Western Nghe An region flourishes thanks to internet waves

Connecting knowledge

These April days, the sound of school drums has urged the footsteps of students in villages in border communes.Mon Son, districtCon Cuong. The cheerful footsteps of students have walked to school after a long time of online learning to avoid the Covid-19 epidemic. Nguyen Thi Quynh Giang, a student in class 9A2 of Mon Son Secondary School, always cherishes the smartphone that has been with her for the past 2 years during online learning hours. Giang shows off her achievements in the 2020-2021 school year, which ranked her at the top of the class. Quynh Giang is the eldest sister, and together with her 2 younger siblings, she was raised by her grandparents. Giang and her siblings spent their childhood in a small, simple house in Cua Rao village.

Students of Mon Son Secondary School (Con Cuong) study online using smartphones with the support of the Waves and Computers for Children Program. In the photo: Nguyen Thi Quynh Giang (left) and Ha Thi Hoai (right). Photo: Hoai Thu

Every day, Giang cycles for nearly half an hour to get to school. “During the social distancing period, if we didn’t have a phone, I don’t know how the three of us would manage to go to school. Therefore, the phone I was given is a bridge of knowledge that helps us be more determined to study,” Quynh Giang shared. The three Giang sisters share one phone. When their study hours overlap, Giang gives her the phone to her younger sister and cycles to another village to “borrow” her classmate’s study time.

In Mon Son, the villages near the commune center benefit greatly from the internet "waves",online learningare guaranteed to be rarely interrupted. But in the remote villages of the peopleDan LaiIn Khe Bung and Co Phat villages, children have to suffer even more disadvantages when the internet signal is often unstable or even non-existent. “However, the students do not surrender to the situation. Many students in remote villages like La Thi Nhung in Khe Bung village, because they do not have internet signal, walk to Le Thi Que's house in the same village every school hour to study using the internet signal. Both always encourage each other to strive to improve. Le Thi Que is also a student who just won second prize in the district-level excellent student competition for Civic Education,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, head teacher of class 9A2 at Mon Son Secondary School.

Teachers at Mon Son Secondary School (Con Cuong) teach online. Photo: Hoai Thu

In the whole Con Cuong district, 288 students with especially difficult circumstances were given phones to study online from the program "Waves and computers for children". At Mon Son Secondary School, 19 students were given phones, including Quynh Giang, class 9A2, Ha Thi Hoai, class 9A3, La Thi Nhung, class 9A3...

“Starting from April 2022, students in Mon Son as well as other schools in Nghe An have returned to in-person learning, but we still apply online learning for some review activities, training students and guiding them to practice necessary exercises” - said Mr. Le Duy Thuan - Principal of Mon Son Secondary School.

Programme "Waves and computers for kids" launched by the Prime Minister. By September 2021, the Department of Education and Training and the Trade Union of the Education and Training sector of Nghe An had mobilized more than 2,500 smartphones to give to students from poor households, near-poor households, households with especially difficult circumstances and students from extremely difficult communes and ethnic minority areas. Of which, 1,500 were donated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front of Nghe An province and agencies and units in the province, 120 by the Provincial Education Promotion Association and 880 by Viettel Nghe An.

Shorten the distance

Internet "waves" reach the villagesWestern Nghe AnNot only does it effectively support teaching and learning, but it also helps people shorten the distance in time and space when they have smartphones connected to social networks. Currently, poor districts such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Que Phong... have also deployed the online meeting system to the communes. Thanks to this system, commune officials no longer have to climb mountains and wade through streams, no longer have to go to the district center to rent a room to wait for meetings.

An official of Ky Son district said that currently, most communes and villages have Facebook or Zalo groups to exchange information, direct work as well as hold meetings, communicate and share all aspects of life. Thanks to these groups, geographical distance, time and space seem to be shortened, people can see each other, chat as if they were sitting in front of each other.

A corner of a village in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: Hoai Thu

Ms. Vu Y Ma in Pha Xac village, Huoi Tu commune said that this year, the price of Ky Son ginger has dropped so low that people are worried that they won't be able to sell it all. However, thanks to the internet, after taking ginger from the fields, the women in Pha Xac village use their smartphones to take photos of the product and post them on Facebook for sale. Thanks to the internet connection, she can sell ginger to customers in Vinh city, even Hanoi and Da Nang, something she never thought of before. Not only ginger products, the women of the brocade weaving group in Pha Xac village also use the internet to help their hand-embroidered scarves and bags reach markets outside the district, outside the province, even to neighboring countries like Laos and Thailand.

In particular, Nghe An has 21 districts, cities and towns, of which 10 are rural districts.mountainous areas, including 5 mountainous districts in the West. Currently, thanks to the internet, along with the interaction of local officials and people, it has helped to spread and promote the beautiful landscapes and unique customs of ethnic minorities. Thanks to the internet, the customs and simple, beautiful images of the Western regions of Nghe An have been vividly introduced to millions of internet users at home and abroad.

Pha Xac weaving group, Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district produces and sells brocade products via social networks. Photo: Hoai Thu

The "waves" of the internet, together with the interaction and promotion of local people and officials, are gradually contributing to the formation of community tourism and eco-tourism routes in the Western region of Nghe An, attracting tourists from all over the world... And, on the "waves" of the internet, people often pass on to each other songs praising the captivating scenery of their homeland, Nghe An:

“Quy Chau, Hang Bua is so majestic, Que Phong hums as he watches Sao Va Waterfall
Folk songs of the Thai and Tho people… for those who are far away to remember.

Ky Son is bustling with Nam Can market, fragrant roasted black chicken next to a bowl of corn wine.
About Na Ngoi, the mountains and forests are deep green, Pu Xai Lai Leng peak is surrounded by white clouds, and the high, precarious village is peaceful in the sun.
Let's take each other, my love, to Pu Mat, immersed in the fresh green of nature's clouds and water.
The rhythm of my feet dancing on the bamboo pole, the sweet taste of wine makes me sing.
Back to Kim Lien, here is Nam Dan, Uncle Ho's hometown, Lotus Village lulls us with lullabies.
Nghe An, in every breath, coming here and then missing it, just once but how unexpectedly loving".

Cover photo of a Facebook page of Que Phong residents. Photo: HT