Peace in Dong Tam parish

Catholics in Nghia An mainly reside in hamlets 10A and 10B (belonging to Dong Tam Parish) with 391 households and 1,587 people (accounting for 24% of the population). Coming from agricultural production, people are applying technical advances, improving the productivity and quality of crops and livestock products.

Catholics in Nghia An commune (Nghia Dan) participate in irrigation work. Photo: Minh Thai

Every year, many parishioners’ households become typical examples in the emulation movement of good production and business, earning hundreds of millions of dong in profits. In particular, many households have built dairy farms with an income of 300-500 million dong/year. Thanks to the solidarity and joint contributions of parishioners, the face of life in Nghia An has changed significantly. The electricity system, roads, schools, and stations have been upgraded, and primary schools and medical stations have met national standards.

In addition, the movement to encourage learning is also of interest to parishioners, with excellent students from the district and province every year, and many students passing university and college entrance exams. In 2018 alone, over 81% of the entire commune’s households achieved the title of Cultural Family, especially in hamlets 10A and 10B, over 85% of households achieved this title.

The family of Mr. Pham Van Luyen in hamlet 10B is one of 11 outstanding delegates of Nghia An commune who were honored to participate in the Congress of Catholics to build and protect the Fatherland in Nghia Dan district. Mr. Luyen said: "Previously, due to limited awareness and not knowing how to make a living, my family's life faced many difficulties. Now, thanks to the development of livestock farming, we have enough income, and life is no longer difficult and deprived."

As a person who dares to think and dares to do, Mr. Luyen boldly borrowed more than 200 million VND from the bank and converted nearly 1 hectare of sugarcane land to grass and raised 10 dairy cows. Currently, there are 7 cows in the barn giving milk, on average giving more than 100 liters of milk per day, at a price of 12,000 VND/liter, after deducting expenses, the profit is more than 1 million VND per day.

Many Catholic households in Nghia An (Nghia Dan) invest in developing dairy farming for high income. Photo: Minh Thai

With a stable income, Mr. Luyen has the conditions to build a spacious house, his children can study well and for many years he has been recognized as an "Outstanding Cultural Family".

Currently, in Dong Tam parish, in addition to Mr. Pham Van Luyen's family, there are many other farming households such as Mr. Nguyen Van Thoai's family, Nguyen Van Danh's family, Ms. Tran Thi Hien's family,... raising 15-20 dairy cows, bringing in a considerable income. Thanks to that, the face of the village is gradually changing, improving, many households have become well-off and rich.

Parishioners also invest in buying milking machines, which saves time, ensures the quality of milk and maintains a high price. Photo: Minh Thai

To achieve this result, in addition to the efforts and awareness of the people, it is also necessary to mention the coordination of priests, dignitaries and the Parish Executive Committee, the family with the local Party Committee and government. In particular, the Commune Fatherland Front has done a good job of mobilizing people to participate in building and consolidating the great national unity bloc, regardless of beliefs and religions, promoting the spirit of solidarity and mutual love.

Talking to us, Mr. Vo Canh Hoa - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Nghia An commune said: "The issue of building a new cultural lifestyle is closely coordinated by authorities at all levels with priests and dignitaries in propaganda work, establishing a peaceful parish model. In addition, the commune also innovates management methods to bring high efficiency such as: Training cadres doing religious work, reforming administrative procedures, ...".