SP for informal workers The project "Improved informal migrant workers ability in access to better and fairer social protection" will be implemented by  the Institute for Development and Community Health- LIGHT in 4 wards of Hoan Kiem and Thanh Xuan districts of Ha Noi city.

The project will use one of the success models supported by LIGHT recent years -self-help group and peer educators- as a ground to gather and empower informal workers, especially women. Self-help group is a group of informal worker aimed at empowering informal worker and networking them for a collective and unique voice to claim their right and get sustainable income and decent work. It has its own leaders and operation mechanism designed by all members and plays a role as a platform for informal worker to share information and experience on health, psychology, employment, legal regulations, social protection, economic activities...  To ensure the sustainabilityand effectiveness of the groups, all leaders are equipped and trained on group management, resource mobilization, policy advocacy, decent work and promising earning income activities... These group are also linked together under policy advocacy activities and sharing workshop of group leaders. This model was built up by LIGHT from 2013 among street vendors and waste collectors in Ha Noi city
Nowadays, the number of self-help group has reached to 13 groups with 203 members and 20 leaders. All of the leaders are female and informal workers. 100% of those groups have jointly carried out policy advocacy campaigns at local level.

The project, therefore, will continue to expand this model among street vendors and waste collectors and expand to other kind of informal workers such as part-time domestic workers and workers at service entertainment, and connect them under a network of informal workers with jointly advocacy activities and sharing workshop of group leaders. This network will continue to be connected to other network of migrant workers that supported by other M.net members through jointlyproject run by M.net and create a unique network for all migrant workers for stronger voice and collective actions to claim migrant workers# right. The project also strengths those group through improving jointly activities on policy advocacy, and sustainability economic activities. In additional, for deeper mainstreaming gender equality and closing gender gaps, the project will poor into the existing model training course on gender equality for group leaders and members and support group#s initiatives for improving gender equality among members.

For further organized and networked of informal workers, the project will try to get officially recognition of association of informal workers. Currently, there is any association of informal worker in Vietnam. Some groups of informal workers has been established scattered somewhere but has not been connected and has been officially recognized by authorities. The project will start its effort with a research include both desk review and consultation with authorities, CSOs, informal workers to find out a best promising model of association for informal workers. This model will be support to pilot at 2 districts and documented as evidence-based for an advocacy for official recognition of association for informalworkers.

It is clear that the voice of informal worker will be higher if authorities understand and support for informal and women migrant workers. Therefore, at the same time with empower and network informal worker to claim their right, the projectalso influence authorities - raising their awareness gender equality, issues of migrant workers, women workers on accessing social protection; facilitate the connection between them and informal and women workers.

Supportive environment plays an important role in improving access to social protection of informal and women workers. The project, therefore, will focuses on key stakeholders who are already work for informal and women migrants (Light, Women#s Union) and who have great position to make influence such as mass organizations, mass media to improve the quality of supportive environment for accessing to social protection of informal and women migrant. To build capacity of those stakeholders, the project will use 2 key interventions includes: training course to improve their knowledge; support them to participate in local, national and regional workshops/sharing/learning activities; advocate and support them pilot specific efforts on improving access to social protection.

Because of limited resources and based on situation analysis, advocacy and support stakeholders pilot specific efforts on improving access to social protection is identified with 3 specific topic, includes: (1)Advocate and support mass organization (WU/Youth Union) pilot counselor points that give advice for informal and women migrant on social protection and (2) Support the specific newspaper column for informal and women migrant and (3) Advocate and supportmass organization (WU/Youth Union) pilot association model for informal migrants.They are also designed based on the advantage of mass organization - the social and political organizations who are supported by Government. These organization have very strong system with their branches at all level and in all over the country.

Project objective: Migrant workers, especially informal and women workers, are empowered to claim their better and more equal access to social protection

RESULT 1: Informal workers, especially women, are organized and networked to claim their rights
outputs of result 1:
Output 1. Self-help group leaders are able to maintain and develop their groups
Output 2. Self-help groups are able to design and implement initiatives on policy advocacy and decent work for informal workers
Output 3. At least5initiatives to promote social protection or gender equality are identified and agreed for joint actions of self-help groups

interventions of result 1:
Building capacity for group leaders on group management, resource mobilization, advocacy
Building capacity for group leaders on gender equality and women#s right
Sharing and networking with other group leader(both internal and external group that are supported by Light)
Support initiatives designed by self-help group

RESULT 2: Informal and womenmigrants# opinion/view on existing law and policy related to social protection are visible in law and policy making process

Outputs of result 2:
Output 1. Awareness of authorities on gender equality, social protection for informal and women migrantworkers are improved
Output 2. Authorities are engaged in advocacy campaign for informal and women migrant workers
Output 3. At least 5 recommendations on access to social protection of informal and women migrants workers are taken into account and discussed by policy makers

Interventions of result 2:
Video and photos book on informal and women migrant workers.
Raising awareness events
Field trip/survey for authorities.
Talk show
Desk review and consultation with informal and women migrants about existing social protection policies
Consultation workshop with experts, relevant stakeholders.
Policy brief
National workshop
Policy dialogue
Communication campaign

IRESULT 3: Light alliance with mass organizations and mass media in support of informal and women migrant workers accessing to social protection is improved

Outputs of result 3:
Output 1. At least 70% of staffs of Light, 50% leaders of Hanoi WU, and WU in HoanKiem and Hoang Mai district, 20 journalists, have good knowledge onaccessing to social protection
Output 2. At least 15 counselor points that give advice to informal and women migrant workers on social protection are established and maintained by mass organization
Output 3. At least 8 articles published in the specific newspaper column for informal and women migrant
Output 3. Association of informal workers ran/supported by mass organization is established in at least 1 district

Interventions of result 3:
Training for Light#s staff, mass organizations# staff and journalists on social protection for informal and women migrants
Advocate and support mass organization (WU/ Youth Union) pilot counselor points that give advice for informal and women migrant on social protection
Supportspecific newspaper column for informal and women migrant
Advocate and support mass organization (WU/ Youth Union) pilot associationmodel for informal migrants