Give "need" and teach "fish"
(Baonghean) - For a long time, whenever talking about poverty alleviation, we have repeatedly mentioned the saying "give a fishing rod, not a string of fish". This is considered a consistent motto and viewpoint in helping and supporting the poor to escape poverty.
That is a very good and very correct viewpoint! Because, in recent years, when the country's economy has improved, the Party and the State have had many policies and national target programs to support the poor. Thanks to that, many poor people have strived to escape poverty, enrich themselves, their families and society. Our achievements in poverty reduction are recognized by the whole world. But besides that, there is a group of poor people who have the mindset of waiting and relying on the support of the State, and have not really made efforts to escape poverty. Therefore, in the immediate future and in the future, it is necessary to strictly and thoroughly apply the above motto and viewpoint.
“Fishing rods” are of course policies, programs, and preferential mechanisms specifically for poor households and the poor. And what needs to be noted here is that after giving the poor “fishing rods”, it is necessary to wholeheartedly help them, meticulously and carefully instruct them on how to “bait” to “how to fish”, “fishing location”, and “fishing season” suitable for each “type of fish” in order to help them “catch” fish to eat instead of bringing fish to them. This requires the helper to be truly skilled, knowledgeable, and truly dedicated, with the time and perseverance necessary for the poor. So who are they? First of all, they are the ones assigned the task and take on the responsibility of helping the poor to escape poverty.
Next comes the local Party Committee, government and organizations. All must join hands and contribute to helping and supporting the poor. Especially the cadres and party members in each village, hamlet and hamlet because they are the closest, understand best, and grasp most fully from the reality to the causes of poverty of the poor. We must "go to every house, check every alley" to thoroughly and accurately find out why people are poor. After clearly identifying the cause, we must see what their wishes are, what they want to do to escape poverty. But we must not just help them according to their wishes, but we must spend time to see if their wishes are consistent with their own capacity, qualifications, and abilities, and are consistent with the natural, social and market conditions around them.
If it is suitable, then it is okay, if not, then advise and consult them, and help them choose the most suitable option. Once they have chosen, then we can start calculating measures to support and help them. If they like raising livestock or growing crops, then we will support them with raising and growing techniques, suitable plant and animal varieties. If they are small traders, then we will provide capital, ways to manage income and expenditure, output, input, calculate profits and losses... If they like to change careers, then we will support them in learning a trade, support them with initial capital when starting a business... In short, we must base on the specific needs of each person and each poor household to have a suitable support plan. That is not enough, we must also spend time monitoring and supervising how they perform those tasks, and if there are any mistakes, we must correct them promptly. If they unfortunately encounter risks, we must also encourage them not to be discouraged. Be steadfast and start over.
To do all of this, the best way is to have a grassroots party organization or party members sponsor a poor household in the way of a few party members combining with well-off households to sponsor a poor household in the way of "holding hands and showing them how to do things", while always standing shoulder to shoulder, encouraging the poor household to rise up in life with their own hands. Some localities have accelerated the pace of poverty reduction thanks to this method. In cases where, after being given a "fishing rod" and instructed on "how to fish", they still refuse to work to rise up, it is also necessary to turn the "fishing rod" into a "whip" or a "stick" to force them to make more efforts. Support and help go hand in hand with propaganda and mobilization to build the will to rise up in life for the poor, but for those who like to wait, rely on others and absolutely refuse to change, there must also be tough measures. "Politics" must "go hand in hand" with the military to be effective.
In short, to help the poor escape poverty sustainably, we should still maintain the viewpoint of giving “fishing rods” and “fishing instructions” instead of giving them strings of fish. Let the poor and poor households hold the “fishing rods” that the State has given them to catch their own “fish”. Only then can we help people feel truly secure, boldly invest, expand production scale, and the path out of poverty for the poor can be shortened and become more sustainable with their own available capabilities.
Duy Huong
