Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) - In Vietnam, the indigenous people represent 14% of the population and the Mong is the largest and poorest ethnic group. The Catholic NGO Manos Unidas, along with other local organizations, has launched a number of initiatives in the north of the Country (the most mountainous area where there is the province of Hoa Binh, Phu Tho and Thai Nguyen), to try to improve the living conditions of approximately 2,000 farm families. These ethnic groups, marginalized and isolated, are in fact facing enormous difficulties to gain access to resources to which they are fully entitled and, if they succeed, the lack of training hinders its proper use. These people have limited access to the recognition of land ownership, credit and public services such as education and health and their livelihood is based on natural resources, they plant rice and corn on terraced fields. They also cultivate medicinal plants and linen. However, the benefits of the land is decreasing; deforestation and erosion increase the vulnerability towards natural disasters. In addition, land and the great forests for the natives are not only a source of life, but the places where their ancestors and their divinities lived. The remote location and traditions are a major obstacle to their integration into the market economy and the various opportunities for development, although at the same time, these traditions and habits help them to keep certain areas that ensure environmental sustainability. With their project, Manos Unidas and its local partners have chosen to maintain the value and traditions of these groups, and respect for nature basing their bet on sustainable development, which supports grassroot communities. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 12/09/2014)
