The village elder in Khe Gát village
(Baonghean)Following the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Son commune, we went to Khe Gat village, hamlet 5, Tam Son commune (Anh Son district) to meet the village elder Ngan Van Dung. The people of Khe Gat village call him the "ancient tree" of the village. Elder Ngan Van Dung is 91 years old this year, but he is still healthy and mentally alert.
Born, raised, and working in the village since a young age, village elder Ngan Van Dung has witnessed many ups and downs in Khe Gat village during its construction and development. Khe Gat village has 54 households and 255 inhabitants. Before 1994, the village was very poor, with people mainly relying on slash-and-burn agriculture to make a living. Therefore, the village suffered from frequent food shortages, and the lives of the villagers were fraught with difficulties and hardships. There were times when villagers considered leaving to seek work elsewhere. Faced with this situation, village elder Ngan Van Dung was deeply concerned. By the end of 1994, implementing the Party's policy on restructuring crop and livestock production, and recognizing that Tam Son had many ponds, dams, and vast forest areas, village elder Ngan Van Dung went to each household to persuade the people to abandon the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, and to introduce bamboo and acacia trees into the forest to green the barren hills and dry land. Below the forest, they built dams to raise fish and cultivate rice. The elder recounted: "In the early days of trying to persuade the people to change their way of life, they didn't listen, so I had to lead the way so they would follow. I and my seven children went into the Bong Hoi and Trap Ma forests to build shelters and plant 7 hectares of bamboo and acacia, digging ponds to raise fish once a year and rice once a year, combined with raising livestock and poultry. Every year, my family's income reached tens of millions of dong." Seeing this, the people of Khe Gat followed suit. Almost all households in Khe Gat went into the forest to plant acacia and bamboo and develop livestock farming. Currently, all ethnic minority households own forest land for raw materials, providing an average income of about 60-70 million VND per household per year. Therefore, the living standards of the villagers are improving; while in 1998, 90% of households in the village were poor, now that number has dropped to only 50% (according to the old criteria).
Village elder Ngan Van Dung stands beside a model of his family's farm.
Not only does he help the villagers develop economically, but village elder Ngan Van Dung also cares for the village's culture. Within his family, he always reminds his children to preserve their cultural identity. His family still possesses two sets of gongs and many looms for weaving cloth. He is a pioneer in implementing and encouraging the villagers to abolish outdated customs in weddings and funerals, and to move livestock away from their homes. He is a spiritual support for the people of Khe Gat village; whenever they plan a major event such as buying buffaloes, building a house, or marrying off their children, they often seek his advice. He also mediates unnecessary conflicts and disputes among the villagers. Hoang Van Tam, a Thai ethnic minority resident, said: "Elder Ngan Van Dung is enthusiastic, responsible, and respected by the people. He participates in all village affairs and always leads by example in every movement. He is loved by the villagers. The development of the village today owes a great deal to his contributions."
In September 2011, Gia was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Fatherland Front Committee of Anh Son district for his outstanding achievements over the past three years in implementing the movement to do many good deeds among ethnic minority communities.
Diep Anh
