Livelihood support capital in Nghi Son commune helps sustainably reduce poverty

A loan of 100 million VND from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies helped Ms. Tran Thi Huong's family in Bac Son village open a grocery store.

Previously, Ms. Pham Thi Thuy's family in Bac Son village was a near-poor household in the commune. However, since accessing loans from the Nghi Son Town Social Policy Bank for near-poor households, the family's life has become more prosperous and they have escaped the near-poor household status in 2023.

Ms. Thuy said: "My family of 5 depends on income from seafood exploitation. Recently, due to the gradual depletion of aquatic resources, the family's fishing boat has a small capacity, has not been repaired or replaced for many years, and is not safe, so we only dare to exploit close to shore, which is not effective. Therefore, on many trips out to sea, the family has to compensate for losses. To have money to cover our living expenses, my husband and I have to borrow more from relatives, save on expenses, but life is always in a state of "lack of money first, lack of money later". In 2021, the commune government considered us for livelihood support, through the preferential loan capital of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, my family was disbursed 50 million VND for near-poor households. The family has repaired the boat, ensuring safe and effective trips out to sea. Thanks to that, the income from each trip out to sea has increased compared to before, life has improved and we have escaped the near-poor household status".

According to Ms. Thuy, in September 2024, her family continued to borrow 100 million VND. She used this money to buy new nets and equip the boat with lighting systems to better serve the fishing industry. Currently, each trip to sea lasts from 10 to 15 days, after deducting expenses, she earns tens of millions of VND, so life is much better than before.

Having just accessed a preferential loan package of 100 million VND from the loan capital of the Nghi Son Town Social Policy Bank in mid-April 2025 for near-poor households, Ms. Ho Thi Hao's family in Nam Son village was able to replace the old, dilapidated net and the light bulbs on the boat that were not bright enough, which the family had not been able to invest in for many years.

Ms. Hao shared: “After the bank disbursed the loan, I spent over 80 million VND to buy a new net and install a light system on the boat. I used the remaining money as business capital to buy fish, process, dry, and pack them into bags to sell to customers."

Chairman of Nghi Son Commune People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Thuong said: "To effectively implement the Program on Rapid and Sustainable Poverty Reduction, the commune has developed a plan to implement the program on poverty reduction since the beginning of the year. At the same time, based on the poverty reduction capacity of each village, appropriate poverty reduction targets are assigned. The locality has reviewed and re-evaluated poor households to develop specific poverty reduction plans for each household."

According to Mr. Thuong, because households in the commune do not have land for production and livestock raising, livelihood support with breeding animals and livestock will not be suitable. Therefore, the locality has chosen the option of supporting livelihoods with preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, with the consent of 100% of households in the commune. Up to now, 100% of households eligible for livelihood support who need loans have been facilitated by the town's Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and have disbursed capital to help households invest in exploiting, processing seafood and developing effective service businesses. Thanks to that, the lives of these families have improved, contributing to reducing the number of poor and near-poor households in the commune over the years. If in 2022, the whole commune had 236 poor households (8.9%), 191 near-poor households (7.2%), by the end of 2024, it will decrease to 14 poor households (0.25%) and 189 near-poor households (7.19%).

Regarding the source of capital to support livelihoods for poor, near-poor and newly escaped poverty households in the commune, Director of the Nghi Son Town Social Policy Bank Transaction Office Bui Van Hanh said: "In the commune, there are currently 797 customers accessing the loan package of the Social Policy Bank to invest in economic development, with a total outstanding debt of over 65 billion VND. Customers who receive loans generally use the capital for the right purpose and promote good efficiency, without bad debt".

Article and photos: Minh Ly

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/von-ho-tro-sinh-ke-o-xa-nghi-son-nbsp-giup-giam-ngheo-ben-vung-250052.htm