Harvest season and the story of gathering straw.

(Baonghean.vn) - In recent days, along with a high level of vigilance to prevent prolonged and widespread fires, the people of Luan Phuong hamlet, Dong Van commune (Thanh Chuong district) have organized a straw donation drive to help families affected by the disaster. This is a rare story in this rural area.

The family of Mr. Nguyen The Tho, who received assistance from the village, suffered four straw fires. The first fire, on the afternoon of June 20th, destroyed all the straw from the recently harvested rice crop. The second fire, on the night of September 18th, burned almost all of the straw from 5 sao (approximately 0.5 hectares) of the summer-autumn crop. About two truckloads of waterlogged straw remained, partially burned while drying on the village road on the afternoon of September 26th. On the night of September 27th, after the straw had dried, it caught fire again, completely destroying the remaining straw.

Every day, Mr. and Mrs. Tho go to each household to collect and gather the straw that the villagers give them.

Mr. Tho's family currently raises two cows, but they have no straw left. After the first fire, some households in Luan Phuong hamlet helped him by giving him all the fresh corn stalks and husks after harvesting, which he dried and used as feed for his cows. That supply has run out. Now that the rice harvest is complete, many households in the hamlet have decided to help Mr. Tho's family by donating dry straw for storage.

According to Mr. Le The Hung, a local resident: "Mr. Tho's house was completely destroyed by fire, so everyone in the village felt sorry for him. Some contributed a little, others a lot, and everyone helped him overcome this disaster by donating a few bundles of straw."

Mr. Nguyen The Tho's straw storage shed was burned and damaged.

Every day, Mr. and Mrs. Tho would take their ox cart around the village, going to each household to collect and gather the straw donated by the villagers. After bringing the donated straw home, Mr. Tho would then transfer it to a friend's house in the commune for safekeeping. According to him, this was safer because his own stored straw had already been destroyed by fire four times.

Since the straw was completely burned, Mr. and Mrs. Tho have received many phone calls expressing their condolences and messages like "come to our house to get more straw." Mr. Tho shared: "During this time of hardship, when we lacked food for our livestock, the help from our neighbors is invaluable and deeply touching. Because I was so worried after the fire, I fell ill, so I haven't been able to collect all the straw the villagers gave me yet. Roughly speaking, it's about 5 ox cartloads of straw; with some extra grass and corn, the cows can eat until after the Lunar New Year."

Speaking about the act of contributing straw to help a family affected by a fire, Mr. Tran Dang Giap, Secretary of the Party Branch of Luan Phuong hamlet, said: “This is the first time in a long time that people here have contributed straw during harvest season. It's truly an unusual event, but it's a continuation of the long-standing tradition of mutual support and assistance among the people in our hamlet. We support and hope that our fellow villagers will continue to promote these acts of kindness and compassion.”

Huy Thu