Thien Chi

Hàm Thuận Nam

The Hàm Thuận Nam area

Hàm Thuân Nam is probably the poorest district of the province, except for the few communes along the beach: it counts several communes with poor ethnic minorities, one of which is at the end of a difficult road in the mountain and across rivers.

The total population is 93.000, of which 10% are very poor, after the recent government survey . The average income is 271$, half the national average. This is an agricultural area, 97% of the people are farmers.

Primary schools count 11.431 pupils, with 635 teachers. Approximately 30% pupils drop out before the end of grade 10, they will have little chance to lift themselves above the poverty line.

Hygiene in schools is minimal: less than a fifth have latrines, 10% have a well. Only 15% households have a water filter. Most people are believed to be infested by worms. The region is still infested by malaria, but 10% households do not have mosquito nets

No other NGO operates in the area and this was confirmed by our field survey. Thiên Chí is confident the information collected is of very good quality as 3 of its senior staff worked in the district before (1993-1996), and they are all from the provincial town, only 30 km away.