The story of bringing light to the countryside in Cao Son.

Located about 20 km east of Anh Son district center, Cao Son commune has long been known as the capital of commercial Gay tea cultivation. Despite this, this hill-loving crop has never significantly improved the lives of the people of Cao Son. Cao Son remains a disadvantaged commune in Anh Son district, and this area is known as the "backwater" of the region. But that was several years ago. Now, Cao Son has changed dramatically.

Things I saw and heard

Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau stated that he had met with voters many times and directly encountered numerous people, but this was the first time in Cao Son commune that voters had insisted on asking National Assembly and People's Council representatives at all levels to help them "retain" the Chairman of the People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Vinh. The people feared that if the chairman were "transferred from above," the people of Cao Son would lose their source of support.

I took inspiration from the heartfelt words of the Colonel - Director of the Provincial Police - and made my way back to Cao Son commune on a day in early 2019.

I didn't rush to the commune office but wandered through the villages and hamlets to listen to the conversations. I stopped at a small shop on the main road of Hamlet 4. Under the eaves of the shop, three men were chatting animatedly over steaming cups of green tea. Seeing a stranger, all three almost simultaneously greeted me: "Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" Their conversation revolved around contributing to the development of the village. One of them was showing the other two a certificate of commendation he had just received from the commune office.

Mr. Tran Huu Loi proudly displays his Certificate of Commendation for donating land for the construction of social welfare facilities. Photo: Dao Tuan.

This is a Certificate of Commendation for Mr. Tran Huu Loi, from Hamlet 4.Because of his achievements in the "Lighting Up the Countryside" movement, he voluntarily donated land to build the Banyan Tree Altar Temple. Seeing me take a picture, the man named Loi, a small, dark-skinned man, quickly raised his earthy brown hand and said emphatically, "Sir, the whole village donated, it's not just my house. It's only three ox cartloads of acacia trees and a few hundred square meters of hillside land; the villagers will laugh at me, sir!"

This is the local recognition of the families participating in the "Lighting Up the Countryside" movement in Cao Son commune. Photo: Dao Tuan

When I mentioned the recent changes in Cao Son commune, the men seemed to be struck by the news, taking turns sharing stories about their village and commune. For the past two years, Cao Son commune has no longer suffered from flooding; many main roads have been paved with asphalt or concrete, and even the most remote sections have been covered with crushed stone. Most notably, in the past, during the rainy season, Cao Son commune was often cut off and isolated because the Cua Den bridge (also known as Nha Ba Temple bridge) was submerged in floodwaters. Now, a new bridge has been built, helping the people avoid the risks of traveling across it.

“The Hung Bridge, which had been dilapidated for decades and caused 2-3 deaths, has now been repaired, with railings installed and bridge supports welded, ensuring safe passage for everyone,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Thu, a resident of Hamlet 4. Mr. Thu was visibly moved: “Do you know who did what no one did decades ago? Teacher Vinh! On his very first day in the commune, he visited all 10 hamlets. Standing on the Hung Bridge, he immediately called workers to install railings. It was all his own money. No one for generations thought of doing something like that for the villagers.”

Road upgrade work is underway in Cao Son commune. Photo: Dao Tuan

At this point, several new people arrived at the shop. Mr. Nguyen Cong Hong from Hamlet 3 and Mr. Tran Huu Chin from Hamlet 3 joined the conversation. “Come here at night and see for yourself, all the intersections and main roads have been equipped with streetlights. That’s one of the key activities of the ‘Lighting Up the Countryside’ program initiated by the commune. Regarding clearing the road corridor, Mr. Vinh said that by the afternoon, the villagers were enthusiastically dismantling fences and cutting down trees. Mr. Vinh also provided seedlings of flamboyant trees, flowering trees, and mahogany trees for the villages to plant along the roads so that future generations will have more shade. The kindergarten, which had been dilapidated for years, now has a new school thanks to Mr. Vinh. We know it’s all people’s contributions, but if the leaders don’t have heart and vision, how can the people listen? We’ve contributed our own money. We lost money, but we feel happy about it,” Mr. Nguyen Cong Hong said enthusiastically.

The credit goes to the team.

I brought with me what I had seen and heard when I arrived at the Cao Son commune headquarters. Meeting the Chairman of the People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Vinh, he immediately asserted: “The changes in the commune are thanks to the attention of the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, the District People's Committee, and the assistance of the province and various levels and sectors, especially the innovative thinking of the people. Please don't attribute those results to me. I'm just a teacher assigned to manage the commune for a while!” Listening to the chairman, a man of the old-fashioned type, with dark skin and a slow, straightforward manner of speaking, I knew he didn't want to talk about me.

In 2017, while serving as the Head of the Education Department of Anh Son District, Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh expressed his desire to return to Cao Son commune to participate in village and commune affairs with the local Party committee, government, and people. According to local residents, on his very first day in Cao Son commune, he visited all 10 villages. He went to see the landscape of Cao Son, a place often described as a low-lying, indented area.

Cao Son commune has a total natural area of ​​3,151.8 hectares, 1,535 households with 5,221 inhabitants, and a poverty rate of over 10%, making it one of the most disadvantaged areas in the district. For a long time, infrastructure has received little investment and upgrading; schools, especially kindergartens, have the weakest facilities in the district. The rural road system consists of 147 routes with a total length of up to 172.2 km, mostly unpaved roads. Many routes have deteriorated and are severely damaged.

After careful surveying and understanding the aspirations of officials, Party members, and the people, the new Chairman of the Cao Son Commune People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Vinh, advised and proposed to the Commune Party Committee to analyze the situation and issue Resolution No. 35-NQ/DU on the implementation of tasks in 2017 and subsequent years. As a result, the entire Cao Son commune became a massive construction site, with areas being leveled and filled with earth and stone for road construction, and others for bridge renovation and upgrading. Many technical infrastructure projects were urgently planned in detail for construction and repair. In addition to government support policies and contributions from various levels and sectors, significant contributions came from the people themselves through the social mobilization initiative. "The commune leaders have hit the nail on the head, doing what the people have longed for for many years, so they don't mind contributing whatever they have to," said one resident.Mr. Dang Ich Cuu, from Hamlet 1, Cao Son Commune, said.

Construction workers build auxiliary facilities for Cao Son Commune Kindergarten. Photo: Dao Tuan

"The most important thing is not what projects are completed, but rather rebuilding the people's trust. This is the core element," affirmed Nguyen Duc Vinh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cao Son commune.

One of the activities that builds trust among the people of Cao Son commune is resolving pressing issues arising from practical situations. Since the end of 2017 alone, in his leading role, Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh has resolved 23 out of 25 petitions, including conflicts that had lasted for decades. In addition, with the principle: wherever there are people, there are roads, over 170 km of roads in Cao Son commune's main, convenient areas have been paved with asphalt and concrete, while in remote, muddy areas, the road surface has been raised with crushed stone. In 2018, the commune completed 4 km of asphalt roads, and is currently continuing construction on another 6 km.

There was a "Dien Hong Conference" in Cao Son.

To spread strength among the people and revive the spirit of community responsibility, Cao Son commune organized a "Dien Hong Conference." This was a workshop on working together to build the homeland, with the participation of key commune officials, elderly people, retired officials, and "representatives" from the villages. The conference utilized the wisdom and strength of the entire commune's unity to raise 18 issues that needed to be addressed. These included issues related to Party building, government building, the Fatherland Front and other mass organizations to meet the new situation; improving administrative reform to serve the interests of the people; focusing on infrastructure development, trade and services; and paying attention to agriculture and land management, etc.

Construction workers are working on various aspects of the Cao Son Commune Kindergarten. Photo: Dao Tuan

The entire commune no longer has makeshift bridges; instead, six sturdy bridges have been invested in and upgraded. A new kindergarten has also been built with an investment of 12 billion VND. Particularly, after the "Lighting Up the Countryside" program was launched, a series of initiatives directly related to the lives and activities of the people were implemented, much to their delight. From the lighting system extending along 100km of roads to the preservation and maintenance of five temples, the people actively contributed to these projects. Cao Son commune is a purely agricultural area, but the people lacked a new mindset in vegetable production. The commune has piloted a project to cultivate 5 acres of clean vegetables. Through this, they have encouraged people to renovate their neglected gardens and land areas to grow safe vegetables. "To date, over 90% of households in the commune have vegetable gardens in their yards. This is the clearest manifestation of the change in mindset among the people."

“To make the emulation movement a revolutionary activity of the masses, the motto of the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune is to take great unity as the driving force, to use villages/hamlets as the ‘fortress,’ to use households as the main actors, to use village leaders and commune officials as the pioneers, and to use the mobilization of resources from the people and those living away from home as the foundation. All of this is the strength of the collective and the masses...”

Mr. Nguyen Duc Vinh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Cao Son Commune