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08/07/2024
Among the 197 prestigious delegates honored at the program “The Village’s Support” recently organized by the Communist Magazine, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Border Guard Command in Hanoi, there were 7 people wearing green uniforms, including 1 professional female soldier. That is Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh - the “green rose” of the Nghe border.
For ethnic minorities in Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) and Tam Hop (Tuong Duong), "Border guard O Thanh" has long become "a village person".
Nearly 6 years ago, while working at the Political Department, Nghe An Border Guard Command, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh surprised many people when she volunteered to work at Mon Son Border Guard Station (Con Cuong) - an area with 36.5 km of border and 7 landmarks adjacent to Bolikhamxay province (Laos) with more than 80% of the population being Thai ethnic people, the rest being Dan Lai ethnic people and a few Kinh people.
At that time, many people expressed concern about whether the small woman could survive in that area with high mountains, deep ravines, and difficult transportation. However, the "green rose" on the border soon got used to the new environment, overcame barriers of language, customs, and habits, and integrated into the lives of the people.
As a member of the mass mobilization team, understanding and sharing the difficulties and hardships of the people, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh has proactively advised the Party Committee and the Command Board of the station to deploy many solutions to help people develop the economy and stabilize their lives; at the same time, she is a "bridge" to call on charitable organizations and individuals to help poor households and people in difficult circumstances in the area.
Many times, I had the opportunity to go on business trips, accompanying Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh to the border villages. Wherever I went, I saw "Border Guard Thanh" creating close connections, bringing laughter and winning the love of village cadres and people.
For Ms. La Thi Nguyet in Cua Rao village, Mon Son commune, "O Thanh" is not only a relative but also a "benefactor" who has supported and accompanied her family to escape poverty.
Thanks to "Mrs. Thanh" who gave them seeds and "showed them how to grow crops and raise livestock", Ms. Nguyet's family now has food and savings, and was even able to buy a rice milling machine to provide services.
Not only Ms. Nguyet's family but also 7 other households, including 4 Dan Lai households in Mon Son commune, were directly helped by "O Thanh" to develop their household economy through the form of supporting livestock and plant varieties; instructing on livestock and crop farming techniques... Thanks to that, people have learned how to do business and continue to reinvest to build a long-term livelihood model.
As for the Dan Lai students who used to live at Mon Son Secondary School, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh is like a second mother. Previously, Mon Son Secondary School had many difficulties in mobilizing Dan Lai ethnic students, especially in the two villages of Bung and Co Phat in the core area of Pu Mat National Park, to go to school. Partly because the students were used to living in isolation, with little contact with the outside world; partly because the distance from home to school was quite far (from 15 to 20 km of forest road), making travel difficult.
Faced with that reality, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh advised on a number of coordination activities between Mon Son Secondary School and Mon Son Border Guard Station in establishing and maintaining the model "Accompanying border dormitories".
This is a place to live and work for Dan Lai ethnic students in the upper Khe Khang river, aged 12 to 16. For the first time away from their families in a boarding school to study in a new environment, many children still maintain outdated habits and customs, often skipping school and not returning to school.
Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh proactively approached, got close, directly talked, showed, and guided life skills to the children, especially girls, thereby helping Dan Lai students change their awareness and habits, and have a scientific and disciplined lifestyle.
Gradually, the children have become bolder, more confident, more open in communication, know how to greet people, study independently and take care of personal hygiene...
To further support the children in their studies and daily activities, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh mobilized and called on charitable organizations and individuals to support nearly 1,000 boxes of instant noodles; hundreds of sets of clothes; books, shoes, sandals, hair clips, shampoo; 2 televisions and many scholarships... worth nearly 400 million VND.
Thanks to that, Dan Lai students can stay in the dormitory with peace of mind, no longer skipping school to go out and play, skipping school to go home. Many students now work far away, and occasionally call “Mother Thanh” to ask for advice on career orientation, jobs and other issues in life.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh's heart for people in difficult areas is also shown through the fact that she and the officers and soldiers of Mon Son Border Guard Station built a "Zero-VND booth" to give away tons of clothes, books, and supplies to people for free; directly called for support to build a house for Mr. Lo Van Huyen's family in Cang village worth more than 75 million VND; supported the construction of water pipes for Dan Lai people in group 3, Cua Rao village worth more than 65 million VND; called for support to build a kindergarten in Lang Yen village worth 2 billion VND...
During the working process in the border area of Mon Son (Con Cuong) in the past and Tam Hop (Tuong Duong) at present, it was found that women of the Dan Lai ethnic group and the Tay Poong, Thai, Mong, Kho Mu ethnic groups... not only faced economic difficulties but also faced many obstacles in life due to limited access to social knowledge, legal knowledge...
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh is particularly interested in disseminating the Law on Marriage and Family; the issues of early marriage and consanguineous marriage; the Law on Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence; gender equality... to raise awareness and skills for ethnic minority women.
She also advised the unit commander to coordinate with the Women's Union of Mon Son commune to establish and maintain the effective operation of 3 "Women participating in protecting territorial sovereignty and national border security" clubs in Bac Son, Nam Son and Yen villages, with 105 members.
In early 2024, when transferring to work in Tam Hop commune (Tuong Duong) - which has 25.724 km of border adjacent to Vieng Thoong district, Bolikhamxay province (Laos), Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh advised and coordinated with the Women's Union of Tam Hop commune to establish the "Women with the Law" Club in Huoi Son village; through the program "Accompanying women in the border areas", build a livelihood model to help women members of Mong Pha Lom village improve their lives.
Talking to us, two members who were given goats and instructions on raising goats, Ms. Vu Y Lau and Ms. Vu Y Gau, both expressed their gratitude for the attention of the women's union at all levels, especially Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh, who has supported Mong women to escape poverty and build "5 no, 3 clean" families.
During her military career, especially during her time working at border posts, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh shared that she always kept in mind Uncle Ho's teachings to "respect the people, be close to the people, understand the people, learn from the people and be responsible to the people".
Therefore, when working with village cadres and people, she and her teammates always maintain an exemplary demeanor, speaking in a friendly, sincere, simple, easy-to-understand manner. In some cases, they even use the local language to do "mass mobilization" work, helping people to easily absorb and apply it.
Being a weak woman, choosing to pursue a career in border defense is already courageous, but volunteering to go to a border area that is more remote and difficult than the previous one like Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh also requires a strong will.
Explaining her decision, the "blue rose" from the border laughed heartily, "because I'm the type of person who doesn't like to choose easy jobs."
Her strong personality was inherited from family tradition, especially from her beloved mother - a female police officer, Head of the Provincial Police Women's Committee.
In addition, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh is also fortunate to have a solid "rear" which is the sharing and understanding of her husband and children. For nearly 6 years, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh volunteered to work at the border, while her husband, Mr. Pham Van Dao - working at Vinh Urban Infrastructure Management and Development Joint Stock Company, stayed at home as the rear.
Even when his wife volunteered to stay on duty during holidays and Tet or stayed for months on the front line to prevent and fight the Covid-19 epidemic, Mr. Dao and his children still supported and encouraged them. Thanks to the harmony between husband and wife, their children have all grown up and are well-behaved. The daughter graduated with a degree in Management Science from Hanoi National University, and the youngest son is in his second year at Vinh University.
Occasionally, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh also welcomes her husband, children and family members to travel long distances to visit the unit, encourage and motivate her not to be afraid of difficulties and hardships, stay close to the people and the village, and promptly advise the team and the unit's Command to perform well the task of building a strong people's position and building an increasingly strong people's border defense.
Besides being a skillful mass mobiliser, as a border guard party member working in the border area, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh is particularly interested in consolidating the grassroots political system. She regularly advises and discusses party work for the Bac Son, Thai Son 2, Nam Son, Tan Son, Tan Hoa Party cells (Mon Son commune, Con Cuong) or the Pha Lom village Party cell, Tam Hop commune (Tuong Duong).
At the same time, through good relationships with village cadres and people, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh promptly grasped the situation in the assigned and managed areas to advise the unit to coordinate with local Party committees and authorities to have solutions to handle and resolve the problem.
Up to now, she has directly received 25 accurate sources of information provided by the people, thereby reporting and advising the unit's Command Board to arrest 1 case/1 subject with illegal activities of the "Church of God the Mother", 2 gambling cases/8 subjects, 5 cases of electric shock/5 subjects...
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Cam - Deputy Chief of Politics of Nghe An Border Guard said: Comrade Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh is the first female officer of Nghe An Border Guard to volunteer to work in the border area and has excellently completed all assigned tasks.
From the pioneering example of Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh, currently, the entire Nghe An border force has 18 female soldiers on duty at border posts on the two border lines of the province.
Up to now, she has been stationed at the border for nearly 6 years. Despite many hardships and pressures, for Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh, this is also a period of time that leaves her with many unforgettable memories of comradeship and military-civilian relations at the border.
Through the practice of being close to the people and staying close to the villages, the "female soldiers" of the border force understand and appreciate more the loyal and attached feelings of "the station is home, the border is homeland, and the people of all ethnic groups are blood brothers".
With her tireless efforts and dedication, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh has been an Emulation Fighter for many years; received Certificates of Merit from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Border Guard Command; is a typical example of Nghe An province receiving a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister in the 5-year review of the implementation of Directive No. 05-CT/TW of the 12th Politburo on "Promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and lifestyle"; and was selected to participate in the exchange program "Ho Chi Minh - Journey of Aspiration".
In 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thi Tran Thanh was one of 197 prestigious delegates from 42 border provinces and cities across the country to be honored in the second "Village Support" Program jointly organized by the Communist Magazine, the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Border Guard Command in Hanoi. She was also honored to be one of 64 typical advanced delegates in the Emulation Congress for Victory of the Border Guard of Nghe An province for the period 2019 - 2024.
