The "tall trees" in the village

(Baonghean) - Not only setting an example in economic development, many village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people in Tan Ky have contributed to preserving identity, building cultural lifestyles, and strengthening village and neighborhood relationships. They deserve to be the "tall trees" of the village.

Arriving at Dong Tho hamlet, Nghia Dung commune, the locals enthusiastically showed us the way to Mr. Ha Van Than's house and everyone "praised": "He is a prestigious person in the village!". Meeting Mr. Than, we realized that the villagers loved him not only because of the foundation he had built, but also because he was a typical example of the Tho ethnic group leading the way in the work of hunger eradication and poverty reduction in the commune.

Like many households in the mountainous district of Tan Ky, Mr. Ha Van Than's family has always been attached to farming, with corn and rice. But with his dynamism and sensitivity, Mr. Than believes that relying only on food crops will be difficult to prosper. So he decided to promote livestock farming. In the barn there are buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens, and in the garden there is a pond. The VAC economic model in the semi-mountainous area has really brought about efficiency. Realizing that agricultural production services in the area are limited, his family invested capital to open a milling and grinding facility for animal feed. In addition, they purchased multi-function plows and rice threshers to serve the needs of people in the area. Thanks to his dynamism, each year his family earns from 200 to 300 million VND.

Along with developing the family economy, Party member Ha Van Than and the Party Committee and Party Cell of Dong Tho hamlet enthusiastically guide people on how to do business, and at the same time create conditions for families to borrow interest-free loans to have capital for economic development. Up to now, Mr. Than has lent 9 households interest-free loans, with the amount of 15 million VND/household, of which 6 households have escaped poverty. When the State had a policy of building new rural areas, Mr. Than went to each house, met each person to encourage people to contribute their efforts and participate. Thanks to that, many households voluntarily donated land, materials, and labor to build a clean and beautiful concrete road. Mr. Than shared: "If you want people to understand and follow, you yourself must always be a leading example, not only in words but also in concrete actions and deeds."

Mr. Truong Van Chat (second from left) promotes the preservation and promotion of cultural values ​​for the people.

Mr. Truong Van Chat in Doi Che hamlet, Giai Xuan commune is honored by everyone as a "big tree with big shade". Mr. Chat is the one who does not hesitate to go to each household to propagate and mobilize them to voluntarily donate 4,500m2 of land, 100m of fence and hundreds of perennial trees to build roads. Thanks to that, up to now, the hamlet has 500m of concrete road. But what he cares about most is developing the hamlet's emulation movements, mobilizing people to contribute to buy a gong set worth 6 million VND. Every year, on the national solidarity festival, when the gong sounds, everyone gathers at the hamlet's cultural house to participate in cultural and sports activities. Folk games such as throwing con, pushing sticks, tug of war, and love songs have been maintained, the cultural identity of the Tho ethnic group has been preserved, and the spirit of solidarity and attachment of the people has been promoted.

Ms. Hoang Thi Oanh, a resident of Doi Che hamlet, also said: Before, every time there was a hamlet meeting, people had to bring chairs to sit, but now thanks to Mr. Chat's efforts, the hamlet has had funds to complete cultural institutions and facilities for community activities. The hamlet has built a cultural house and a volleyball court, and our hamlet residents voluntarily contributed 50 million VND. With Mr. Chat's efforts, the people of Doi Che hamlet have eliminated backward customs such as: lavish meals during funerals and weddings; he also encouraged 140 couples to practice family planning well. As a result, for 3 consecutive years, Doi Che hamlet has no one giving birth to a third child.

Wherever he appears, he brings peace and joy. Therefore, Mr. Nguyen Van Thong, a Tho ethnic group, in Bau Khe village, Giai Xuan commune, is affectionately called "the mediator" by the villagers. During his time as a "prisoner" from 2002 until now, Mr. Thong cannot remember how many mediation cases he has participated in. Since the beginning of the year alone, he has successfully mediated 3 cases. For example, the couple TVD and TTN were in conflict and were at risk of breaking up due to Mr. D's alcoholism. Mr. Thong met each person separately and then discussed with both husband and wife. He analyzed so that Mr. D could understand that drinking too much would affect his health, happiness and family life, especially since Mr. D is the breadwinner of a family of 5 people.

As for his wife, he sympathized with the difficulties that Ms. N had to endure, and at the same time advised her to give him a chance. With those reasonable and emotional words, Mr. D decided to quit drinking, and Ms. N also forgave him. When we met him, Mr. D hesitantly said: "It's a private matter for my family, but thanks to people like Mr. Thong who helped us out... otherwise, I don't know what would have happened to my family." Or like the case of the young men from Doi Che hamlet (Giai Xuan commune) having a conflict with the young men from Bau Khe hamlet. The two groups gathered with machetes to "talk", Mr. Thong quickly informed the commune police to coordinate to prevent it, at the same time advised them to resolve the animosity and also created a friendly relationship between the young men from the two communes.

People like Mr. Ha Van Than, Mr. Truong Van Chat, Mr. Nguyen Van Thong are typical examples of 56 prestigious people among ethnic minorities in Tan Ky district. Over the years, they have promoted their responsibilities well, becoming the core in the economic development movement, building cultural life in residential areas, especially pioneering in the new rural construction movement. Evaluating the contributions of village elders and village chiefs, Ms. Vu Thi Linh, Deputy Head of the District Ethnic Affairs Department, said: The whole district has 12/22 communes and towns in ethnic minority areas. In recent years, the village elder movement has done many good deeds of practical significance, mobilizing people to build new rural areas.

Up to now, the people of the whole district have donated 372,671m2 of land, of which ethnic minority households alone have donated 90,950m2, contributing more than 1 billion 350 million VND and nearly 20 thousand working days to build rural roads and other local works. In economic development, ethnic minority people have shifted the structure of crops and livestock, improved farming methods, and applied scientific and technological advances in production. Typically, Tan Xuan and Giai Xuan communes have converted rice cultivation to sugarcane cultivation, bringing high productivity of 80-100 tons/ha; developed forest gardens to grow raw materials in Phu Son, Tien Ky, Dong Van, Tan Hop, Huong Son; VACR economic models in Giai Xuan, Nghia Binh, Nghia Dung, etc.

Dedicated to their work, practicing what they preach, setting a good example in every action for the prosperous life of the people, the village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people among ethnic minorities in Tan Ky district have been and continue to make important contributions to economic and social development, accelerating the progress of new rural construction, contributing to building an increasingly prosperous homeland.

Quang An