Mrs. Sita Hara, founding member and coordinator of the women association cum member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, shared that since joining the association, local Cham women have had opportunities for meetings and exchanges, contributing to enhance their understanding and life skills for improving their lives, families and local communities. Especially, they have set up funds for mutual assisting disadvantaged members to overcome economic hardships.

The association also set up a women group for each mosque for better coordinating activities in local areas; each group has from 20 to 30 Muslim women with a team head and assistant who voluntarily work without pay. The women association currently has 384 members from nine Islamic mosques in communes of Chau Phong, Khanh Hoa, Nhon Hoi, Khanh Binh and Da Phuoc.

 At an exchange meeting of Cham women model

Operative for only 10 months, the Cham women association has set up regulations, and joining members voluntarily and monthly contribute 10,000 VND for each member.

With the monthly contribution from members, the women association has bought and sent 10kg of rice to from 15 to 20 disadvantaged people in each Islamic mosque, with priority given to the elderly, orphans and poor locals. From the fund raised, the Cham women association also sent relief support to poor patients and victims of sudden and unfortunate circumstances, each with 10kg of rice and some cash, from one to two million VND (depending on actual situation).

In addition, in the traditional New Year (Tet) 2020, the women association also paid charity visits to poor locals and presented Tet gifts, as well as sold old clothes with cheap price for successfully raising additional funds used for bringing warm celebrations of Tet to disadvantage locals.  

Mrs. Rophyah, member of the Cham women association shared that at first she fell shy when joining the Muslims women association; later she became more confident and active, and fell “activities helping poor Cham people very meaningful, which led to even closer attachment to and more active involvement in the women association”.

 Cham women present gift to an elderly.

Ven. Haji Jacky, Chairman of the representative committee of the Cham Islamic community in An Giang informed that, since its establishment last year, the Cham women association in An Giang has always been proactive in helping poor and disadvantaged people, and the Islamic representative committee would launch further practical projects in the coming time for assisting the less fortunate to overcome difficulties in their daily life.

PTT