The collapse of a savings scheme in a poor village brings belated tears to the people.

(Baonghean.vn) - In recent days, hundreds of poor people in Thanh My commune, Thanh Chuong district, have been weeping uncontrollably as their hard-earned money, invested in informal lending schemes, has vanished right before their eyes.

Nghe An: Hundreds of people in panic due to collapsed savings scheme.

Visiting Thanh My commune in Thanh Chuong district amidst the scorching dry season of Nghe An province, one would find that when the topic of failed informal lending schemes came up, dozens of locals rushed forward to share stories of families whose schemes had collapsed, and the heartbreaking hardships they faced as they painstakingly saved every penny to contribute to these schemes.

The house of loan shark Tran Thi Oanh has been locked for several days. Photo: Ngo Quyen

Mr. Vo Van At, 55 years old, residing in Hamlet 5, Thanh My Commune, Thanh Chuong District, is a disabled veteran (category 1/4), blind in both eyes for nearly ten years. His life depends on the monthly government allowance.

He said, "I also went without food and drink, saving up 5 million dong from my salary to contribute to the rotating savings scheme. A few years ago, my wife unfortunately passed away suddenly, and I received over 100 million dong from social insurance, but that money has now disappeared with the scheme. I still have my elderly mother, over 80 years old, and life for my family is more difficult than ever."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lai, from Hamlet 7, Thanh My Commune, had just returned from the hospital after hearing the news that the head of the informal lending group had declared bankruptcy. Meeting us, she said tearfully: "My family was already classified as poor, and every month I had to work as a domestic helper for a family in the neighboring commune. My monthly salary of over 1 million dong was invested in the lending group, and so far it's nearly 20 million dong. Each month I received over 100,000 dong in interest. With that money, I planned to save up to renovate my dilapidated house. But when I heard that Ms. Oanh had gone bankrupt, I fainted repeatedly, and my relatives had to take me to the emergency room for resuscitation all night."

The people of Thanh My commune are still reeling from the collapse of the informal lending scheme. Photo: Nguyen Quynh

Collecting scraps and recyclable materials to sell and then "investing" in informal lending schemes, the family of Mr. Tran Van Chinh, from Hamlet 5, Thanh My Commune, also faced similar difficulties. He said: "Our family is classified as a poor household. The money my wife saved from collecting scrap and the money I earned as a construction worker went into informal lending schemes. Thinking about losing tens of millions of dong makes me unable to eat."

The bustling atmosphere of Thanh My commune market is gone. Many vendors have stopped selling for the past few days because they gave all their capital to Mrs. Oanh. Many shop owners are scrambling to find debtors and try to borrow money to resume business and pay off their debts. Many remaining vendors are weeping, unwilling to sell because the money they saved for their children's school supplies or for home repairs has all been stolen by the loan shark.

Ms. Hoa, a grocery store owner at the market, sadly recounted: "The locals here saw that she was kind, soft-spoken, and from a well-off family, so they trusted her and pooled their money to give her, hoping to earn a little profit. Who would have thought that today the head of the savings group would declare bankruptcy?"

The difficult circumstances of Mr. Nguyen Van Chinh next to his dilapidated house. Photo: Nguyen Quynh

It is known that Ms. Tran Thi Oanh, from Hamlet 5, Thanh My Commune, Thanh Chuong District, was formerly a farmer, then she traded vegetables and fruits, and later milled rice. After a while, with a small amount of capital, Ms. Oanh started selling groceries and then became a rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA), which she has been running for almost 10 years now. With sweet words and her apparent success, many poor people in the area invested money in the ROSCA, hoping to receive a profit. Unexpectedly, Ms. Oanh declared bankruptcy.

Speaking to us, Mr. Vo Van Tinh, a police officer from Thanh My commune, Thanh Chuong district, said: After the creditor declared bankruptcy, dozens of people came to take belongings from Ms. Tran Thi Oanh's house. However, thanks to the persuasion and encouragement of the local authorities and the commune police, the people returned all the original items. Even more regrettable, two years ago, a similar situation of a failed informal lending scheme also occurred in Thanh My commune.

Mr. Pham Xuan Luc, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh My commune, said: Thanh My commune has 259 poor households, accounting for 13.2% of the total number of households in the commune. Currently, more than 100 people have come to the Thanh My commune People's Committee office to declare their debts, with a total amount of nearly 8 billion VND.

Regarding Ms. Tran Thi Oanh, who is currently under local supervision, the investigating agency is gathering information and will soon complete the file to prove her violations of the law.

Nguyen Quynh - Trinh Thang