The story of 'the wild bees'

(Baonghean.vn) - Climbing mountains and wading streams, regardless of sun or rain, to reach each village to mobilize people to do a good job in population and family planning. That is the daily work of population officers in ethnic minority areas. There, the villagers often call them the hard-working "wild bees".

Ngoc Lam Commune is the resettlement area of ​​Ban Ve Hydropower Plant for people in the mountainous district of Tuong Duong. Although the majority of the population are ethnic minorities, their level of awareness is still low compared to the general level of society, the population issue here has had encouraging results, the whole commune has up to 100% of couples signing a commitment not to have a third child or more, 93% of women in the commune apply modern contraceptive methods.

Ms. Loc Thi Dai (far right) talks with Ta Xieng women about family planning.

Ms. Loc Thi Dai, who has been involved in population and family planning for more than 10 years, shared: “Working with people here, because their level of understanding is still low, there are difficulties in conveying information. I have to find ways to speak in the most approachable and simple way so that they can understand. But doing this work in the village is also easier than in the lowlands, people here listen to the cadres very much, they trust the cadres so when the cadres say, they listen.”

Talking about her fate in this profession, she said that in the past, a superior officer assigned her the task of introducing family planning to the people of a small village in Tuong Duong. The initial confusion made her confused, but when she saw the trusting eyes of the people, she had more motivation to try. Then, after being attached to the job for a long time, her love for the job grew day by day.

Ms. Dai still remembers the case of Mr. Luong Van May and Ms. Luong Thi Doan's family in Muong village, because they had only one child, they still wanted to have more. She went to their house to explain clearly to them, but it seemed that their desire to have more children was still so great that her words were like "water off a duck's back".

So every few months, she traveled a long distance to visit their family, confiding in them sincerely so that they could realize the fundamental value of a happy family. After three months of perseverance, May and her husband understood this and now, when their family's finances are stable, they really appreciate and are grateful to her. "This job is like that, you have to be persistent and patient to get results. If you don't love the job, it's easy to get discouraged," Dai shared.

Women in the Ngoc Lam resettlement area, Thanh Chuong district, now have stable lives and are doing well in family planning.

Like Ms. Dai, Ms. Luong Thi Chuong in Ta Xieng village is also a population collaborator of the commune. Once, following the two women to the village to propagate about family planning, witnessing the regular activities of the women in the village, I saw the enthusiasm and dedication of Ms. Dai and Ms. Chuong. They were absorbed in talking, in a humorous and sincere way, the sentences were very close to reality, about the potatoes and cassava that the people have been attached to for generations.

Looking at the attentive faces of the women in the village, I understood that those words had helped them realize many things, that family happiness and stability in the family home come from understanding, sharing and consensus in implementing family planning well. And those “hardworking wild bees” – they are still working silently and persistently every day for the prosperity and well-being of the village.

Phuong Thao