The HCM City Women's Union plans to ensure that it will reach out to all poor women in the city with various kinds of support during the coming five years (2011-2016).

During this period, Women's Union chapters at the grassroots level will implement a movement to build families with five "nos" and three clean qualities.

The five "nos" are no poverty, no legal violation and social evils, no domestic violence, no third child and no malnourished children and school drop-outs. The three clean qualities are clean house, clean kitchen and clean lanes.

These are among the main targets set at the 9th Congress of the HCM City Women's Union held on Oct. 17.

Over the past five years, the city Women's Union has provided loans worth a total of 1.62 trillion VND (77 million USD) to help more than 230,400 women escape poverty, provided vocational training for more than 296,000 women and found jobs for 148,735 women, according to a 2006-11 report submitted to the congress.

The city Women's Union has also eliminated illiteracy among nearly 3,000 women and children and set up 206 groups and clubs against domestic violence.

Speaking at the congress, Le Thanh Hai, secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, praised the city Women's Union's achievements and asked it to continue in the same vein.

He also asked the city Women's Union to institute policies to train and develop a strong force of female officials in the city.

The municipal People's Committee is planning to grant 50 billion VND (2.3 million USD) to the union's Capital Aid Fund for Women in Economic Development, Hai said./.