Hàm Thuân Nam is situated approximately 200km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City. It has a large area of approximately 105,183 ha with a total population of 113,944 (2014 government survey). This is an agricultural area where dragon fruit is the principal crop and 80% of the people are farmers. The 2014 average income in this district of 1,991,600 VND (US$95.75) is well below the national average of approx. 3.8M VND (US$183) per month. Ham Thuan Nam project site currently providing over 630 poor households (March, 2017) with micro loans and other services in all 13 communes of this district.

Hàm Thuân Nam is a district with a big difference between those living in poverty and those considered to be well off. The latter have the capital to grow the renowned dragon fruit successfully, but there are many households still living in poverty with no capacity to sustain a reliable income. The ethnic minority peoples of Raglai, Cham, K’ho who often live in relatively isolated communes, represent almost 4.83% of the total population in Hàm Thuân Nam and are particularly prevalent to living below the poverty line.

Completing a school education is promoted and given a high priority by Thien Chi. Approximately 20% pupils ‘drop out’ before the end of grade 10, giving them little chance of a better future or lifting themselves above the poverty line. Hygiene in many schools is still insufficient. Some have no clean latrines, a well or access to a clean water supply. Some kindergartens still have no toilet facilities. Many people are still believed to be infested by worms, however, Thien Chi ‘s health & hygiene training is helping to alleviate this problem.. Thanks to our Integrated Approach, the risk of malaria and dengue fever has been significantly reduced with only a small number of ethnic minority villages still without mosquito nets.

Hàm Thuân Nam project site has a team of staff, village workers and community partners who know the area well and have a strong long term commitment to the region. We value our partnerships with the local People’s Committee, Women’s Union, Health and Education authorities in implementing successful projects in this district. Our major challenge is to increase the earning capacity of the extremely poor households who have insufficient resources to grow the profitable dragon fruit.