Applications to be removed from the poverty list.

Elderly people "plead to escape poverty"

In the drizzling rain of early winter, we arrived at Cam Thang village, Cam Son commune (Anh Son district), where the villagers were buzzing about the petitions submitted by three elderly people in the village requesting to be removed from the poverty list.

“In 2018, Cam Thang village still had 5 poor households, all of whom were elderly and disabled. This year, during the review process, 3 households voluntarily requested to be removed from the list of poor households, including a 99-year-old man living alone,” said Ms. Cao Thi Loc, Party Secretary.

Following Mrs. Loc, we visited Mr. Pham Viet Linh (born in 1920) - the most "famous" person in the village, nearly 100 years old, living alone, yet still seeking to escape poverty. His small house, hidden amidst the trees, was filled with dry firewood. Mr. Linh was lying down listening to the news on his old radio.

He recounted his circumstances: “My wife passed away 63 years ago, and I raised five children alone, four sons and one daughter. Now, two of my sons have passed away, leaving three. My children live nearby but don't want to bother me, as they are capable of managing their own expenses thanks to their elderly allowance.” Living alone, Mr. Linh is self-sufficient in cooking and other daily activities, with his monthly expenses mainly covered by the 270,000 VND elderly allowance. Therefore, he lives frugally, not wasting anything, cooking entirely with firewood, and only using electricity for lighting, spending only about 20,000 VND on electricity each month.

When asked about applying to be removed from the poverty list, Mr. Pham Viet Linh replied: "I heard on the radio that Ms. Do Thi Mo from Thanh Hoa came to the commune to request to be removed from the poverty list. At the same time, village and commune officials came to conduct a survey, so I also expressed my wish to be removed. Because I'm old now, I already receive government assistance, and when needed, I have the help of my children and grandchildren."

Local people are focusing on production and livestock farming to escape poverty.

Nine years younger than Mr. Pham Viet Linh, Mrs. Dinh Thi Tri (90 years old) also recently submitted an application to be removed from the poverty list. Mrs. Tri lives with her daughter, Cao Thi Huong (born in 1960), who has suffered from a neurological disorder since childhood. Neither mother nor daughter is able to work, and their daily lives depend on the elderly and disability allowances, totaling less than 700,000 VND. “We have to spend this money very frugally, mainly on food and medicine. When we are in dire need or seriously ill, we call on our children and grandchildren nearby,” Mrs. Tri said. She has seven children: besides Ms. Huong, there are four sons and two daughters, most of whom live in the same commune. Currently, she has 25 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. Therefore, according to her, writing the application to be removed from the poverty list is to set an example for her children and grandchildren to strive for a better life.

Ms. Tran Thi Quy (born in 1932), from the same village and currently living alone, also submitted an application to be removed from the poverty list.

Ms. Ngo Thi Huyen, Deputy Head of the Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Department of Anh Son district, said: “Cam Thang village is the leading unit in submitting applications to escape poverty. From Cam Thang, two other households in Cam Son commune have also voluntarily submitted applications. In addition, Tam Son commune also has 5 households applying to escape poverty...”.

Spreading the spirit of overcoming difficulties.

In Thach Ngan, one of the communes that initiated the movement to write applications to withdraw from the poverty list in Con Cuong district, we received more good news this year as there have been more applications. The first was from Mr. Kha Van Tuat (Ke Gia village), written on October 16th, followed by Mr. Ha Dai Ngoan (Dong Tam village), written on October 23rd.

Mr. Kha Van Tuat from Thach Ngan - Con Cuong requests to be removed from the list of impoverished households.

Following Mr. Tuat and Mr. Ngoan, six more households in Thach Ngan have submitted applications to be removed from the poverty list. These are the households of Mr. Lu Van Hoai in Tong Xan village; Vi Van Tam in Ke Gia village; Bui Duc Minh in Dong Tam village; Lo Thi Chuyen, Lo Van Chong, and Nguyen Huu Anh in Khe Dong village. All these households share the same reason: their family finances are now relatively stable.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hang, a policy officer in the commune, Thach Ngan, although a poor commune with many socio-economic difficulties, has people who are always conscious of striving to escape poverty and gradually overcome the mentality of dependence and reliance. From 2012 to 2018, the entire commune had 34 households applying to be removed from the poverty list, with the highest number in 2014 with 15 applications. Notably, in 2017, Mr. Luong Van Quang (Dong Thang village), who was undergoing treatment for stomach cancer, still applied to be removed from the poverty list.

Mr. Kha Van Tuat worked extra jobs to improve his life and wrote an application to be removed from the list of impoverished households.

It can be said that Con Cuong is a leading locality in the movement of people writing applications to escape poverty. From 2018 onwards, the entire district had a total of over 380 people submitting applications. In 2019, up to the end of October, nearly 20 households had written applications, starting in Thach Ngan commune, followed by Lang Khe, Chau Khe, and Luc Da communes. From Con Cuong, the movement began to spread to Anh Son district, and according to information we have just received, Quy Chau district has received an application to escape poverty from Mr. Vi Van Hung in Na Xen village, Chau Hanh commune.

Mr. Le Van Thuy, Head of the Labor and Wages Department of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said: "Currently, localities are urgently reviewing poor and near-poor households. The applications for poverty alleviation in Con Cuong, Anh Son, and Quy Chau will have a positive impact in encouraging people to abandon the mindset of waiting and relying on others, overcome difficulties, and be determined to rise out of poverty and gradually stabilize their lives."