Caring for families entitled to preferential treatment.

(Baonghean) - With a sense of responsibility, morality, and the tradition of "drinking water, remembering the source," the authorities, sectors, and people of Dien Chau district are focusing on implementing many activities to care for families of wounded soldiers, martyrs, and those who have made contributions to the revolution.

Dien Chau is one of the districts with a large number of families receiving preferential treatment, with 27,279 people who have rendered meritorious service, including 4,668 martyrs, 4,078 wounded soldiers, 1,325 sick soldiers, 1,578 people affected by Agent Orange, 145 Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, 300 revolutionary activists, and 15,330 people awarded medals and decorations. The officials and people of Dien Chau district and 13 communes have been awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.

Officials and people of Dien Chau district contributed more than 32 billion VND to build the district's Martyrs' Memorial Temple.

Upholding the tradition of "drinking water, remembering the source" and "repaying gratitude," the Party Committee and people of the district consistently care for wounded soldiers, families of martyrs, and people with meritorious contributions through various rich forms and practical, effective methods. The Standing Committee of the District Party Committee has issued many directives and resolutions to enhance the leadership role of Party committees at all levels and the grassroots political system in the work of repaying gratitude. The District People's Committee has developed projects and plans to direct all levels, sectors, agencies, and units to effectively implement state management of social policies, especially the implementation of the Law on People with Meritorious Contributions, and directives from ministries, sectors, the Central Government, and the province on the policy of "repaying gratitude." The District Fatherland Front Committee has developed a specific plan to propagate and mobilize all strata of the people, political and social organizations, and agencies to actively participate in gratitude movements. The Fatherland Front at all levels organized movements to support the "Gratitude and Repayment" Fund, built houses of compassion, and assisted families of policy beneficiaries and meritorious individuals. At the same time, the Fatherland Front effectively monitored the implementation of policies for meritorious individuals and the five gratitude and repayment programs issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. The handling of petitions and complaints related to policies for meritorious individuals was timely, complete, and error-free.

The "gratitude and repayment" movement, building houses of gratitude for policy beneficiary families in the area, is implemented in many diverse forms such as mobilizing philanthropists, businesses, and organizations to provide lifelong care for Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, building and repairing houses of gratitude, implementing regulations on medical care, annual convalescence allowances, visiting allowances during illness and death, and giving gifts during holidays. The movement of the whole population caring for wounded soldiers, families of martyrs, and people with meritorious services is given attention and done well by the district and communes. Communes prioritize good, nearby land for families of wounded soldiers and martyrs, providing advance supplies of fertilizers and other materials to be repaid later, and mass organizations send people to help with labor so that policy beneficiary families can cultivate their crops on time. Children of war invalids and martyrs are exempt from contributions and school construction fees, and are given priority in many social policies such as tuition support, free books and stationery, and priority in recruitment into schools and state agencies. The total monthly expenditure for policy beneficiaries and meritorious individuals is over 12 billion VND/month (calculated based on salaries and allowances in 2012). Over the past 5 years, 80 remains of martyrs have been collected and brought back to their localities, support for relatives to visit martyrs' cemeteries outside the province has exceeded 700 million VND, health insurance cards have been issued to over 23,000 meritorious individuals, rehabilitation has been organized for over 12,000 meritorious individuals, and subsidies have been provided to 42,531 students under Decree 49 with a total amount of 77 billion VND. Other movements such as sponsoring and supporting Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, sewing silk dresses as gifts for them, and paying tribute to heroic martyrs have been carried out throughout all 39 communes and towns. In the past period, the entire district has donated 952 shirts and blankets to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, mothers and wives of martyrs, and people with meritorious services. 100% of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers receive monthly support from agencies and businesses, with amounts ranging from 250,000 to 400,000 VND per mother per month. Notable examples include the Vung Tau Oil and Gas Agency supporting Mother Hoang Thi Que in Dien Xuan commune with 48 million VND, the Industrial and Commercial Bank supporting 9 mothers with 216 million VND, and Bao Viet Insurance Company supporting Mother Tran Thi Ba in Dien Ngoc commune with over 33 million VND. Social organizations in the areas where the mothers live, such as the Veterans Association, Women's Association, Youth Union, and Elderly Association, along with neighbors, provide thousands of man-days of labor during harvest season and times of illness, and give gifts worth 7.5 million VND during holidays. Every year, the district and communes organize the renovation and repair of cemeteries and martyrs' memorials. From 2008 to the present, 10 new memorials and monuments at the commune level have been built, costing 5.4 billion VND; and 76 memorials and monuments have been upgraded and renovated, costing 2 billion VND. The district mobilized the entire population to support the construction of the Dien Chau Martyrs' Memorial Temple, covering over 2 hectares and costing 32 billion VND. This is a typical project of gratitude and remembrance, a project reflecting the will of the Party and the people in the district to commemorate and honor the heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland and the happiness of the people.

A highlight of the "gratitude and repayment" movement in Dien Chau, focusing on caring for families entitled to preferential policies, is its connection with promoting patriotic emulation movements, excellent production and business practices, developing small-scale industries, trade and services, and building new rural areas. This has resulted in an annual economic growth rate of 10-12%. In recent years, Dien Chau has enjoyed bumper harvests, with annual food production reaching 125,000-130,000 tons, aquaculture and fishing output reaching 35,000 tons/year, and processing and consumption of 10 million liters of fish sauce per year. Twenty craft villages have been established and recognized by the Provincial People's Committee, producing 30 different products for domestic consumption and export. Total production income in the area in 2014 reached 8,631 billion VND, budget revenue reached 146 billion VND, and average income was 25 million VND/person/year. Five communes have been recognized by the province as meeting national standards for new rural development, while the remaining communes have achieved between 13 and 18 criteria. Production has developed, living standards have improved, and officials and people in Dien Chau have better conditions to do a better job of "showing gratitude and repaying kindness," and caring for families entitled to preferential policies.

To date, 100% of communes, towns, and 460 villages in the district have established "Gratitude and Repayment" Funds, "For the Poor" Funds, and Funds to Support "Agent Orange Victims," ​​with each fund having a balance of 60 to over 100 million VND per commune. In the past five years alone, this fund has raised 8 billion VND, built nearly 300 new houses for policy beneficiaries with 3.5 billion VND, and renovated and upgraded 122 houses for policy beneficiaries with 764 million VND. This is a highly socialized movement that has yielded practical results, contributing to alleviating difficulties in the lives of policy beneficiary families, especially war invalids and martyrs' families facing hardship and deprivation. Thanks to loans and vocational training, thousands of war invalids and veterans have been able to excel in production and business, alleviate poverty, build decent houses, and provide their children with better educational opportunities. In summarizing the patriotic emulation movement over the five years from 2010 to 2014, Dien Chau district was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and the People's Committee of Nghe An province for its work in war invalids and social affairs, and for caring for families entitled to preferential policies.

Le Hoai Thung