The 'steel quality' of Village 2 Party Cell

The countryside is flourishing

Tao Son commune is quite far from the center of Anh Son district and borders two communes, Ngoc Son and Lam Son, of Do Luong district. People in Tao Son commune have been attached to the fields for generations, making their living from agriculture. Although life here is not rich, it is peaceful. The government and people are united thanks to the consensus of the people and the pioneering cadres who dare to think and dare to do. Among the 7 villages and hamlets of Tao Son commune, in the past 2 years, village 2 has seen many improvements, with infrastructure being renovated and newly built.

“These improvements are thanks to the steady work of the Village 2 Executive Committee, the support of the people, and the presence of a Party Cell Secretary who is also the Head of the Front Work Committee who talks and acts; especially since Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong took on this role, Village 2 has had spectacular changes.”

Comrade Nguyen Trong Toan - Secretary of the Party Committee of Tao Son commune (Anh Son)

Leading us to village 2, the main road running through the village 2 Cultural House is spacious, clean, and beautiful, not less than the center of the People's Committee of Tao Son commune. Right at the beginning of the village is a cluster of 5 towering flagpoles, the poles are made of sturdy steel and mounted on concrete pillars painted pure white. Above, the national flags proudly flutter. Passing the cluster of flagpoles, in addition to the service shops of the people, our attention was attracted by a group of people happily cheering for a table tennis match at a small roadside shop.

The Party Secretary of the commune said that the cost of buying this table tennis set was sponsored by the Party Secretary of Hamlet 2 calling on benefactors to sponsor the villagers. Since having the table tennis set, this place has become a fun and exciting sports spot every afternoon for all the villagers inside and outside the village. From the useful football matches, the solidarity and closeness have become even closer.

Right in front of the table tennis shop is a sturdy steel lamppost and flagpole. A local resident told us that there are a total of 30 such lampposts along the main road of village 2. Since the system of lampposts was installed, every night the houses and alleys of the village are dyed with civilized light, and the people are very excited. "These dozens of lampposts and flagpoles are worth more than 100 million VND, thanks to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong calling on his children, grandchildren, and relatives living far away to contribute support" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, an official of the Women's Union of Tao Son commune added.

The flagpole and flower bed cluster of village 2, Tao Son commune was built with contributions from local party members. Photo: Hoai Thu

Not yet finished with the surprises about the village party cell secretary, we were also "bragging" to the people about the love they have for the village cadre who has 40 years of studying and working in the army, and 47 years of Party membership. After retiring, he was elected by the Village 2 Party Cell to be the Party Cell Secretary from 2017 to present.

The people of village 2, like many other families in Tao Son commune, have been involved in farming for generations, mainly producing one crop of rice, corn, and potatoes each year. However, since Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong took on the duties of Party cell secretary and head of the village's Front Work Committee, the former soldier has led the cell to implement three specialized resolutions. These resolutions have become a "push" that has contributed to changing the lives of the people of village 2 as well as the infrastructure serving the community here. These are the specialized resolutions on winter corn production; rebuilding the village cultural house campus; and the resolution on building a project to light up the countryside roads.

Implementing the resolutions of the Party cell, so that people believe and agree to change their farming practices from producing one crop per year to two crops, the Party cell secretary and Party members volunteered to do it first. “Each Party member household took the lead in planting winter corn, the least household was 2 sao, the most household was 5 sao. The Party cell secretary himself also planted 5 sao. The first winter corn crop of village 2 was successful, the corn had many flowers, high yield, and was lush, which encouraged people to follow. From a place where no one in the village planted winter corn, after the first season, 200 households in the village planted 7.5 hectares of winter corn, every family had a considerable amount of extra income. The joy multiplied with the laughter and trust of the people in the Party cell.

After the success of the winter corn crop, the Party cell of village 2 continued to mobilize people to build and renovate the campus of the village cultural house. Old and damaged parts were replaced or purchased new ones, such as the corrugated iron roof, concrete pouring on the yard floor... Parts that could still be used were repaired, such as tables, chairs, doors... After disseminating the policy of repairing the community activity site of the whole village, Party cell Secretary Nguyen Thanh Dong took the lead in donating 2 million VND. Party cell members also followed suit, each contributing from 500,000 to 1 million VND depending on their ability.

All contributions from the people as well as cadres and party members were disclosed in detail by the Village Executive Committee. In just a short time, the people donated 95 million VND, enough to repair and renovate the village cultural house to be spacious, clean and beautiful. All expenses for repair and construction were announced and disclosed in detail so no one questioned or worried about the transparency of the investment and construction. After completion, people had a place to meet and interact with a clean, beautiful and airy campus so everyone was happy and excited.

Peaceful life in village 2, Tao Son commune (Anh Son). Photo: Hoai Thu

After the success of the two resolutions, the Party cell of village 2 continued to boldly implement the third resolution "Lighting up the countryside roads", the main result of which was a system of more than 30 electric poles with high-pressure lamps and hooks hanging the national flag along the main road. The project is worth more than 100 million VND and the Party cell secretary called on relatives working far away and successful descendants in the family to contribute to support the construction of the homeland. Village and hamlet officials and people also contributed to the role of supervising the construction and installation.

Promoting the qualities of "Uncle Ho's Soldier"

Talking about the changes in village 2, Tao Son commune, Party Secretary Nguyen Trong Toan said that the resolutions that were both correct, accurate, and close to reality had aroused the belief, awareness, and responsibility of each cadre, party member, and people. And to have such positive changes was thanks to the steadfastness and decisiveness of Party cell secretary and head of the Front Work Committee of village 2 Nguyen Thanh Dong. Born in 1956, nearly 50 years of Party membership and more than 40 years of working in the military, after retiring, with concerns and a desire to contribute a little effort to his homeland, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong agreed to join the Party committee and the village and hamlet executive committee since 2017, and has taken on the role of Party cell secretary for more than 2 years now.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong confided that he himself was about to enter the "rare" age as Uncle Ho used to say, many retired cadres could not participate in local movement activities due to health or many other reasons. Those who were still healthy, able to undertake some work, and wanted to build their homeland with the Party Committee, the government and the people, and enjoy the joy together in the village, so when the commune Party Committee cadres mobilized many retired cadres and civil servants, because of their responsibility and desire, they joined the movement at the grassroots level. Most of the cadres in the village, hamlet and commune participated first of all because of their responsibility and enthusiasm, true to the proverb that our ancestors had summarized for generations - "eating at home, carrying the prison and the village".

Officials of the Party Committee of Tao Son commune discussed with the Executive Committee of Village 2 about the plan for urban beautification and new rural construction. Photo: Hoai Thu

In the story about the concerns for the homeland, the Party members of Village 2 Party Cell said that in the beginning, when Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong took on the role of Secretary, he also encountered many difficulties and concerns. With nearly half a century of working in the army, growing up from a soldier, then a commander, Mr. Thanh Dong always had the habits and style of a soldier in both managing general work and daily life. Therefore, in the first days of "taking office" as Party Cell Secretary, he also brought the style of an army commander to manage the work of the village, hamlet, and Party Cell, making many people uncomfortable.

A party member happily recounted the memory of being "criticized" by the Party cell secretary in the written review of party members at the end of the year, "due to the nature of the work, although living in the locality, I and a number of other party members were quite busy with professional work, especially at the end of the year. Therefore, there were some village and hamlet meetings that I could not attend. So at the end of the year, the secretary frankly commented on what was good and what was not good in the paper asking for comments from the Party cell about party members at the place of residence." But later, when Secretary Nguyen Thanh Dong compared and analyzed the contributions of each member, the party members saw the clarity and fairness of the village executive committee. And from then on, the participation in meetings as well as contributions to movements of the village and hamlet were enthusiastically responded to by party members. And they felt joy and meaning when they became closer to their neighbors, happy because they saw that they could contribute more to the path of building green, clean, beautiful, and united villages and hamlets.

Listening to his comrades' confidences, Uncle Dong smiled happily and also confided that, after a period of living locally, far away from the military environment he had been attached to for decades, he himself also learned many fun things, and also realized that he had been rigid and not yet proficient in his work.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong said: “Thanks to this, in the Party cell meetings, especially the year-end review occasions, I and other comrades have carried out criticism and self-criticism very frankly and comfortably. After self-criticism and criticism of our comrades, both sides feel satisfied, see the positive effects that help each person improve themselves, be happier and more sociable.”

In addition to helping each other improve and improve, the former soldier secretary also revealed another "secret" that helps the Party cell of Hamlet 2 become increasingly strong and prestigious, which is the attention to the party members in the residential area. According to Mr. Dong, this is a group of incumbents, most of whom are qualified, educated, and still in their prime and can contribute a lot to the agency or unit. Therefore, they are also potential factors to contribute to building movements in the residential area. Thinking is doing, every year-end summary, the Party cell secretary himself contributes funds with the village executive committee to organize exchanges and meetings with party members in the residential area, both to solicit opinions and suggestions for building movements from incumbent cadres and employees, and to strengthen the solidarity and support of this group for the policies of the village and hamlet.

Thanks to that, in 2021, the Party Cell of Village 2 and the party members in the residential area contributed 20 million VND (of which, Party Cell Secretary Nguyen Thanh Dong donated 1 million VND) to build 2 flower beds and a flagpole cluster at the village's intersection.

Table tennis training equipment is being socialized by the Party Cell of Village 2. Photo: Hoai Thu

Together with the local party members, under the decisive, daring, and impartial leadership of Party cell Secretary Nguyen Thanh Dong, the village executive committee has gradually brought village 2 to a better and better place. In addition to the success of the 3 resolutions of the party cell, the movements to support the Fund for the Poor, encourage learning, and prevent and fight the Covid-19 epidemic, the village has always been at the forefront of the commune, all taxes and funds contributed to support village construction are public and transparent, creating trust among the people. Thanks to that, widespread emulation movements have been created throughout the village; pushing back the phenomena of degradation in ideology, ethics, lifestyle, bureaucracy, and command. Encouraging cadres and party members to be enthusiastic and passionate about their work for the common benefit of the people.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong - Secretary of Party Cell 2, Tao Son Commune (Anh Son). Photo: Hoai Thu

Sharing his own experiences in working in villages and hamlets, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong said that first of all, the Party cell secretary must, together with the Party Committee, propose and build a leadership resolution that is close to reality. Once there is a resolution, stick to it to direct the Village Front Work Committee to propagate and disseminate it to each person. Families who do not attend meetings must go to each house to propagate and mobilize people to understand and be clear. If there are any unclear problems in the propaganda process, quickly consult the Village Front Work Committee to find a solution. And cadres and Party members must be pioneers in voluntarily setting an example, first of all from the Party Committee to Party members, implementing the Party members go first, the country follows. At the same time, promote collective intelligence, always uphold the principle of democratic centralism and promote self-criticism and criticism.

Summarizing 1 year of implementing Conclusion 01 on "Continuing to deploy studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology and moral example" of the entire Anh Son district, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong is the only grassroots Party cell secretary to be commended by the District Party Committee and recognized as a typical example of studying and following Uncle Ho. As Party cell secretary and Head of the Front Work Committee in the village, veteran Nguyen Thanh Dong is affectionately called by his comrades, teammates and people as "Thanh Dong, the steel rampart" of the village, hamlet because of his contributions to fostering the spirit of solidarity among the people, because of his spirit of dedication, always putting public affairs above private affairs of a veteran who has followed the Party his whole life.