Peace in Luong Khe Parish

(Baonghean) - By building the model of "Peaceful and united parishes working together to build new rural areas," in recent years, the Luong Khe parish community in Thanh Hoa commune (Thanh Chuong district) has always promoted the spirit of solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics, boosted emulation movements, and maintained political security and social order in the area.

To concretize the campaign for living a good and virtuous life and the nationwide movement to protect national security, in 2013, the Thanh Hoa Commune Party Committee issued Resolution No. 13-NQ/DU to build the model of "Peaceful and united parish working together to build a new rural area" in Hoa Son hamlet, the center of Luong Khe parish with 59 households and 315 inhabitants. The model aims for the "5 no's" criteria: No crime, no drugs, no social evils, no domestic violence, and no environmental pollution.

Thanks to the support of the district-level authorities and organizations, the attention and coordination of the parish priest, the Pastoral Council of Trung Hoa Parish, Luong Khe sub-parish, and the active participation of the people, the new rural development movement has been implemented effectively. The second phase of land reallocation was successfully carried out, facilitating the planning of rural transportation, irrigation, the cultural center grounds, and the village's playground, meeting the needs of improving the material and spiritual lives of the people. In 2014, the Commune People's Committee, in coordination with the parish priest, did a good job of promoting and mobilizing people to donate land, property, and trees to expand the rural road passing through the village to the primary school, with a length of nearly 2 km. As a result, 19 households voluntarily donated 1,855.4 m2 of land, 182 trees of various types, and hundreds of meters of fences, with a total value of nearly 600 million VND. For example, Mr. Tran Kim Van's family donated 222 square meters of land and 18 trees, Mr. Trinh Khac Tuyen donated 212 square meters of land, and Mr. Duong Van Luong donated 208 square meters of land and 17 trees of various types…

Mrs. Hoang Thi Chinh from Luong Khe parish is a prime example of donating land for road construction in Hoa Son hamlet (Thanh Hoa commune, Thanh Chuong district).

Ms. Hoang Thi Chinh, from Hoa Son hamlet – one of the leading families in the movement to donate land for road construction – shared: “We build roads primarily for our own use, so when the commune and hamlet authorities launched the campaign, our family voluntarily donated 137 square meters of land along with many trees that are currently bearing fruit…”. With the support of the people, the local government invested in upgrading the hamlet's cultural center with a total cost of 20 million VND, surveyed and extended three power lines to the Bau Chay area so that people could use mini water pumps to irrigate rice in the spring crop, built household waste treatment furnaces to improve environmental management, and attracted state investment to build the Bau Chay bridge with a cost of over 1.2 billion VND…

To ensure public order and religious security, the Party cell, the hamlet's leadership board, and the Hoa Son hamlet's Front Committee have developed and approved the hamlet's cultural regulations and lifestyle guidelines, comprising 8 chapters and 32 articles; they have also strengthened the hamlet's self-governing committee and maintained effective operation of self-governing groups for security and order. The Party and State's policies and guidelines are widely disseminated and explained through the local broadcasting system, news bulletins, and meetings. Ideological activities and local economic development programs are integrated into the plan, not only bridging the gap between Catholics and non-Catholics but also helping parishioners better understand the Party and State's policies and laws, and live virtuous lives.

Mr. Tran Cong Son, Secretary of the Hoa Son Hamlet Party Branch, said: "Since the establishment of the 'Peaceful Parish' model, people have become more aware of maintaining security and order, building community spirit, actively participating in movements, and paying various fees... Thanks to this, the security and order situation in the area is stable. All conflicts among the people, such as domestic violence, land disputes, and garden disputes involving parishioners, are resolved thoroughly and fairly by the parish priest and the Parish Pastoral Council in coordination with the local government and the commune police."

Speaking with us, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thi, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Thanh Hoa commune, said: By combining state policies and laws with local customs, traditions, and religious beliefs, the model of "Peaceful and united parishes working together to build new rural areas" in Luong Khe parish not only helps parishioners live good lives and uphold moral values, but also contributes significantly to accelerating the process of building new rural areas in the locality. With stable lives, parishioners trust in the Party and State's policies and guidelines, feel secure in their work, develop the economy, expand supplementary occupations (noodle making, carpentry, livestock farming, overseas labor export, etc.), and take care of their children's education. The number of well-off and wealthy households has increased, the number of poor households has decreased to only 4, and the percentage of cultured families has reached 80%. It can be said that the greatest benefit from building this model is that each parishioner in the parish truly feels the effectiveness that the model has brought to them…

Khanh Ly