Arousing people's strength to build welfare projects

(Baonghean) - After 4 years of operation in Quy Chau district, in addition to mobilizing ODA capital from the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and counterpart funds from the budget, the Poris Project has aroused the active contributions of people to build welfare works in the area. The "Community Activity House" project in Hanh Khai village, Tan Lac town is one of dozens of projects built with the contributions of people of all ethnic groups.

Leading us to visit the newly completed community house that still smells of paint, Mr. Tran Huy Lieu - Head of Hanh Khai village excitedly said: "Since the establishment of the village, now the people have a spacious place for meetings, cultural activities, and collective activities. What is more gratifying is that in addition to the support and investment of the Poris Project and the district, the villagers have joined hands and contributed money to build this project...". The community house (also known as the cultural house) of the village has a total investment of over 600 million VND; of which, the Poris Project invested 450 million VND, the remaining amount of over 150 million VND was contributed by 140 households of the village. According to the assessment of the project management board in Quy Chau, the community house of Hanh Khai village is one of the bright spots in promoting the active role of the people. There, in addition to project investment, people have participated in both contributing construction costs and supervising the project to ensure quality and long-term effectiveness.

Hanh Khai village community house - Tan Lac town.

Since August 2013, the Community House of Hanh Khai village has been put into use after 9 months of construction. To contribute to the early completion of the project, many households in the village have volunteered to cut down old trees and give up land for construction. At the same time, the Village Management Board has closely coordinated with village elders and prestigious people to actively mobilize villagers to contribute. Although the lives of the people are still difficult, once they have shared their thoughts, the families have a high consensus in contributing funds. The amount of contribution is divided equally among households and contributed twice to reduce the difficulty in mobilizing. During the construction process, Mr. Le Huu Uoc - a prestigious person of the village was the most active person in mobilizing villagers and participating in supervision. Confiding in us, Mr. Uoc said: “Now, every time there is a chance for a collective activity, the whole village gathers at the Community Activity House. Everyone is happy because there is their contribution. The life of the villagers seems happier and more connected after the project was completed and put into use...”.

The overall objective of the Poris Project is to promote economic and social development towards the poor through supporting public administration reform and building grassroots welfare works. The beneficiaries are people in 12 communes and towns of Quy Chau district. Over the past years, all communes and towns of the district have received investment from the project in nearly 40 large and small infrastructure works, focusing mainly on priority activities such as: building community houses, domestic water works, irrigation canals, traffic... Through these works, the project reaches out to impact, raise awareness and responsibility of the people, contributing to the successful construction of works for long-term use. One of the advantages of the Poris Project is that the implementation process always ensures community participation, increasing the quality and effectiveness of the project at the grassroots level.

Article and photos:Nguyen Ha