The bamboo knitting craft village in Trà Cú District’s Đại An Commune in Trà Vinh Province. The village produces tens of thousands of bamboo products annually and provides livelihoods to hundreds of Khmer people. — VNA/VNS Photo Phúc Thanh

TRÀ VINH — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Trà Vinh has earmarked VNĐ626 billion (US$27 million) this year for socio-economic development activities to improve the lives of ethnic groups, mostly Khmer.

The money, mobilised from Central and local budgets and other sources, will be used for 10 projects under a national socio-economic development programme for ethnic groups and mountainous areas.

It will be used to provide ethnic people with housing and farming lands, power, water, education, resettlement options, healthcare, and other basic services, and preserve their traditional cultures in combination with tourism development.

This year the province will provide housing lands to 40 ethnic households and houses to 525 others, and help 275 households switch to other livelihoods to improve their incomes.

It will also supply clean water to 38 households living in remote areas, build two water supply works, establish a herbal medicine growing area in Trà Cú District, support start-ups, and create jobs and improve incomes for 60 per cent of ethnic people.

It will build 58 new infrastructure works for agriculture, build a new market and upgrade an existing one in Cầu Kè District, and upgrade four markets in Cầu Ngang District.

The markets are in areas where ethnic people predominate.

It will upgrade six ethnic boarding schools and improve the skills of their teachers and managers, and upgrade sports and cultural houses in ethnic-dominated areas.

Last year the province spent more than VNĐ61 billion ($2.6 million) on the national programme, helping 212 Khmer households switch livelihoods, starting water supply to 294 ethnic households living in remote areas, and asphalting 31km of rural roads.

Lê Văn Hẳn, chairman of the province People’s Committee, said two communes of Ngãi Xuyên and Hàm Giang in Trà Cú District, were removed from the list of those in “extremely difficult” circumstances last year.

Two hamlets, Ô Kà Đa in Châu Thành District’s Phước Hảo Commune, and Trà Cú C in Trà Cú District’s Kim Sơn Commune, also made an exit, he said.

Khmer make up 62 per cent of Trà Cú District’s population.

The province had 6,581 poor ethnic households at the start of last year for a 3.91 per cent poverty rate.

Of them, 2,218 escaped poverty last year.

The province has a population of more than one million, with Khmer people accounting for 31 per cent.

Thạch Thị Sua, a Khmer in Là Ca A Hamlet in Cầu Ngang District, received a soft loan of VNĐ15 million ($640) meant for near-poor households last year to buy a cow for breeding.

She now has two calves and a cow.

Besides breeding cattle, she grows and sells water morning glory and knits bamboo products for the Là Ca A Hamlet Bamboo Knitting Product Women’s Group in her free time.

Thạch Hồng Vũ, secretary of the hamlet Party cell, said the lives of Khmer people in the hamlet have improved in recent years.

“Khmer households actively participate in the hamlet’s programmes.”

Là Ca A has achieved recognition as a “Cultured hamlet,” he added. — VNS