The story of special petitions in Con Cuong

From 19 petitions in Xieng village…

At the end of the year, people in Mon Son - Muong Qua area are preparing for production and planting according to the seasonal calendar. Wherever you go, you hear stories about applying to escape poverty. The pioneer is Mrs. La Thi Tin in Xieng village. Her family used to be the most difficult in the village. For more than 10 consecutive years, the Management Board and the villagers have continuously considered her a poor household to enjoy the incentives of the State.

Thanks to her diligence and business plan, her family's life is now stable, so at the village meeting, Ms. Tin decided to withdraw from the poor household list. Ms. La Thi Tin's actions have created a positive effect on the people of Xieng village, and immediately several people stood up to respond, including Ms. Ha Thi Nhan.

A corner of Mon Son border commune (Con Cuong). Photo: Cong Kien

Coming to her house, Ms. Nhan showed us the application with scribbled lines, the words were still awkward but exuded determination: "In the past, our family has encountered many difficulties in economic development. Therefore, the village has also considered our family as a poor household from 2010 to 2018. Our family has also enjoyed many preferential policies from superiors... And our family also has a part-time job with a stable income. At the end of 2018, after being considered a poor household, our family volunteered to escape poverty.".

Ms. Nhan added that due to her husband and wife's poor health, their family life has been difficult, and over the past 8 years they have always received support from the State. In particular, in 2018, the family received support to build a charity house, no longer having to live in the old, dilapidated house. The couple increased pig and chicken farming and vegetable growing to earn more income, so life has become less difficult.

Application to escape poverty of Ms. Ha Thi Nhan, Xieng village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong). Photo: Ba Hau

Therefore, when the village management board organized the 2019 poverty assessment, Ms. Nhan discussed with her husband about removing herself from the poverty list, giving support to more disadvantaged families. At first, her husband was hesitant, but in the end, she persuaded him and agreed to write an application to escape poverty.

Also in Xieng village, Mr. Vi Van Thuyen's family has been poor for more than 10 years, partly because they are often sick, and partly because they have many children, making their lives miserable. Being considered poor, the family receives food support during famines and during the Lunar New Year, and is given priority in medical examination and treatment.

That helped Mr. Thuyen and his wife overcome difficult times. Now that their children have grown up and are working hard, life is no longer as difficult as before. Seeing Mrs. Tin and Ms. Nhan apply, Mr. Thuyen also decided to remove himself from the poor household list. He shared: "Actually, every time I received subsidies, I felt ashamed, so when the economy gradually stabilized, I removed myself from the poor household list to continue to strive to improve myself."

Ms. La Thi Tin - the first person in Xieng village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) to write a petition to escape poverty. Photo: Cong Kien

From Ms. Tin, Ms. Nhan and Mr. Thuyen, 16 more households in Xieng village applied, bringing the number of households applying to escape poverty to 19 and the total number of households in the whole commune to nearly 30. Mr. Vi Van Nam - Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son commune said: "The economic and social life is still difficult, but most of the people here have the consciousness to escape poverty. 5 years ago, Ms. La Thi Nguyet in Cua Rao village was the first person to apply to be out of poverty, since then, every year in the villages there are households writing applications. Thanks to that, the poverty rate of the commune has decreased significantly."

… to good news

From Mon Son, we went to Thach Ngan - one of the most difficult communes in Con Cuong and continued to hear stories about applications to escape poverty. In Khe Dong village, there is Vi Dinh Tien (born in 1990), who has just gotten married and separated his family, with young children, so life is quite difficult. A few years ago, Tien's family was considered poor by the village management board, and this year he decided to apply to escape poverty.

Ms. Ha Thi Nhan, Xieng village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) actively increases production to have a stable source of income. Photo: Ba Hau

The "reason" given by the Thai ethnic youth Vi Dinh Tien was: "My husband and I are young and healthy, if we continue to accept poor households, it will be shameful, we must apply to escape poverty to try to make a living." Similarly, also in Khe Dong village, Mr. Le Cuc (born in 1993) also applied to escape poverty, the reason given was that because he and his wife are young, they still have a lot of time to strive, so they give the State's preferential treatment to households with elderly, lonely and sick members.

Not only Mon Son and Thach Ngan, but also in Luc Da, Bong Khe and Mau Duc communes, many households have applied to be removed from the poverty line. In 2018 alone, the whole Con Cuong district had 61 households voluntarily applying to escape poverty. Since 2016, 383 households have applied to be removed from the poverty line, contributing to a 4-5% reduction in the local poverty rate each year, creating a premise for stable and sustainable development.

People in Xieng village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong) always have the consciousness to rise up and escape poverty. Photo: Ba Hau

Ms. Kha Thi Tim - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Con Cuong district said: "In recent years, there has been a movement in the district where people voluntarily write applications to be removed from the list of poor households. This can be seen as a positive signal in the fight against hunger and poverty reduction, proving that people are beginning to have the awareness to strive to develop their family economy, the mentality of waiting and relying on others is gradually being eliminated."