Swedish fund for disabled women

Direct beneficiaries of the project Handicapped Women: Social Barriers and Integration Assistance Solutions are 30 handicapped women aged 14 to 30 years, from the Sponsoring and Job Creation Centre for Handicapped People and the Handicapped Sponsor Society.

Participant women will receive vocational training and career orientation, take part in a gender equality course and be eligible for capital assistance o­nce the program finishes.

The o­ne-year project, beginning o­n May 29, is implemented in District 3 and 11.

Addressing the launching ceremony held at Ton Duc Thang University’s Social Development Training Centre, Swedish Ambassador Anna Lindsted said gender equality is crucial to raising living standards, thus ensuring equal treatment for all.

Huynh Thi Ngoc, a 19-year-old trainee at HCM City Welfare Foundation for Disabled People and Orphans said she hoped to earn a stable job after joining the project, which would train her in tailoring and embroidery.

HCM City is now home to 37,680 handicapped people, 39.78 per cent of whom are women, who often face more social prejudices than men.

Statistics show that 30 per cent of handicapped women have never attended school, while 60 per cent have had to drop out due to difficulty and 73 per cent currently do not have work.

The Swedish Government has recently donated some US$40 million each year to Viet Nam-based projects relating to public administration, judicial reforms, private enterprise development, environmental protection and energy building among others.