Loans to Help Refugees Realize Their Dreams : Employment: A new federal program provides business and training funds for 25 Vietnamese.

Hien Xuan Nguyen is studying to be a computer technician. But the 45-year-old Stanton resident said he dreams of returning to his former occupation--the ancient trade of selling tea and herbs.

Ngoc-Linh Nguyen, 25, wishes that she could buy sewing equipment and work in her Westminster home with her three children, ages 3 to 6.

Soon, both could be on the road to realizing their hopes.

They are among 25 Vietnamese refugees who were chosen out of several hundred applicants to receive business and training loans from a new federal program designed to remove the newcomers from welfare rolls.

Starting in March, the applicants will receive a one-year loan of $2,000 through the Self-Employment Micro-Enterprise Development Program, which is funded by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. The average interest rate will be 9.3%.

Those chosen to receive the loans must complete a 16-hour seminar in entrepreneurship and submit a business plan, said Giao Hoang, executive director of the Economic and Employment Development Center in Los Angeles. His agency applied to administer the federal funding and provide the training.

“We wanted to find a way to help refugees get off welfare as soon as possible,” said Hoang, who also is vice president of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce in Orange County.

The federal funding was granted to seven refugee services nationwide, each helping different ethnic groups. Under the program, each agency will receive $50,000 in loans annually for the next three years and $100,000 for administration and training seminars.

On Jan. 15, the selected applicants--most of them from Orange County--will start training seminars on such topics as business regulations, management, tax accounting and marketing.

Unlike bank loans, this program does not require collateral and business experience. In the second year of the program, borrowers who have not missed payments and whose businesses are thriving will be recommended to private banks for larger loans, making room in the program for other refugees still on welfare.

The small loan of $2,000 is meant to buy equipment to start small businesses, Hoang said. Most applicants are seamstresses; others include future landscapers, sign-makers and manicurists.

Hien Xuan Nguyen said he hopes that the $2,000 will allow him to resume the family trade of selling tea and herbs. His wife and six children took up the trade in Saigon after Communist forces took over the city in 1975 and Nguyen, who was with South Vietnam’s air force, was jailed in re-education camps.

Upon his release in 1981, he joined the family business, learning the art of turning raw tea leaves and herbs into marketable ingredients for drinks and potions.

“It’s a very honest occupation, rich in traditions,” Nguyen said.