Humanitarian credit for those who have made mistakes.

Rebuilding lives thanks to policy-based capital.

Greeting us with a shy smile, his hands stained with grime from inspecting his truck ready for a new shipment, Huynh Trung Tu (born in 1989), residing in Minh Cau hamlet, Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop district), honestly shared that he had previously served a 7-year and 4-month prison sentence for "murder." Before that, driven by a desire to see his child and reconcile with his wife, which was rejected, and fueled by alcohol, Tu stabbed his wife and attempted suicide but failed. The fatal stab took his young wife's life, and Tu also paid the price before the law.

After serving his prison sentence and returning to the community, lacking capital to start a business and with young children of school age, the man faced many temptations in life. Fortunately, the local police and the village's credit and loan group provided information and advice on preferential loan policies under Decision 22/2023/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. Mr. Tú discussed with his family and applied for a startup loan to rebuild his life.

Ms. Tran Thi Lan, Head of the Credit and Loan Group in Minh Cau hamlet, Minh Hop commune, said: "As soon as the program was announced, we held a meeting of the hamlet's leadership committee and various organizations and associations to assess the criteria and conditions for Mr. Tu. Mr. Tu is a hardworking person, and his family strongly supported and guaranteed the loan, so the Group agreed to propose to the Commune People's Committee and the District Branch of the Social Policy Bank to grant Mr. Tu a loan of 100 million VND from the preferential credit source for those who have completed their prison sentences."

With the financial support he received, Mr. Tú purchased 60,000 acacia saplings to cultivate on his family's forest land. Once the acacia trees grew well, to earn extra income to support his children's education, Mr. Tú took on additional work as a truck driver, and his family's finances gradually stabilized.

Similarly, a moment of losing self-control led to Nguyen Cong Hoan (born in 1982), residing in Minh Kinh hamlet, Minh Hop commune, paying the price with a one-year prison sentence for "intentionally causing injury." At the time her husband received the sentence, his wife, Truong Thi Thanh Huyen, had to shoulder the family's financial burden, care for her elderly parents, and look after their three young children.

While serving his sentence at the Nghe An Provincial Police Detention Center, Mr. Hoan was informed by officers about the loan program. Upon his release, he immediately discussed it with his wife and prepared the application. The couple felt they had found a way out of their family's predicament. With an initial capital of 100 million VND, they borrowed an additional 10 million VND from relatives to purchase 65,000 acacia saplings and fertilizer for reforestation.

“We were so happy to get the loan, but we also felt pressured because the local community and the loan group had placed so much trust in us, and we were afraid of disappointing them if we couldn’t fulfill our obligations. Luckily, we received help from our neighbors, so now our 2 hectares of acacia trees have grown tall and green,” Ms. Huyen shared.

After planting the acacia trees on his family's hill, Mr. Hoan applied for a job as a construction worker. His wages were enough to cover his family's essential needs and pay the interest on his loan of 570,000 VND per month, and he even managed to save 100,000 VND through the village's Savings and Loan Group. Speaking with us, Mr. Hoan and his wife, Ms. Huyen, expressed their hope that after four years, with the income from the two hectares of acacia trees, their family would be able to repay the loan and have more capital to continue developing their economy.

These are just two of the 293 people who have completed their prison sentences in Nghe An province and received preferential interest rate loans. Thanks to this funding, many new opportunities have opened up for those who have made mistakes and returned home.

Preventing the risk of recidivism.

Nghe An province has a large number of people who have completed their prison sentences and returned home each year. However, the reality shows that those who have completed their sentences and returned still face many difficulties in reintegrating into the community, finding it hard to find work, and lacking the means to support themselves. This easily creates negative attitudes that lead them back to a life of crime.

Therefore, Decision No. 22/2023/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on credit for those who have completed their prison sentences ignites sparks of hope for a new life for those returning to their localities after serving their sentences. In that spirit, on November 14, 2023, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Plan No. 860/KH-UBND to concretize the humane and compassionate policies of the Party and State. The plan clearly assigns tasks to relevant agencies, departments, and units to assist those who have completed their prison sentences, as well as businesses employing former prisoners, in accessing loans for vocational training, production, business, job creation, stable livelihoods, reintegration into the community, and contributing to ensuring security, order, and socio-economic development.

Accordingly, those borrowing for vocational training can borrow a maximum of 4 million VND per month. For those who have completed their prison sentences and are borrowing for production, business, or job creation, the maximum loan amount is 100 million VND. Businesses employing former prisoners can borrow up to 2 billion VND per project and no more than 100 million VND per employee. The interest rate is the same as the interest rate for loans to poor households as stipulated in each period.

Based on that, police at all levels will be responsible for disseminating information about the policy to inmates currently serving sentences and those who have completed their sentences and meet the eligibility criteria. In particular, commune-level police will be the units directly responsible for compiling lists of eligible borrowers.

The credit and loan group, as well as the local commune-level authorities, will hold meetings to assess the criteria and conditions of applicants, and evaluate the feasibility of loan applications to ensure objectivity and that loans are granted to the right people. These are the "barriers" that help minimize potential risks in the process of providing loans to those who have completed their prison sentences.

Ms. Le Thi Minh, head of Minh Cau hamlet, Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop district), and a member of the Credit and Loan Group, said: “The government has shown concern and created good policies for those who have reformed, so there is no reason for us to abandon those who have served their sentences and returned. Especially, most of those who have returned to the locality are neighbors; some we consider like our own children or grandchildren. Not only do we regularly care for and visit them, but we also contribute our efforts to support and encourage them to develop their economy and stabilize their lives, thus reducing the risk of recidivism in the community.”

Reportedly, after more than a year of implementing the preferential credit program under Decision 22/2023/QD-TTg, by the end of November 2024, the branches of the Social Policy Bank and the district-level Social Policy Bank transaction offices in the province had processed loan applications for 293 customers with a disbursed amount of 26.5 billion VND.

Mr. Hoang Son Lam, Deputy Director of the Social Policy Bank branch, shared: “Having only been implemented for one year, it is still too early to assess the effectiveness of the models, but this is truly a practical program that helps those who have made mistakes overcome psychological barriers and create opportunities for them to rebuild their lives. Since its implementation, all loan customers have ensured timely interest payments and have monthly savings. The rigorous loan assessment process has contributed to demonstrating the effectiveness, feasibility, effort, and responsibility of the borrowers.”