What we hope for in Chau Hoan

(Baonghean) - Located nearly 40km from the district center, nestled deep within the vast forest, Chau Hoan is currently the most disadvantaged and impoverished commune compared to other communes in Quy Chau district. Currently, it still lacks clean water and electricity...

Visiting Chau Hoan commune this season, one can truly see the difficulties and hardships faced by the people, primarily regarding access to clean water. Ms. Vi Thi Hong from Na Ba village confided: "Before, we had a self-flowing water tank, but now it's broken and there's no water coming in. So every day we have to carry four 20-liter cans just to have enough water for cooking. For bathing and washing, we mainly have to go to the stream, but the water is low and dirty this season, but there's no other way…"

People go to households that have tanks carrying water from the stream to get it.

The case of Mrs. Hong's family is also a common situation for many households in Chau Hoan commune today. In reality, of the three clean water projects invested in by the State under Program 135/CP in Na Ba, Mo Pom, and Na My villages, only two are still usable, and even then, the water supply is intermittent. Meanwhile, not every family in the commune has the means to build water collection tanks and dig wells, let alone jointly build tanks to channel water from streams.

Not only is there a water shortage, but the people of Chau Hoan also suffer from a lack of electricity. Even in the scorching heat of 37-38 degrees Celsius, their only means of cooling are paper fans. In recent years, a few better-off households have equipped themselves with batteries and purchased mini generators powered by water from streams, but due to the unpredictable water flow, they can only be used occasionally. At the commune's People's Committee office, despite having a solar power system, there is only enough electricity to power the computers for the commune officials' work; the fans are almost never used, even though they are quite plentiful…

Mr. Lu Van Duc, Chairman of the Chau Hoan Commune People's Committee, said: "There are many difficulties and shortages, but the lack of electricity and water is the biggest obstacle to the lives and activities of the people, as well as the socio-economic development of the locality. Currently, the entire commune has 517 households with 2,466 people, of which 242 households are poor, accounting for 46.82% of the total number of households in the commune. The lives of the ethnic people here mainly depend on slash-and-burn farming and livestock raising in a self-sufficient manner."

Given the above situation, the greatest hope of the people of Chau Hoan commune at this time is for the State to pay attention to investing in electricity and clean water for use. Only then can the lives of the people of Chau Hoan commune hope to change for the better!

Quang An