Breakthrough from Directive No. 40-CT/TW: Part I - "Key" to unlocking the way out of poverty

On November 22, 2014, the Secretariat of the 11th Party Central Committee issued Directive No. 40-CT/TW on strengthening the Party's leadership over social policy credit (Directive No. 40). The Directive's birth created a breakthrough, connecting the strength of the entire political system with the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) to support and promote disadvantaged groups in society to rise up and change their lives.

Mr. Pham Van Thuy's garment factory in Khanh Trung commune, Yen Khanh district (center) creates jobs for more than 50 local workers.

After 10 years of guidance from Directive No. 40, policy credit has become a lever and a bright spot in poverty reduction, promoting agricultural and rural economic development.

Give "Fishing Rod" not "Fish"

Ms. Pham Thi Thu Hang is one of the poorest families in Hoang Son Tay village, Ninh Tien commune (Ninh Binh city). Her farming family was not well off, but her husband had just died of cancer not long ago, and her son had an accident that affected his nerves and caused him to lose an eye. The sad events that came one after another seemed to want to knock down this small woman, but she always told herself to be resilient and strong to be a support for her children.

Faced with Ms. Hang's difficult situation, the commune's associations and unions not only provided timely material and spiritual encouragement but also provided opportunities for her family to escape poverty by supporting and guiding her to borrow capital from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to develop livestock farming.

Ms. Hang shared that with the 100 million VND borrowed, she bought buffaloes to raise. Thanks to her diligence in taking care of them, and the technical staff closely following her and giving her instructions on disease prevention, the buffalo herd grew healthily, giving birth to a few more calves each year. With the profit from selling the calves, she invested in opening a small grocery store to earn more income, and her economy gradually improved. "I myself could not believe that I could overcome so many difficulties to have the life I have today. It is all thanks to the attention of the authorities at all levels for poor people like us, thanks to preferential capital from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies" - Ms. Hang emotionally shared.

Another example of perseverance and perseverance in overcoming difficulties is the case of Nguyen Quang Than, Dai Ang village, Ninh Hoa commune (Hoa Lu). He was a healthy young man who worked hard, so his family's economy was quite well off. But then in 2021, Mr. Than discovered that he had kidney failure, and all his money was spent on medical treatment, causing his family to fall into poverty. After receiving a kidney transplant and his health gradually recovered, Mr. Than was determined to restore his family's economy. With the support of the People's Credit Fund, he borrowed 100 million VND, and he bought machinery to provide milling services and sell rice. With his constant efforts, both working hard to produce and fighting against illness, Mr. Than has now escaped poverty and become rich.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, Head of the Savings and Loan Group of the Women's Union of Dai Ang Village, Ninh Hoa Commune (Hoa Lu), has been an "extended arm" of credit policies for poor and near-poor households for nearly 10 years. She said: The credit programs implemented by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies are really necessary and suitable for the poor, near-poor and families in difficult circumstances. This is a form of investment for the poor, aiming to limit "free giving", which used to be a long-standing and ineffective situation. With small loans, low interest rates, reasonable loan terms and especially with the close support of the entire political system, the capital source has promoted its combined strength, helping many families solve the problem of escaping poverty.

The stories of Ms. Hang and Mr. Than are just two typical examples that demonstrate the view that social policy credit is an important "pillar" of the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction. In fact, there are tens of thousands of poor households in other rural areas who have also escaped poverty and changed their lives thanks to policy capital. When capital reaches the poor, it motivates them to find ways to do things, gradually reduce their dependence, and become proactive and confident in their lives.

According to statistics from the Social Policy Bank, Ninh Binh branch, in the past 10 years, nearly 81,000 households in the province have overcome the poverty line thanks to policy capital. In 2023, the poverty rate in the province will be only 1.86%. These results demonstrate a correct decision of the Party, strongly changing the way of giving the poor "fish" by giving them "fishing rods", creating a breakthrough in connecting the strength of the entire political system with the Social Policy Bank to support the poor and policy beneficiaries to turn around poverty so that no one is "left behind".

Leverage to promote rural economic development

The "fishing rods" from social policy credit have helped tens of thousands of households in the province escape poverty sustainably and become rich. Moreover, the effective use of policy credit tools is also a "lever" to help develop the sustainable economy of an entire locality or region.

Mr. La Phu Thuan, in Hamlet 1, Khanh Thinh Commune (Yen Mo District) always wants to develop an agricultural economic model in the direction of organic farming in harmony with nature to bring safe agricultural products to consumers. However, capital for production is always a concern for him. Borrowing 500 million VND from the Employment Program of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies has motivated him to invest in developing sweet potato on an area of 4.2 hectares. In 2023, his production model will supply the market with 30 tons of sweet potato shoots, over 6 tons of commercial snails... earning over 1 billion VND, creating stable jobs for 6 workers with an income of 200,000 VND/person/day.

Mr. Thuan shared: Having ideas and ambitions but without capital, nothing can be done. I am very happy that recently, the State has paid special attention and had timely capital support policies so that farmers like us have the opportunity to expand production, enrich our families, as well as create more jobs and increase income for workers in the region.

In Khanh Trung commune, Yen Khanh district, we visited Mr. Pham Van Thuy's garment factory. Nearly 50 workers, mainly women and the elderly, were working hard on sewing machines to meet orders for winter coats.

Having worked at the garment factory for many years, Ms. Pham Thi Ngoan shared: Because I was too old to apply for a job in a company, I used to only work in the fields and had almost no income. Luckily, since this garment factory opened, I have had more work and more income. Especially, because it is close to home and the working hours are flexible, I can still take care of the fields and my family.

Mr. Pham Van Thuy, the owner of the garment factory, said: I opened the garment factory with the desire to both develop the family economy and create jobs for local women. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no orders, so production encountered many difficulties, at times it seemed impossible to hold on. Fortunately, my family had access to preferential capital from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to invest in purchasing raw materials, giving me the opportunity to revive production, anticipate the recovery of the garment industry, maintain jobs and income for workers.

The dynamic economic models that the Social Policy Bank is "igniting" in the community such as those of Mr. Thuan and Mr. Thuy have been contributing to promoting the development of production activities and occupations in rural areas, actively shifting the agricultural economic structure, improving the lives of a part of the population, effectively implementing the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction, creating jobs and developing the socio-economy, and building new rural areas in the province.

Article and photos: Nguyen Luu

⇒ Part II: "Giving wings" to dreams