Today I joined Ms. Lương Thị Phi Loan, Thien Chi’s director, for visits to three households. All three are related, living in neighboring homes, with the grandmother helping to care for the children. These families rely heavily on dragon fruit farming and on Thien Chi’s support to manage their daily lives.
The first family includes a couple and their two children. The husband works as a builder, earning about 50,000 VND (1.6 USD) per day, while the wife balances housework, childcare, and tending to 300 dragon fruit trees. On average, she earns around 10 million VND (322 USD) per month. Their total yearly income is roughly 50 million VND, with expenses of 17.7 million, leaving them a modest profit. They currently have a 10 million VND loan from Thien Chi and another 20 million VND loan from the bank. Fortunately, everyone is in good health, though one son once had throat issues that were treated successfully at the hospital.
The second family is composed of four members: parents and two children in grades 1 and 4. The husband is the brother of the first family’s wife. Together, they manage another 300 dragon fruit trees. However, this year they lost 60 trees due to bad weather, reducing their earnings. They work about 15 days per month, and when they do, each parent earns 300,000 VND (9.60 USD) per day, about 600,000 VND (19.30 USD) together. They repay 1 million VND (32 USD) per month to Thien Chi for their 10 million loan, plus another 1 million per month to the bank for a larger 50 million loan. Their repayment schedule stretches 10 months with Thien Chi and 60 months with the bank.
The third family was not at home during our visit. It consists of a mother, her two children, and a baby due in one month. Separated from her husband, who does not provide financial support, she maintains 200 dragon fruit trees with the help of a 10 million VND loan from Thien Chi.
Beyond these three households, I learned more about Thien Chi’s microcredit process. Each month, local collaborators visit families to collect repayments and update the center on their situation. In total, 24 collaborators support over 1,000 borrowing families, meeting regularly throughout the year to coordinate. These families are officially recognized as poor by the government, which makes Thien Chi’s assistance even more essential.
Leticia