March's Mark

(Baonghean) - Another March has passed, leaving behind a wealth of emotions in the hearts of tens of thousands of young people in Nghe An. It is the month of enthusiasm, of hearts yearning to contribute, of the youth of the Ho Chi Minh generation. Looking back at March – “Youth Month” – serves as a reminder and motivation for the young people in their green uniforms to continue their journey in Nghe An.

Young people in Nghi Loc are dredging canals and ditches.

For over 10 years, March has been designated as Youth Month, featuring vibrant and widespread activities by young people across Vietnam. Joining this spirit, this past March, tens of thousands of young people in Nghe An province engaged in practical community-oriented activities that yielded significant social impact. New roads were opened, warm clothing was provided to impoverished children in mountainous regions, ensuring warm winters for them… All of this left a beautiful impression of the youth of Nghe An today.

We visited the Nghi Loc District Youth Union on a day in early April, when the lingering effects of the vibrant month of March were still evident in every conversation. With the overarching theme for 2014: “Nghi Loc Youth United, Creative in Building New Rural Areas,” the District Youth Union Standing Committee had planned and organized its workforce from the beginning of the year. Across the 30 communes and towns, the district youth union divided into 4 clusters with 4 volunteer clubs. On average, each club had 35-50 young volunteers. Following the launch ceremony, many youth projects were implemented by the clubs, contributing to the construction of new rural areas. In March, Volunteer Club No. 1, comprising 35 youth union members from the communes of Nghi Hoa, Nghi Dien, Nghi Long, Nghi Thuan, Nghi Van, Nghi Trung, and Quan Hanh town, in collaboration with the Nghi Hoa commune youth union, excavated and built 900 meters of embankment for a rural road from hamlet 8 to hamlet 12 in Nghi Hoa commune.

Despite the cold weather, the young people in Cluster 1, with their youthful energy and enthusiasm for their homeland, completed the embankment project in a short time, making the village roads and alleys more spacious, clean, and beautiful. Ms. Nguyen Thi Linh – Secretary of the Nghi Hoa Commune Youth Union and also the Head of the Cluster 1 Volunteer Club – shared: “This is the team's first project after its establishment. Everyone in the club is happy and excited to contribute their efforts to building our homeland. Even happier is that the people in the village are very grateful for the youthful energy of the volunteer club. They treat us like their own children and grandchildren and have cooked meals for everyone, creating a very warm and joyful atmosphere. These are unforgettable memories for the youth union members and also serve as motivation for us to continue striving and contributing to the community and building our homeland.”

Not only in Cluster 1, but also in other clusters, youth union members have carried out many meaningful youth projects. For example, in Nghi Yen commune, the cluster's volunteer club dug a drainage ditch in a low-lying area, 1 meter wide and 2 kilometers long, and laid grass for the commune's stadium. In Nghi Thiet commune, the cluster's volunteer club built a fence for the kindergarten and cleaned up the beach environment. Besides encouraging new and creative youth projects and activities at the grassroots level, the Nghi Loc District Youth Union continues to promote the clubs in programs that have proven effective and have been recognized and highly appreciated by the public and people. For instance, the volunteer club in charge of the "Bowl of Compassion" program.

As is customary, every Saturday morning, doctors, nurses, and patients at Nghi Loc District General Hospital are familiar with the sight of club members bringing porridge to distribute to impoverished patients. These steaming bowls of porridge, filled with kindness and compassion, warm the hearts of the sick. Speaking with us, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Nam – Secretary of the Nghi Loc District Youth Union – said: “In response to Youth Month and the 2014 Youth Year, the Nghi Loc District Youth Union has prioritized organizational work. Therefore, the recruitment and management of members, and the development of activity programs must be practical, grassroots-oriented, and in-depth. Only then will the Youth Union's activities be attractive and engaging for young people, becoming a place to nurture and train them to live with ideals and stay away from social vices.”

Youth union members and young people in Nghi Loc distribute free porridge to poor patients at Nghi Loc District General Hospital.

Further west, the youth volunteer movement also left a significant mark. In Con Cuong district, the Con Cuong District Youth Union mobilized 500 youth union members from 8 communes and towns and 9 affiliated Youth Union units to carry out a project to dredge canals, excavate and level the road surface of the Cam Lam - Don Phuc inter-commune road, with a total length of over 3km and a project value of over 80 million VND. This was a district-level youth project in 2014, contributing to the construction of new rural areas. The Provincial Youth Union organized the "March Border Month" program in Ky Son district; the Provincial Youth Union started the construction of a border youth settlement village in Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district, and awarded the "Outstanding Young Face of Nghe An" prize… And there are many more vibrant and widespread activities of the province's youth. Even more meaningful and valuable, these movements provide an ideal environment for the province's youth union members to train and strive, and many outstanding union members have had the honor of joining the Party ranks during these significant days of March.

Witnessing the Party membership ceremony right at the road construction site leading to the Mong village in Tri Le commune (Que Phong district), we were deeply moved to see three outstanding members, out of more than 400 youth union members from Que Phong District Youth Union participating in the construction project, honored to join the ranks of the Party. Moong Van Tinh was one of the outstanding members whose Party branch held the ceremony to admit him into the Party. Before the youth project to build the road to the Mong village, Tinh had enthusiastically participated in many other community service movements launched by the District Youth Union. Wherever he worked, whatever his position, Tinh always performed his duties well, proving to be a model Youth Union leader.

And during the road construction project, Moong Van Tinh not only worked diligently alongside his comrades but also acted as a "movement leader," organizing many lively side activities for everyone. Deeply moved after receiving his Party membership decision from Comrade Kha Van Tam – Deputy Secretary of the Que Phong District Party Committee – and solemnly reciting the oath under the Party flag, Tinh confided: “In the spirit of ‘wherever youth are needed, youth will be there; wherever there are difficulties, youth will overcome them,’ I, like many other young people, am committed to using my youthful energy to contribute to building my homeland, helping my village overcome difficulties, and building a more prosperous and happy life. And the youth volunteer movement is truly an ideal environment for us to realize our ideals and hone ourselves.”

In the 2014 "Youth Volunteer Year," looking back at March with its series of exemplary activities, highlighting the youth union's activities in the first three months of the year, further strengthens our belief in the youthful energy of Nghe An in the new era. As Mr. Pham Ngoc Canh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union and Chairman of the Provincial Youth Federation, shared: "In the 2014 'Youth Volunteer Year,' not only were there peak activities in March, but we will continue to organize regular volunteer activities throughout all quarters. The activities have also undergone qualitative changes, focusing on both depth and breadth; becoming more concrete, practical, and impactful, with widespread social participation, while also emphasizing the promotion of the youth's energy and the proactive spirit of local youth union members and young people in each locality."

Thanh Duy