A party member for two decades, working as a cell secretary and hamlet chief.

As Vietnamese citizens, regardless of religion or belief, we all have the duty to contribute to the common development of our homeland and country, helping our villages to grow and become more prosperous. The conversation with Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh, who has been Party Cell Secretary and Hamlet Chief of Hamlet 6, Tan Son Commune (Do Luong) for 20 years, began with such a simple yet profound sharing.

Coming to Hamlet 6, Tan Son Commune, the impressive thing compared to other rural areas is that the village roads and alleys, instead of being concreted, are almost completely paved. The village roads are clean, beautiful, and shaded by green trees; the residential area is well-planned; the houses are neat and tidy. The majestic church facing the vast green rice fields adds to the peacefulness of a Nghe An countryside.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh was born right in this land of Tan Son, rich in cultural sediments, history, and revolutionary traditions; he is a parishioner of Trung Hau Parish, Son La Parish.

Loving his homeland and country from his mother's songs and his father's history lessons; fervently worshiping God with the faith of a Christian, except for the time he enlisted in the Air Defense - Air Force stationed at Kep Airport, now in Bac Giang from 1988 - 1991, he spent most of his life with his hometown and neighbors.

Nhà thờ giáo họ Trung Hậu, giáo xứ Sơn La uy nghi nhìn ra cánh đồng tại xóm 6, xã Tân Sơn (Đô Lương).
Trung Hau parish church, Son La parish, majestically overlooks the fields in hamlet 6, Tan Son commune (Do Luong).

Although he had the opportunity to be sent to study to become an officer and live a military life, he still decided to return, get married, work hard in the fields, and trade quickly in the countryside market.

Family life soon stabilized, and then three children were born, and they completed their education. The eldest son graduated from the Academy of Finance and is working at a factory of Hoa Sen Group; the second son graduated as an information technology engineer and is working in Japan, and the youngest son is in high school.

He enthusiastically participated in the activities of local branches and became a typical nucleus. In 2001, he was admitted to the Party; the following year, when he became an official Party member, he was honored by the Party organization and his comrades in the branch, elected as Party Secretary; and the people trusted him and elected him as Hamlet Chief.

For the past two decades, the party member who has shouldered those "two roles" has always fulfilled his duties with a high sense of responsibility, and has been trusted by party members, organizations, and the people.

Ông Trần Ngọc Cảnh (trái ảnh) sắp xếp, bố trí tủ sách tại Nhà văn hóa xóm.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh (left photo) arranges and sets up the bookshelf at the hamlet's Cultural House.

Thanks to the leading role of party member Tran Ngoc Canh, hamlet 6, Tan Son commune (Do Luong) has 368 households with 1,346 people, of which 115 households are Catholic, firmly consolidating the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics; becoming one of the leading localities in movements, especially in building new rural areas.

Since 2015, when many places had just started working, the hamlet has reached the new rural finish line. The entire traffic route with a total length of 3 km has been paved with asphalt under the motto "The State and the people work together".

Hamlet 6 is also one of the first localities in the commune where people joined hands to contribute 143 million VND to build a village street lighting system 4 years ago.

At this time, the Catholic and non-Catholic people here are enthusiastically joining hands to build an advanced new countryside, striving to reach the finish line in 2022. The hamlet cultural house continues to be renovated, equipped with more convenient furniture, and a spacious campus to serve meetings and community activities.

Các công trình đường làng, nhà văn hóa, sân bóng chuyền ở xóm 6, xã Tân Sơn (Đô Lương) được xây dựng khang trang.
Village roads, cultural houses, and volleyball courts in hamlet 6, Tan Son commune (Do Luong) were built spaciously.

Volleyball courts, football fields, and stands have also been renovated to serve the sports activities of the people. Here, each party member in the cell has also taken the lead in contributing flower seeds and ornamental plants to make flower roads, spreading and mobilizing neighbors to join hands to build the homeland greener, cleaner, and more beautiful.

Party cell secretary Tran Ngoc Canh enthusiastically told about the work that has been done under the leadership of the party cell, the participation of the hamlet executive committee, political and social organizations, especially the high consensus of the people, but when asked about the role of the individual, he just smiled gently and told the story of his 95-year-old father, a war invalid who fought against the French in the Fall-Winter 1950 border campaign.

“The rise and fall of a nation is the responsibility of every man”, from the example of his father’s dedication to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland; loving his homeland, admiring his predecessors through his poems and historical lessons imbued in his childhood, he simply said that as a Vietnamese citizen, regardless of religion or non-religion, everyone has the duty to contribute to the common development of his homeland and country. “For me, how to contribute to the development of the village is a wish”, he confided.

Hệ thống giao thông tại xã Tân Sơn (Đô Lương) được đầu tư xây dựng bài bản, khang trang.
The traffic system in Tan Son commune (Do Luong) is invested in and built methodically and spaciously.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Tan Son Commune (Do Luong) Nguyen Tat Dung recounted his deep impressions of the village cadre Tran Ngoc Canh. For example, to fulfill the village's revenue obligations as prescribed by the State, there was a time when he even used his own money to complete the collection first, then collect it later. People's lives have also improved as Trung Hau carpentry village has increasingly developed, and has been recognized as a Craft Village by the Provincial People's Committee since 2015.

Taking care of the development of traditional carpentry but not neglecting agricultural production, with the responsibility of secretary and hamlet chief, he stayed close to the fields to mobilize people to take care of the crops; contacted people from other fields, hamlets, and even communes to rent agricultural land when some households in the hamlet did not need to grow rice for cultivation, closed the area, not leaving it fallow.

Hamlet 6 is also a typical address implementing the model of solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics to build new rural areas; a model of propaganda, dissemination of laws, ensuring security and order at Trung Hau Parish.

Ông Trần Ngọc Cảnh (hàng trước, thứ hai trái sang) được Tỉnh ủy Nghệ An tuyên dương đã có thành tích xuất sắc trong phong trào thi đua “Dân vận khéo” tỉnh Nghệ An giai đoạn 2016 - 2020.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh (front row, second from left) was commended by Nghe An Provincial Party Committee for his outstanding achievements in the emulation movement "Skillful Mass Mobilization" of Nghe An province in the period 2016 - 2020.

“Comrade is a very prestigious person, the core in building great solidarity in the locality. A person who always sets an example, works hard in the village, and is trusted by the people. Recently, when electing the new village chief, instead of secret ballot, the people proposed to vote directly by hand with 100% agreement,” Mr. Dung proudly cited the trust of the local people in Secretary Tran Ngoc Canh.

The Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Tan Son commune also added that the Secretary and Hamlet Chief of Hamlet 6 is also an exemplary model in studying and following the ideology, morality and style of Ho Chi Minh; a typical example of "Skillful Mass Mobilization" in the period 2016 - 2020, which was commended by the province on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Party's tradition of mass mobilization work (October 15, 1930 - October 15, 2020).

Remember, on the afternoon of November 18, 2021, comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council went to Hamlet 6, Tan Son Commune, Do Luong District to celebrate the "Great National Unity" festival with local people on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of the Vietnam Fatherland Front's traditional day (November 18, 1930 - November 18, 2021). Before entering the hamlet's cultural house, the Provincial Party Secretary walked through a number of hamlets to visit, chat, and learn about the lives of the people.

Bí thư Tỉnh ủy Thái Thanh Quý thăm hỏi, trò chuyện với người dân xóm 6, xã Tân Sơn (Đô Lương), tháng 11/2021.
Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy visited and talked with people in Hamlet 6, Tan Son Commune (Do Luong), November 2021.

Witnessing the peaceful village scene; the joy reflected through each smile, look, and lively, honest story of each resident, the head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee expressed his joy and impression at the development of Tan Son village; at the harmonious, united, and prosperous life of the Catholic and non-Catholic people living here.

Up to now, the hamlet has only 1 poor household. The rate of cultural families last year reached 88%, many typical Catholic households "Living a good life, following religion, respecting God, loving the country". Especially, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the people of hamlet 6 were one of the units of the commune actively leading the way in donating money and food to support Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh City; it is one of the localities that has done a very good job in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the end of the ceremony, Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy stayed to talk for a long time with Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh - a typical party member, cadre, and an important factor in cultivating, promoting and spreading community solidarity.

With a firm handshake, the Provincial Party Secretary conveyed to Mr. Canh, the team of village and commune cadres and the villagers in this Luong land a firm belief. That is the belief that the Catholic and non-Catholic community will continue to maintain and promote the spirit of solidarity to build the village and commune to the advanced new rural finish line; continue to affirm that it is one of the province's exemplary models of "Catholic and non-Catholic people unite to build new rural areas".

Bí Tỉnh ủy Thái Thanh Quý trò chuyện cùng ông Trần Ngọc Cảnh (tháng 11/2021).
Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy talks with Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh (November 2021).

Saying goodbye to the dedicated and responsible secretary and hamlet chief, we felt the happiness of a citizen, a parishioner, a party member who has always lived up to the traditions of his family and homeland; with his own thoughts and duties as a patriotic citizen, parishioner and exemplary party member./.