach village, about 7km from here. The way of life I knew in the past has vanished. We could cast a rod or better still a net into the water and haul it in full of climbing perch and other fish and shrimp. The roots of trees along the riverbank were spotted with shrimp and crab. Fishing boats went all the way from Ba Doon to Troc Market.

But now, after 25 years of army service, I’ve returned to find not a boat in sight, and the river dried up. In places where I used to swim, there is now only soil which seems almost exhausted.