Opportunities for sustainable poverty alleviation

(Baonghean)In 2013, many near-poor households in the province received great news when the loan program for near-poor households was implemented, with results showing that by the end of May, 13 districts, cities, and towns in the province had disbursed more than 20 billion VND.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Luyen's family, residing in Hamlet 2, Kim My, Nghi An Commune (Vinh City), is classified as near-poor and faces extremely difficult circumstances. Last year, her husband fell seriously ill, and she has three children who are still in school. Feeling hopeless and unsure how to stabilize their lives, Ms. Luyen received the good news from the head of the Kim My savings and loan group that her family could access a loan for near-poor households. Upon receiving the loan of up to 30 million VND from the Social Policy Bank, Ms. Luyen was overjoyed to the point of tears: “I am extremely grateful to the government for creating opportunities for near-poor households like my family to access this preferential loan to earn a living. My family has invested in buying a cow and a pig to develop livestock farming, which will both assist with plowing and provide some extra income to cover living expenses.”

The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Dan (Trung Tam hamlet, Nghi An commune) was formerly a poor household, but has recently moved from poverty to near-poverty. Ms. Dan's family is facing difficult circumstances; her husband passed away after suffering from a serious illness, leaving her to raise two children who have finished high school but are still unemployed. Ms. Dan is 64 years old, frail, and frequently ill, making her unable to run a market stall. "Now that the Social Policy Bank has approved a 20 million VND loan, I plan to buy a breeding cow to develop livestock farming, hoping to increase my income and improve my life," Ms. Dan explained.

The Social Policy Bank disburses credit funds to near-poor households in Nghi An commune, Vinh City.

Ms. Luong Thi Chuong, Chairwoman of the Women's Association of Nghi An commune, said: "The entire Nghi An commune has 71 near-poor households. In this first disbursement, 22 households received loans totaling 600 million VND. Previously, some households, upon hearing that they were eligible for loans, excitedly bought cows on credit to raise them while waiting for the funds to be disbursed. Currently, the lives of the local people are facing many difficulties due to low agricultural product prices, difficulty in selling, and unprofitable production. Women from near-poor households in hamlets such as Kim Trung, Kim Hop, Trung Tam, Kim Nghia… often run small businesses at the market to earn a living. Without capital to maintain production, the risk of falling back into poverty is very high. Therefore, the government's decision to provide loans to near-poor households is extremely meaningful."

As a district bordering Vinh City, Nghi Loc currently has over 6,200 near-poor households, with an estimated total capital requirement of over 100 billion VND for lending in the area. By the end of May, the Social Policy Bank of Nghi Loc district had disbursed 2.5 billion VND to 125 near-poor households, averaging 20 million VND per household. The loan capital was primarily invested in developing family livestock farming, initially creating jobs for a segment of rural laborers and contributing to social security in the area.

Currently, not only Nghi Loc and Vinh City, but also the districts of Nam Dan, Quynh Luu, Hung Nguyen, Tan Ky, Cua Lo town, and Quy Hop are disbursing funds for the program.

Mr. Hoang Son Lam, Head of the Credit Operations Department of the Social Policy Bank of the province, said: After the policy was announced, a review and statistical analysis revealed that the entire province currently has 108,573 near-poor households in need of loans, accounting for 14.6% of the total number of households in the province. The total capital needed to provide loans to near-poor households in the province is estimated at approximately 1,600 billion VND. The branch is requesting the central government to allocate 750 billion VND for implementation in 2013, meeting approximately 47% of the capital needs of near-poor households in 2013.

Recently, the Vietnam Social Policy Bank provided 70 billion VND to the Nghe An Social Policy Bank to provide loans to near-poor households. As of May 31st, 13 districts, cities, and towns in the province had disbursed over 20 billion VND under the credit program for near-poor households. Districts are actively disbursing this preferential capital to ensure it reaches these households as quickly as possible. People are very pleased to have access to this capital for investment in production and business development, as this policy truly meets their aspirations, supporting them in stabilizing their lives and moving towards prosperity and happiness.

Decision No. 15/2013/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister "on credit for near-poor households," effective from April 16, 2013, has become a new driving force in the sustainable poverty alleviation journey of the people, ensuring the effectiveness of social security work. This policy has opened opportunities for tens of thousands of poor households in the province to access capital for production and business, enabling them to improve their lives and achieve stability.

Text and photos: Quynh Lan