25-years-old Nguyen Thi Thu Trang (lives in Thanh Oai, Ha Noi) owns an enterprise of herbal soap Don Hau. The small business, which receives free-interest loan from Thriive (the program managed by the Center of Development Economics, VNU University of Economics and Business) continuously organizes free vocational courses and donate their own products for the poor.
Thu Trang graduated from Foreign Trade University and did not have much experience in cosmetic chemistry, but with the huge love of nature and plants, together with the desire to provide society pure herbal products, she was self-tinkering and producing all kinds of bath soaps, hand-washing soap from locust, holy basil, mint etc.
Realizing that around Nam Son landfill, Soc Son district, there are many households who work as waste pickers, their income depends entirely on picking up valuable things on the landfill. This potentially dangerous job has been associated with decades of poor households in Bac Son commune, many people suffer from some skin infections, open wounds and respiration, Trang has awarded 20 gifts (herbal soap) for 20 poor households picking up garbage in Bac Son. In addition, Trang previously donated products of enterprises to a number of communes in Bac Ninh and Hung Yen, who mainly had poor sanitation.
The residents receive gifts from Don Hau company
As a household who worked as a waste picker for more than 10 years, Ms. Vu Thi Ha shared: Our daily work is exposure to rubbish, the body stinks, the hands and legs smudgs, sometimes we consciously pick up pieces of shard that is very dangerous to us. Today, being given Trang giving free bath soap, we were extremely excited because of social concern, although the gifts are small yet very meaningful. Previously, when we said that we were a waste picker, we were very timid because we thought it was a low-level job in society, now we all see that our profession is also very important so we feel much more confident.
In addition to offering products from June 2017, Ms. Trang also received free vocational training for 16 people without jobs and accepted them to work at businesses with a stable salary. Looking forward to becoming a "skillful worker" in the field of herbal soap production, Thu Trang actively learns some more knowledge classes on cosmetic chemistry, reading books and watching videos online to accumulate knowledge. .
Sharing with us about social activities, Vu Thi Thu Trang said: Although I only do small business, the profit is not much, but I like to do social activities, help the community. Every month, I extract a certain amount of products to give to those who have not good hygiene conditions, and I spend a part of profits to invest to research better products.
Ms. Tang Thi Nga, a trainee at the enterprise, said that: I was provided a vocational training that instruct us make herbal soap for free, and when i finished the course, I worked at the enterprise, although the salary was not high but the working conditions is safe and friendly . I and Ms. Trang often organize charity sessions to donate soap in many places where most people prefer to use it because of its long aromatic herbs.
With nearly 20 employees working at the enterprise and receiving free vocational training in the past 2 years, every action of Thu Trang has a feeling of love and compassion for the disadvantaged people in society, especially those with poor sanitation.
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