Quick, thoughtful, and very responsible in work were our first impressions of her in our first meeting with the leader of the Savings and Loan Group of residential quarter No. 8, Bach Dang Ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi. Her name is Nguyen Thi Lai.
Several Savings and Loan groups were set up in Hai Ba Trung District to help members learn from each other in doing business and arrange for them to be considered for preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. Mrs. Lai is the leader of one of those groups. Since she was elected as the leader of the Savings and Loan group, Mrs. Lai has helped many poor households escape poverty in the long run and helped households with difficulties, households having small capital, and low-income households in the area get wealthier legitimately and stable economically.
Leader of Savings and Loan Group Nguyen Thi Lai (in the right)
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lai was elected in 2003 by the members of the Savings and Loan Group as the group leader to work under the management of the Women’s Union of Bach Dang Ward. At the beginning, it was hard for her to do the task as the group members’ understanding of borrowing preferential loans and using loans was still limited. Many poor and near poor households were afraid to borrow capital because of the fear that they would not be able to repay both principal and interest to the bank when due. Some households got the loans but failed to effectively turn them into profit with their inefficient business plans.
With the support of the People’s Committee and the Women’s Union of Bach Dang Ward and the guidance of the officers of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, Mrs. Lai, despite many difficulties, came to each household with difficulties and households with small capital to encourage them and gradually help them understand the benefits of preferential loans. With her help, the members gradually became more active in the group’s activities and united together to overcome difficulties and poverty.
During the consideration processes for providing loans in the residential quarter, leader Lai always respected the opinions of the group members and listened to their proposals. She also explained and helped her group members learn about households who had encountered extreme difficulties and should be prioritized for a consideration of loans with the lowest interest rates and the most abundant capital. During the disbursement processes of the loans, Mrs. Lai often encouraged her members to participate in technical training courses to apply advanced science in production and business. She also learned about new and effective ways to help her members to choose appropriate models for economic development. Members of her Savings and Loan group were engaged in a variety of professions such as grocery, garment manufacture, food selling, motorbike repair, and so on. The group currently has 35 members with an outstanding loan exceeding VND 913 million and a savings deposit of nearly VND 90 million at Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
The household of Mrs. Le Thi Thanh Huyen was one of those with extremely difficult living conditions. Her family used to struggle with finding capital resources for business. The family also did not dare to borrow capital from outsiders because of fear of black credit, high interest rates, and risky obligations. They struggled a lot economically. With the encouragement of Mrs. Lai and the support of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, she had discussed with her husband and, in November 2015, decided to borrow VND 50 million to buy glass cabinets and purchase more confectionery products and daily necessities for business. Thanks to the hard work, the previous savings, and the support of other family members of both hers and her husband’s, her family gradually became better off and no longer had to worry about every meal. Her family’s grocery store has now been expanded and brought in a steady income for the couple, enough for them to afford education for their two children. In the near future, Mrs. Huyen expects to pay off the principal to the bank and apply for a new loan to purchase a refrigerator and product shelves to cater to the needs of her customers during hot summer days.
Mrs. Duong Thi Tham, Chairwoman of the Women’s Union of Bach Dang Ward, said: “Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lai is one of our typical examples in credit work. Over the past years, the Savings and Loan Group of leader Lai has been effective and able to help many borrowers. In the process of borrowing capital, Mrs. Lai regularly reminds the households to fully comply with the procedures and regulations of the bank and use the loans for the right purposes to promote the efficiency of preferential loans. The exemplary attitude and sense of responsibility of leader Lai and the preferential loans from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies have helped improve the living conditions of the local people as well as the local economy”.
Members of the Women’s Union of Hai Ba Trung District saving money (Photo by Huu Minh)
Besides her task as the exemplary leader of the Savings and Loan Group, Mrs. Lai also takes on different roles in collective activities and social work. In any position, she always carries out the work with a high sense of responsibility and excellently completes every task. In April 2015, she was honored by Hanoi Branch of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies as one of the best examples in the local poverty reduction program.
Ngoc Minh