Health in a bucket for Ho Thi Mun

Like others in her village of Xa Vy in Quang Tri province in Vietnam, Ho Thi Mun depends on farming for her income.

When a series of tropical storms brought flooding and landslides last fall, the 71-year-old widow, who lives with her two daughters and their children, lost many rice plants and over 50 earleaf acacia trees.

When the floodwaters receded, Mun and her family faced one of the biggest after-flood issues–poor hygiene and sanitation conditions.

After many days living without clean water for washing or bathing, while being financially and physically exhausted because of three consecutive storms, they received a hygiene kit provided by CARE in collaboration with the Humanitarian Coalition and the government of Canada.

The kit included a plastic bucket, laundry soap, shampoo, bathing soap, sanitary pads, toothpaste, clean towel, tissue paper and face masks.

According to Mun, the hygiene kit was as valuable as receiving cash. With those supplies, she says her family was able to face the most difficult period in the first two months after the flood.