Pham Cong Chuan, head of the cooperative and also founder of the Hy Vong network, a group of people living with HIV/AIDS in Thai Binh province, said this was an important decision. Friday’s launch also included the opening of the cooperative’s garment workshop for HIV/AIDS victims to learn vocational skills.
“From now on, people living with HIV/AIDS can feel more self-confident and be able to live with more responsibility in their lives”, said Chuan.
Established in 2006, the network aims to help people who have recently contracted HIV/AIDS by advising them on options for treatment while also training cooperative members to carry out HIV/AIDS prevention activities.
The Hy Vong Cooperative, which has a total of 255 members in four our of the province’s five districts, runs a US$14,000 fund that provides micro-credit loans for economic development to households with HIV/AIDS victims.
“We plan to train at least 30 skilled members and provide micro-credit loans to 50 others by the end of this year,” said Chuan. “The help is focused on the poor, ill and unemployed.”
The cooperative is part of a 2-month project on innovative approaches to social protection and empowerment for HIV/AIDS victims in rural areas, funded by the Bread for the World Organisation (BftW) through the Centre for Community Health and Development (COHED).
The project aims to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV/AIDS in Thai Binh province through the promotion of positive living and efficient community-based models for expansion of livelihood choices.
Director of COHED Dao Thi Mai Hoa said the cooperative will provide people suffering from HIV with the chance to have a better social position in the community and the ability to sign civil contracts.