Ms Hoa extolled the fund as an instrumental in dragging poor rural women out of poverty. She said the fund will continue to benefit 52,000 disadvantaged women with some VND150 billion in soft loans by 2012.

The fund was founded in 1992 by a number of non-Governmental organizations both at home and abroad with the first 20 members in Minh Phu village, Soc Son district of Hanoi.

It has so far expanded to 21 branches in seven northern provinces and cities, and now boast of 25,000 members.

Over the past 15 years the fund has allocated VND62 billion with almost all borrowers clearing their debt on schedule. Over 47,000 women have been provided with life skills up to last September.

The fund has also brought better access to medical and educational services. As a result, 87 percent of its members have benefited from official healthcare networks and the rate of school goers among member families reached an impressive 94 percent.

The achievements were attributed to the efforts of foreign donors that include NGOs from Japan, the Asian-Pacific Development Centre (APDC), the German Savings Bank Sparkassen, the International Development Organisation (CIDSE), Oxfam-US, the International Labour Organisation in Vietnam, and Holland’s CORDAID.

To date foreign donors have poured almost VND35 billion into the fund.

To mark the occasion, the Vietnam Women’s Union presented the Insignia for the Cause of Vietnamese Women Advancement for Dr HenningOsthues Albrecht, President of the German Sparkassen Bank’s Management Board, for his contributions to promoting gender equality and women advancement in Vietnam.