11 years of "going to every alley, knocking on every door"

(Baonghean) - Although he has stopped working in population work for 2 years now, the people of Dien Doai (Dien Chau) still call Mr. Nguyen Duy Cao "Mr. Cao population". For 11 years, the image of the veteran in a faded military uniform, always hurrying on his bicycle to every alley, every house... has become familiar to the people here...

That afternoon, we went to Mr. Nguyen Duy Cao's house in Hamlet 15 - Dien Doai just when he was busy with hundreds of ducks laying eggs in the barn and fish in the pond. Hearing Mr. Tinh - the Party Secretary of the commune calling him, Mr. Cao, his hands covered with bran, his pants one leg down, the other up, hurriedly walked into the yard. When introduced that there was a reporter at his house, Mr. Cao was a bit surprised: "I thought you came to change the script for the upcoming Vietnam Population Day celebration." Mr. Cao invited us to the table to drink water. Holding a cup of tea towards the guests, he enthusiastically explained: "Every year, when the Vietnam Population Day (December 26) comes around, the people in the commune are excited about cultural and artistic activities, this hamlet dances and sings, that hamlet performs plays. Each hamlet has 2 performances, many people in the commune come to the "village stage" at the commune committee headquarters to join in the fun...".

Mr. Tinh introduced to me: Uncle Cao had 14 years as a military doctor in the Southern battlefield and the Cambodian battlefield. After being discharged from the army and returning to his hometown, with a disability rate of 61% (he was a 3/4 disabled soldier), he still enthusiastically participated in the work of the hamlet and commune. However, the deepest impression in the hearts of the people of Dien Doai was still the "population man". From 1999 to 2011, Uncle Cao was attached to his bicycle and every alley, corner of the hamlet and village.

Seeing me looking at the table inside, where there were stacks of documents and leaflets about population neatly arranged, with a surprised look, Mr. Cao explained: “Although I no longer do population work, I now have a daughter who is “taking over the job”. Luckily, because she also loves the job, and has been passed down from her father’s experience, she is also loved by the people.” Having said that, Mr. Cao turned back to show me dozens of notebooks from his years of “going to every alley, knocking on every door”. Each page was recorded very carefully and clearly: Date, month, year…: In the morning, he went to propagate to groups of households intending to have a 5th or 6th child; in the afternoon, he met with groups of households who already had many children but had only one child and wanted to have more. In the afternoon, he went to households who had only one child, in the evening he met with families with two children… The work of the days was almost full like that. I asked: "You travel so much, your wife still agrees?", Uncle Cao laughed: "Remember the day I first took office as a population specialist, when my wife and I's fourth child was already 10 years old. My wife worriedly said: "We have 4 children, will anyone listen to us?", I answered her: "Our time is different, that's why I'm needed". She was still worried: "Women can't do it, can you do it? It's already difficult to persuade the religious side, it's even more difficult because it touches on people's beliefs. If you're not skillful and careful, people will laugh at you". Having said that, she saw that I was determined to do it, so she turned to encourage me: "If you are enthusiastic and truly dedicated, you will definitely do well, I believe, as for the children, I'll take care of them".

Mr. Nguyen Duy Cao (right) recounts his time as a population specialist.

Before 1999, Dien Doai Commune was ranked as a commune with a high birth rate in the district, with a third child birth rate of 31%. The commune has 3 Catholic hamlets, and in those years, the third child birth rate accounted for 40-45% of households. Then, with the concerns of the staff, and with the propaganda of "slow and steady wins the race" of Mr. Cao, that rate gradually decreased every year. Currently, the third child birth rate of the whole commune is only 25%. Catholic hamlets have decreased to 30%. Many hamlets have not had a third child for 1 to 2 consecutive years, in which, Mr. Cao's hamlet 15 has not had any cases of third or more children since 2009.

Uncle Cao shared: “Fortunately, I have the advantage of having worked as a doctor on the battlefield for 14 years. So, in the neighborhood, in the commune, when people are injured, sick, or have a fever, they often call me. To the people, I am a close person.” The work of a doctor has brought him prestige and trust, but above all, it is his heart. People see that he is dedicated and puts in effort to take care of his family’s “rice pot”, and gradually they understand. It is not just about the “rice pot”, it is also about love, about loyalty, about responsibility to each other in life, about education, about the renewal of the homeland. Who does not want their family to be better off, their children to be educated, have a decent house to live in, the village to have a nice road to travel, to communicate with the district, the province and many other places… It turns out that giving birth is not just a family’s private matter, but is related to the whole neighborhood, the village and the whole society. Uncle Cao's stories are like that, can be told in the fields, when going to plant rice, when visiting the sick, going to weddings, harvesting, when gathering to make brooms... He gave very realistic examples. The story of Mr. Tu's family in the neighboring Dien Dong commune who had many children. The "chicken eggs, duck eggs" children just kept growing up together. I don't know if the father can remember all the children's names. With so many children, of course the older children had to drop out of school. There was a 17-year-old daughter who got married. It was a vicious circle again, she married a man with limited awareness and a childish temperament, and as a daughter-in-law, Mr. Tu's daughter was constantly beaten by her husband. Because of their love for their child, the couple had to bring her back home to take care of her. And not far away, opposite to Mr. Tu's couple, was the story of Mr. Luong's couple, Mr. Cao's friend in Dien Tan commune. He sometimes had free time to visit Mr. Cao's house.

He told the villagers: “Uncle Luong gave birth to two daughters and was so happy. When he stopped at two daughters who did not give birth, the relatives and villagers kept gossiping about him in all sorts of ways. He said that it was not good for the eldest uncle not to try to find a successor. Later, when he died, there would be no one to support him. Then he would “give up the position of head of the family”. But he was still not moved at all. He told his wife that he had two daughters but that it was enough for them to study properly. It was true that Uncle Luong’s two grandchildren were taken care of and given the conditions to study and grow up. They went to Hanoi to study and got married there, and their sons-in-law were all talented and successful. Now Uncle Luong and his wife only care about enjoying the countryside, and every year their children invite them to go on tours both domestically and internationally…”

During the day, he went to propagate, direct, and help collaborators in villages and hamlets. At night, Uncle Cao was still awake and wondering how to propagate effectively, so that every citizen would truly be aware, not just do it for the sake of achievement. So he got up again, bent over the desk lamp to find documents, and read them carefully. He diligently researched policies and documents related to population to advise local authorities to find good and new ways of doing things, such as launching campaigns associated with the media twice a year. Every year, on the occasion of the anniversary of Vietnam Population Day (December 26) and World Population Day (July 11), he mobilized people in villages and hamlets to participate in cultural performances and plays on population themes...

He confided: My "secret" to propaganda is not just going to houses to hand out leaflets or shout slogans. Everything must start from talking to share and analyze. "I always pay attention to parents whose children are about to get married; couples of childbearing age and especially couples who have only one child."

Among many memories, Uncle Cao still remembers a story from the first years of population work. It was a cold winter night in 2000, in Hamlet 3, a hamlet of Catholics, there was a case of Ms. Ho Thi Hai suddenly going into labor. Hearing someone report that the pregnant woman was writhing in pain, her husband still subjectively said "not yet given birth, just a little pain and it will be over" and refused to take her to the hospital. When asked, he learned that Ms. Hai, when she was 9 months pregnant with her first child, had also experienced a similar pain when she and her husband went to pick pine needles. They did not have to go to the clinic, after the severe pain, the couple carried the pine needles home as usual. It took nearly 3 weeks to give birth, both husband and wife thought this time would be like the last time. At that time, it was almost 10 pm, Uncle Cao hurriedly ran nearly 1 kilometer in the dark, cold rain to Ms. Hai's house. "Get ready quickly, your wife's water has broken," he said as he helped Ms. Hai to the hospital. Luckily, Ms. Hai arrived at the hospital in time and was given the command to deliver the baby, so after 4 hours, "mother and child were safe". Holding his son in his arms, Mr. Hai was really... shaking because he realized he had been too subjective and thanked Mr. Cao profusely!

The story of "Mr. Cao's population" saving Hai's wife and children was quickly spread by word of mouth in the parishioners. "My communication work has been quite smooth thanks to that," Mr. Cao laughed. "That's a joke, but the important thing is that I understand that if I want to make people believe, listen and follow, I have to be a good example and do it first. People only believe and follow when they see it with their own eyes. So I used my own example to tell the story. How hard it was to give birth to 4 children, now I realize how. And when I realize it, I have to try to change." So even though I'm busy with population work, whenever I have a little free time, Mr. Cao works hard to dig ponds, release fish, and raise ducks. His family's pond and barn farm has earned nearly 200 million VND each year since 2005. Of the 4 children, 3 are married, boys, girls, daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law all have stable jobs.

Having witnessed her father's dedication and hard work in population work, Nguyen Thi Dung (Uncle Cao's daughter) felt great love and admiration. And Dung was determined to "follow in her father's footsteps" to become a commune population specialist. After Uncle Cao retired, Dung took on the journey of "going to every alley, knocking on every door". She said that what is favorable today is due to her father's sweat and effort. Although her father is no longer a specialist, he has become a propagandist and an active collaborator of his children...

Uncle Cao's biggest concern is his youngest son. "Of the four children, the youngest son, Dinh, is the most disadvantaged, having been exposed to Agent Orange, so sometimes he shows abnormal behavior and cannot control himself," Uncle Cao sadly said. For nearly a year now, his wife has been in Hau Giang taking care of their grandchildren, and he has been single-handedly taking care of the housework and the 23-year-old youngest son...

An Ngoc