Effective use of concessional loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has been seen as a "key” for poor households and policy beneficiaries in the mountainous district of Da Bac to improve income and better the quality of life towards sustainable poverty reduction.
An
official from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies’ Da Bac district branch
studies capital demand from a Da Bac local.
As the only impoverished district of Hoa Binh
province, Da Bac has a great demand for this kind of loans. Over the past
years, Da Bac is one of the localities with the highest amount of outstanding
debt.
To date, total outstanding credit in the
district has topped 546 billion VND (22.58 million USD), with nearly 14,000
customers. During January – October, 1,896 impoverished households and policy
beneficiaries got access to some 75.5 billion VND in preferential loans, helping
them develop business models to get out of poverty.
With 56.7 billion VND of concessional loans
granted to more than 1,000 households, Tu Ly is the commune with the largest
amount of outstanding credit in Da Bac district. From the outset of the year, 240 households in
the commune have been able to take out loans from the VBSP.
According to an official from the communal
People’s Committee, the loans have an important role to play in alleviating
poverty and building new-style rural areas. Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the People’s
Committee of Hien Luong commune Xa Van Hoe described them as a locomotive for
the residents to improve income, and help the commune meet the advanced
standards of the new-style rural area building.
Xa Van Huy in Doi hamlet invested 100 million
VND that he took from the bank in tens of fish cages. To date, the fish cage
model has earned his family a stable income.
Statistics from Hien Luong commune showed that
total outstanding credit in the commune has neared 22 billion VND so far.
During January – October, the VBSP gave preferential loans to 116 households,
helping generate jobs for 11 labourers and renovate and build 140 clean water
facilities.
Director of the VBSP’s Da Bac district branch
Nguyen Binh Nam said the bank will mobilise more resources to meet the capital
demand of the local residents, contributing to realising the district’s
socio-economic development and poverty reduction targets, and ensuring social
security.
The National Science and Engineering Fair for secondary and high school students was held at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City from March 19-21 by the Ministry of Education and Training.
As women's participation in key leadership positions of Hoa Binh province is still modest while some women in rural and mountainous areas or from ethnic minorities face limited access to policies, the provincial Party Committee's Organisation Board has advised the provincial Party Committee's Standing Board to direct Party committees at all levels and localities to pay more attention to training female personnel and creating favourable conditions for women to take over leadership and management roles, thus addressing a shortage in the number of female cadres.
The Department of Education and Training of Hoa Binh province held a conference on March 18 to review the performance of the "Safe and Happy School" Project and set out tasks for 2025. The project, funded by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), aims to create a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for students. The event saw the attendance of representatives from the TFCF and 26 beneficiary schools.
With over 70% of their workers being women, trade unions across industrial parks (IPs) in Hoa Binh have been actively safeguarding their legal rights and interests while implementing initiatives to improve their income and well-being.
In recent years, the Hoa Binh provincial General Hospital has continuously innovated itself and improved the quality of medical services to meet the increasing needs of local people. With substantial investments in infrastructure and modern equipment, along with a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses, the hospital has gradually established itself as one of the leading medical units in the Northwestern region and a trusted destination for healthcare for people inside and outside the province.
From mastering the fundamentals of programming to achieving national recognition, the Programming Club of the Le Van Tam Primary School (STAR LVT28) in Hoa Binh city has made remarkable strides in the field of robotics.
