Growing an independent income.
Samoueng has a physical disability and is also part of the group. She is 47 years old and lives with her husband and young daughter. She grows vegetables to feed her family and also sells some to earn a living. She is a mentor to younger women in the group.
“In the group we are like a family.“
“Previously there were a lot of discrimination in my neighbourhood and I was less confident, but with support from Vannet I became more and more confident and now I raise awareness in my community about disability.
“In the group, I like to support other women with disabilities. I also encourage them to be more confident and to be themselves, if they are afraid of something they can share with me and if I can help I will help.
“Vannet trained us on very useful topics like saving and financial literacy and she helps the group to support each other.
“I grow vegetables to feed my family and also for selling. I’ve been growing vegetables for around two years. I got some tips from a video on Facebook about using pipes and different techniques, then I asked for some funding from another organisation. I checked the criteria, and I asked them to pay for the tools so I can grow forever.
“Before this, I raised chickens, ducks and cows and also farmed in rice fields. But I couldn’t earn a lot of profit and it was very heavy labour. Now I’m older I want to grow vegetables because it’s easier.
“We just moved here about two years ago. We moved so we could have more land to grow vegetables on. And there’s no flooding here.
“Financial indepence is really important.
“Before I had to depend on my family and they did not allow me to travel anywhere, I had no freedom at all. After I got more knowledge and started earning my own income I became more independent and I can decide what I want to buy by myself. Now my family can depend on me.
“I want my group to be stronger and have more skills to get more income. And also to save more money. Right now we have a savings group, so if we earn more income we can save more. It helps us a lot when we become older and older we can save more money to live independently.”
Unlock Independence.
Support more disabled women in Samoeun’s community to earn an independent living.