Samaritan's Purse is giving families a sustainable way to live and grow through livestock and poultry.
In one village in northern Vietnam, harsh, mountainous terrain, cold winters, and flash floods prohibit people from growing and sustaining crops or finding adequate grazing land to raise livestock to provide daily food.
These factors, along with limited knowledge of modern farming and livestock practices, contribute to a cycle of generational poverty that seemed unbreakable for years. But through a Samaritan’s Purse program, families in this isolated community are given a practical hope for a sustainable future.
In remote corners of Vietnam, chickens and cows provided by Samaritan’s Purse give families an opportunity to earn a consistent income as their flocks and herds grow.
One Father’s Story of Transformation
Lang, a young husband and father who’s called this picturesque corner of Vietnam home his entire life, was acquainted with a harsh reality each year as his rice and sweet potato crops would fail in the winter due to floods or a lack of resources.
He’s also always wanted cattle to support his family, but could never afford it or sustain a herd.
“In the area where I live, the winter is cold and there is no grass for the livestock,” Lang said. “I didn’t know how to solve that issue. My family used to raise two buffalo … but I was not equipped for building a shed or taking care of them.”
Lang, right, unloads his 40 chickens in a coop he built near his house. Both the poultry and the supplies to build the coop were provided to the young father by Samaritan’s Purse.
Samaritan’s Purse teams approached Lang in his village and provided him with an adult cow and a calf, 40 chickens, grass seedlings, 220 pounds of chicken feed, and financial support and education to build a shelter for his new animals. We also trained him on livestock husbandry—such as disease treatment and feed preparation—as well as how to manage the growing assets.
“When we received the chickens and the cows, the whole family was very happy,” Lang said. “My wife and children now go out every day to check, care for, and feed the cows and chickens very carefully.”
Tarps and the resilient grass seedlings that Lang received through the program ensure that his new animals will make it through the winter months ahead, healthy and warm.
These children help to take care of their new animal friends.
A Simple Gift Brings Lifelong Blessings
Lang’s is one of 50 families to receive cows and poultry through this Samaritan’s Purse project in their small community. Egg incubators, heating bulbs, and animal mineral stones were also distributed to families to help them build a flock and raise healthy cows.
Something simple such as cows and chickens changed Lang’s life and supported his family for the future.
Cows were distributed to 50 families at a recent dedication ceremony in Lang’s remote village in northern Vietnam.
“As a result [of the supplies and training provided by Samaritan’s Purse], the livestock have grown well—the cow is now much healthier and bigger than before, and the hens have laid 40 eggs,” Lang said. The father says he’s used the eggs to feed his family, providing essential nutrition for his two children who are 6 and 8 years old.
In follow-up visits by Samaritan’s Purse staff specialists, several cows in the community are now pregnant and over 1,000 eggs have been laid, giving families both a daily meal and a consistent source of income.
One Project Among Many
Samaritan’s Purse works in rural, ethnic-minority villages, such as Lang’s, across Vietnam through social and economic programs that integrate livelihoods, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), and nutrition solutions at both school and community levels.
“If things continue to go well,” Lang said of his new animals, “the cows and chickens will become a real opportunity for our family to move up.”
Please pray for Lang and the dozens of other families in his small village in Vietnam as their herds of cows and flocks of chickens continue to grow.
These chickens and cows bring a palpable hope to families in Vietnam. Pray for safety and health as their flocks and herds multiply.
