Challenges to Rural Poverty Reduction in Viet Nam - Oxfam Blogs

Participatory poverty monitoring in rural communities in Viet Nam
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on agricultural extension). A Community Learning Centre has a director (often a
commune vice chairperson in charge of cultural-social affairs) and 1-2 deputy directors
(teachers or full time officers). Community Learning Centres are operational under the
management of the commune People’s Committee, and professional guidance from the
District Education and Training Division.
At the monitoring points, some Community Learning Centres have made some
improvements in their activities in the last five years. According to assessments in
2007, Community Learning Centres at the monitoring points operated ineffectively and
in a formalistic way due to lack of funding, poor facilities and no specific plans of action.
But in the 2008-2011 period, in some areas implementing Reflect Project - Literacy and
community development funded by ActionAid (in Thuan Hoa-Ha Giang, Thanh Xuong-
Dien Bien, Duc Huong-Ha Tinh, Cu Hue-Dak Lak and Thuan Hoa-Tra Vinh), Community
Learning Centres are linked to Community Development Clubs with an aim to increasing
the role and activities of Community Learning Centres, while enhancing the possibility
of sustaining clubs. At present, these Community Learning Centres play the focal point
role in collecting learning needs from community/clubs to be incorporated in their plans
of action, or transferred to relevant agencies (such as agricultural extension, health,
education...). Activities of Community Learning Centres considered effective include:
organization of trainings on livestock breeding, cultivation, gender equality, HIV/AIDS
prevention; support to members of clubs and interest groups to access revolving funds
from Micro Credit Funds.
In addition to the Community Learning Centres mentioned above, activities of the
remaining Community Learning Centres at the monitoring points (Ban Lien-Lao Cai, Luong
Minh-Nghe An, Xy-Quang Tri, Phuoc Dai and Phuoc Thanh-Ninh Thuan) in the last five
years are in general rather weak, just stopping at some activities such as communication
and dissemination of knowledge. Current biggest difficulties and challenges to effective
activities of Community Learning Centres include:
• Lack of proper care and direction from local Party committees and authorities.
• Activities of Community Learning Centres are not yet incorporated in the
commune plans of activities. Therefore, in the annual socio-economic
development planning and budgeting, most of the communes have not yet paid
attention to planning activities for Community Learning Centres and including
them in the corresponding budget lines, thus fund is not allocated to activities
of these centres 14 .
• Community Learning Centres are currently not considered a focal point in
implementing related local communication, training and livelihoods support
activities. Functional agencies and projects continue to carry out activities on
their own channels, without coordination with Community Learning Centres.
Legal Aid
In the last five years, legal aid has been implemented in surveyed sites through various
channels (by the commune judicial committee) and Programmes 135 and 30a 15 . People’s
needs for legal aid often concentrate on areas like land, marriage and family, prevention
of domestic violence and adoption of children...
14 Under Circular 96/2008/TT-BTC dated 27/10/2008, Community Learning Centres are provided once
with VND30 million at inception. Centers established in ethnic minority and mountainous communes receive
VND20 million/year for Category I communes and VND25 million/year for Category II and III communes.
15 Decision No. 112/2007/QĐ-TTg dated 20 July 2007 and Decision No. 52/2010/QĐ-TTg dated 18 August
2010 of the Prime Minister