Ms. Nguyen Thi Nu is a member and also a young cluster leader of the microfinance unit in Kim Dong district, Hung Yen province.

When I first met her, no one would think her situation was as hard and difficult as what she actually was going through.

She and her husband had been separated for nearly five years, and she plays a dual role for her two children. Her main job is working as a village nurse - giving daily nursing support to patients in neighboring communes. Her free time is spent taking care of her children and teaching them. In addition to her main job, she also carries the heavy workload of taking care of her family alone.

“If life wants to challenge me, there is no point in being sad. I need to be strong and optimistic to raise my children. I am not as lucky as other women to have the support of a husband, but I still have family and relative around me. Receiving microloans has helped me develop my sources of income and build a better life for my children and educate them,” she says.

 Story by Vũ Thành Dương, MFU Vietnam