"Midwife" for the poor
Although not born in Anh Son, he considers it his second home, where he has worked for nearly 20 years, sharing meals, living, and concerns with the farmers. His name is well-known in Anh Son, and many call him the "midwife" of the poor. He is Doan Ngoc Thin, Party branch secretary and director of the Anh Son branch of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank.
(Baonghean)Although not born in Anh Son, he considers it his second home, where he has worked for nearly 20 years, sharing meals, living, and concerns with the farmers. His name is well-known in Anh Son, and many call him the "midwife" of the poor. He is Doan Ngoc Thin, Party branch secretary and director of the Anh Son branch of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank.
For nearly 20 years, in his capacity as CEO, Mr. Thin, along with the staff of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank of Anh Son district, has contributed to changing the lives of many farmers in Anh Son. Eighteen years ago, when he took on the role of Party Secretary and Director of the Anh Son Branch of the Agricultural Bank, he spent three months visiting the grassroots level to understand the specific economic circumstances of the households. For households with outstanding loans, he visited their homes to verify the debt, assess the quality of the loan, work with local authorities, and find reputable and responsible individuals to strengthen the team of savings and loan group leaders.
There were times when the bank faced manpower shortages. While implementing numerous loan programs, the newly recruited young staff lacked experience in financial management and communication, so Mr. Thin had to participate in transactions to guide and supervise the work of the credit officers. At times, he directly participated in mobile transaction teams, acting as a cashier to disburse loans like a regular employee. Only when things gradually stabilized did he focus on management. He recalled: "Back then, every time I went to disburse loans to borrowers in remote villages like Thanh Son, Binh Son, Tho Son, and Tam Son, there were times I had to ask the villagers to carry me and my motorbike across the stream because the water was flowing too fast to cross. The bank had scheduled the disbursement for the villagers, so no matter how difficult it was, I and the credit officers had to go."
Mr. Doan Ngoc Thin.
Thanks to those arduous and challenging days, Mr. Thin successfully delivered capital to the right recipients. Each year, over 5,000 farming households in Anh Son district access credit from the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank. Many households, thanks to these loans, have invested in production development, risen out of poverty, and become wealthy in their homeland.
It can be said that, with the timely guidance of the Party branch secretary and director Doan Ngoc Thin, the loan capital from the Anh Son branch of the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank has contributed to reducing the poverty rate in the district from 30% (in 2007) to 17.6% (in 2012) according to the new criteria. The lives of the people and the face of rural areas in Anh Son have undergone many noticeable changes. Currently, the bank has thousands of loan customers, with over 300 mutual aid groups acting as intermediaries to deliver capital to individual households. The main lending sectors are agricultural production, livestock farming, farms, and agricultural tools.
Director Doan Ngoc Thin is a person who wholeheartedly cares for others, both in his work and in his life, and he is always thrifty. Thanks to this, the unit saves tens of millions of dong annually to visit and encourage families of staff and employees facing difficulties, and to visit and give gifts to dozens of families receiving government assistance, poor families, single-parent families, victims of Agent Orange, and underprivileged students who overcome difficulties...
Party Branch Secretary and Director Doan Ngoc Thin has steadily steered the Anh Son District Agricultural and Rural Development Bank from an underdeveloped branch to a leading institution in the North Central region, receiving a commendation from the Government in 1999; it was the first unit in the banking sector nationwide to be awarded the title of "Cultural Unit," with its Party branch achieving outstanding performance for 17 years and exemplary performance for 13 consecutive years.
Mr. Thin himself has been recognized as an outstanding party member for many years, and he has been honored with numerous commendations from the Prime Minister, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, and the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province.
Diep Anh (Anh Son District Party Committee)
