Young enthusiasm lights up the highlands

(Baonghean) - They are outstanding youth union members, young party members who are trusted to hold key positions in the system of party committees and grassroots governments... Their youthful energy and enthusiasm are promoted, creating an impression of a new generation of cadres who "say what they do", work hard, stick together with the people, and arouse positive signals in this difficult highland of Que Phong.

We were greeted by a young man with a youthful face and a bright smile, but his demeanor showed determination and dynamism. “The head of Don village! Only 25 years old, but a very good “hand”!”. Secretary of Que Phong District Youth Union - Mr. Nguyen Minh Thuan “winked” at us like that. That was what Secretary Thuan wanted to point out about the “heavy lifting” of La Ngoc Bac: In addition to being the head of Don village (Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district) for 3 years now, Bac is also the Secretary of the Youth Union, Head of the Farmers’ Association, and Head of the Agricultural Extension Association of the village.

La Ngoc Bac (right) instructs youth union members on passion fruit growing techniques in Don village, Muong Noc commune (Que Phong).

“Carrying many positions, how can we fulfill them?” – We asked. Bac laughed: “First of all, we must be exemplary, do what we say, then go directly to each house, meet each person to skillfully, reasonably, and emotionally explain the policies of the Party and the State, build economic models and mobilize people to actively participate in building new rural areas… These work skills, I have learned from the time I worked with the Youth Union”. That is the secret, to make Don village now flourish, and 82 households, most of whom are Thai, acknowledge the prestige of the young village chief. Don village is one of the particularly difficult villages in Muong Noc commune. Just the livelihood of the people alone poses an obstacle for the most “close to the people” cadres like La Ngoc Bac. Just talking about the movement of donating land to pave the way for new rural construction in the village - although the beneficiaries are none other than the people, to make the people understand and believe is also a persistent process of mass mobilization. However, that persistent enthusiasm has been rewarded. Like Mr. La Ngoc Duy, the villagers have honored him as a typical person in donating land to pave the way.

Youth Union members of Que Phong District opened a road to the Mong ethnic village in Tri Le.

Mr. Duy's family has a part of the land in the planning to expand the inter-village road. The area that must be cut for the road is not much, but the most important thing is that the property on the land has mature teak trees, and it is estimated that in just a few years it will bring in nearly a hundred million VND in income. "At first, the family did not agree, but then officials like the Head of Bac village persuaded and explained reasonably and emotionally, and it seemed to go well. A hundred million VND is really big, but not as big as the love of the villagers, not as big as the common work, and it is beneficial to the villagers." - Mr. La Ngoc Duy just chatted like that...

Now, the winding dirt roads in Don village have been replaced by nearly 200m of clean, wide concrete roads. La Ngoc Bac said: not only the matter of mobilizing to build roads, but in Don village, what trees to plant, what animals to raise, how to organize festivals and holidays... first of all, we must organize meetings with the people, through the people and propagate through mass mobilization measures, and if we want to mobilize the people well, the people doing the mass mobilization must be knowledgeable and have prestige; then if we want to have knowledge and prestige, we must be eager to learn knowledge, experience and set an example. According to La Ngoc Bac, he never thought that one day he would take on so many responsibilities. Everything attached to him very naturally, seemingly coming from the attraction of spirit, enthusiasm and the mindset of selfless dedication to the village community. The advantage of taking on many roles in the village is, first of all, because the villagers trust and love him, "the son of the village" always points out the need to avoid backward customs, approach scientific farming methods and harmonize the traditional culture of the people with the new way of life...

Meeting with the young village chief La Ngoc Bac and from the suggestion of the District Youth Union Secretary Nguyen Minh Thuan, we were excited to go to the remote commune of Tri Le to meet another "young prestigious person" who is a Kho Mu ethnic group, who is leading and determined in the movement to build a "village without addicts and drugs", and has been trusted and elected by the Party Committee, government and people as the Party Cell Secretary of the village for many years now. That is Mr. Cut Van Thu - Party Cell Secretary of Pich Nien village. Confiding to us about his journey of being attached to mass organizations and Party work very naturally, Cut Van Thu said that in the early 2000s, he was the Youth Union Secretary of the village. At that time, Pich Nien was a hot spot for social evils, especially drugs. The small village was desolate, no family had children who could go to school properly, the youth in the village gave up their jobs, day and night immersed in white smoke. Being a person who loves the small village where he was born and raised, located at the end of the only road leading to the gate of heaven, with a cliff on one side and clouds on the other, with nearly 50 households living together like family members; Cut Van Thu enthusiastically joined the Party Committee, the government of Tri Le commune and the armed forces in the area to resolutely and synchronously carry out measures to push drugs out of the area. Thu went to each house, met each person, talked to them, their wives and children, whispered to each other, and analyzed the pros and cons: "The Khmu people are very honest and simple. Once they understand, they follow, and once they trust someone, they trust them to the end!" - Cut Van Thu confided.

Thinking like La Ngoc Bac, to gain the trust of the people, words must go hand in hand with actions. Thu traveled to learn about science and technology, about plant and animal varieties suitable for the soil and climate of his hometown. Once he had mastered them, he and agricultural officials went to popularize and encourage people to follow, first of all the youth, to create sustainable jobs for them, to forget about social evils. Always busy with a lot of work, in 2010, Cut Van Thu was unanimously assigned by the Party Committee and the Tri Le commune government to a new responsibility as Secretary of the Pich Nieng village Party Cell: “Two different roles, from Secretary of the Youth Union to Secretary of the Party Cell, but in fact, they are all work for the collective, for the people. If there is any difference, it is only that now as the Party Cell Secretary, I have to be even more attentive and interested in the Youth Union movement, have to be more attentive to recognize and nurture new factors, help them mature and become members of the Party!” - Cut Van Thu thoughtfully shared.

Returning to Chau Thon commune, where Pu Chong Cha was once famous for its high passes and deep roads, we met Quang Van Dai - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee. His story further fueled our belief in Que Phong's youthful enthusiasm in contributing to community development. Born in 1986, just 28 years old, Dai is considered one of the youngest Vice Chairmen of the commune who grew up from the Youth Union movement here. Having worked for many years in the Youth Union as Secretary of the Commune Youth Union, for Quang Van Dai, it was also a memorable experience, giving him many lessons, which he applied fluently to his new position and responsibilities: "The biggest lesson is to never be far from the people. You have to be really close to understand them, you have to put yourself in their thoughts and circumstances to find the "key" to completing the task" - Quang Van Dai said.

Since his time working for the Youth Union, Mr. Quang Van Dai has had the opportunity to visit all the villages in Chau Thon commune, grasp the terrain characteristics and livelihood conditions of the people, and directly listen to their thoughts and aspirations. That experience has helped him a lot in his position as Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee. He has advised on many contents to be included in the Commune Party Resolution, including the shift of economic structure towards services, which is considered an opening for local breakthroughs. "Based on the geographical characteristics of the commune, being the center of 5 communes in the Southwest of Que Phong district: Chau Thon, Tri Le, Nam Nhoong, Quang Phong, Cam Muon with the Provincial Road passing through, it is very convenient for developing services and trade. Many people have commented on this before, but have hesitated. Now, the new trend of society requires the Party Committee and the commune government to take stronger actions". - Mr. Quang Van Dai affirmed. Yes, a very young spirit; Open, modern and innovative thinking is the most noticeable thing in Chau Thon's youth union members. As Quang Van Dai said, youth must always be associated with enthusiasm and creativity. That is the most important material for individual success, and contributes to the common achievements of the community. "In Chau Thon, there are currently 4 very young grassroots cadres, aged from 24 to under 30 years old. They are all people who have grown up from the grassroots Youth Union movement, trusted by the people, elected to hold the positions of village chief and party cell secretary. In the coming time, we will conduct surveys, collect people's opinions to structure many young faces, with professional capacity and enthusiasm for the community movement, to supplement or replace the positions of grassroots cadres. This will be a source of quality cadres, with practicality, hopefully creating a breakthrough for the commune in the future "- Quang Van Dai said.

These examples of enthusiastic youth contributing to their homeland are spreading in many villages in Que Phong, a new signal of a generation of grassroots cadres qualified to stir up movements in localities of Que Phong district in implementing hunger eradication, poverty reduction, and new rural construction today. They are the trust and pride of the locality, as Secretary of the District Youth Union Nguyen Minh Thuan excitedly said: "Currently, more than 30 outstanding union members and young party members in the area have been trusted by the people to be village chiefs, party cell secretaries... All of them are under the age of 30, but the most important thing is not their age, but the things they have done with enthusiasm that seems to never cool down".

Article and photos:Phuong Chi