Stieng ethnic villagers exchange tokens for food with Divine Providence sisters at the convent. (GSR photo)
Several Sisters of Divine Providence are working to sustain impoverished ethnic villagers in the Binh Phuoc Province, bordering Cambodia.
The province is home to some 41 ethnic minority groups, totaling about 185,000 people, or one-fifth of the Binh Phuoc population, according to the People's Public Security Newspaper. Most ethnic villagers live in poverty due to having no farmland or education.
Few villages have resident priests or churches, and the area is seen as open to evangelization.
Three Divine Providence sisters have been working with Stieng ethnic villagers in An Khuong Parish in the Hon Quan District since last August when they built a convent. The parish has 700 Catholics among the population of about 7,000.
Many villagers live on incomes of $31-44 per month and suffer starvation, according to 2016 government statistics.
