The 'flames' that inspire

Conqueror Phu Nghiu, Khe Voong

Mr. Lang Van Ve (born in 1990) opened the cow shed and counted all 30 cows. Over the years, he doesn't remember how many batches of cattle from his farm on Pu Nghiu mountain have been sold. He only knows that traders in Con Cuong district, whenever they need a source of quality meat, come to Ke Sung village, Mau Duc commune to meet Mr. Ve.

After thoroughly cleaning the cow shed, Mr. Lang Van Ve finally had time to share with us his journey in realizing his dream of getting rich on the top of Pu Nghiu, Khe Voong.

Lang Van Ve recounts that he was born and raised in Ke Sung village, his memories intertwined with lush green hills. The lives of the people here are sheltered by nature, but unfortunately, poverty persists. Many young men from the village decide to leave their hometown to work in large industrial zones, but Ve longs to become wealthy right in his birthplace. This desire and ambition led Ve to become a student in the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries at Nghe An University of Economics.

In 2012, after graduating, Lang Van Ve returned to Ke Sung village and became involved in local Youth Union activities. Ve simultaneously worked with the Youth Union and developed his family's acacia plantation in Khe Voong.

At that time, many people in Khe Voong planted acacia trees, but almost no one had yet utilized the ideal space under the hillside canopy for livestock farming. To try his hand at it, Luong Van Ve spent all his savings and borrowed more from relatives and friends to build barns in Khe Voong, buying sows and chickens for breeding.

The path from Mr. Ve's house to the farm was then just a narrow trail. This made it very difficult for Mr. and Mrs. Ve to care for their livestock. Therefore, as soon as they earned money from selling acacia wood, Mr. Ve invested it all in hiring an excavator to widen the road. Mr. and Mrs. Ve also worked together to build electricity poles and upgrade the power supply system from the village center to the farm. Their efforts paid off when the 1.7 km road from the center of Ke Sung village to Khe Voong was completed, and the road surface was wide enough to transport the acacia wood for sale.

In the following years, with the income from his chickens, pigs, and acacia plantation, Mr. Luong Van Ve continued to reinvest the capital to expand his herd size and build a cattle farm on Pu Nghiu hill. Starting with just a few pairs of cattle, Mr. Ve persistently bred and regenerated the herd. The abundant natural food sources in Pu Nghiu helped Mr. Ve save a lot of costs in livestock farming. Along with the effective application of disease prevention measures, Mr. Ve's cattle and pig herds grew rapidly.

Having lived in Pù Nghịu and Khe Voong for over 12 years, Luong Van Ve now owns more than 80 piglets, 30 cows, 2 fish ponds, and 10 hectares of acacia trees, earning hundreds of millions of dong annually.

Besides his achievements in economic development, Mr. Ve has also become a leader of the local Youth Union, successively holding various positions and currently serving as the Secretary of the Youth Union of Mau Duc commune. The villagers in Ke Sung hamlet, where Mr. Ve lives, often hold him up as an example for their children and grandchildren. Knowing this, Mr. Ve just laughs it off, saying he's not rich yet; whatever money he has, he reinvests in his farm, and he and his wife still work hard from dawn till dusk to make a living.

There is only one thing that Mr. Ve is proud of: Khe Voong and Pu Nghiu have not let him and his wife down. Since settling here, Mr. Ve and the young people in the village have gained more hope to build a prosperous and happy life, just as they dreamed of when they were in university.

Lighting up the journey of compassion

If asked, Mr. Ho Minh Nam (born in 1988) - Chairman of the Blood Donation Club of Quynh Luu District - would not be able to give an exact number of times he has donated blood. Besides the 49 times he has received blood donation certificates, he has donated blood many times to save lives in critical situations. In 2019, he was included in the list of 100 outstanding blood donors nationwide and received a Certificate of Commendation from the Minister of Health for "outstanding achievements in the voluntary blood donation movement".

The story began in 2007, when, while caring for his father at the Provincial Friendship General Hospital, Nam witnessed an emergency case where the patient had blood type O and needed a large amount of blood to save their child. The distraught mother knelt in the hospital corridor, pleading with doctors and begging those with blood type O to donate blood to save her child. At that moment, Ho Minh Nam didn't hesitate to register to donate blood to help the family. From then until 2012, when his father passed away, he witnessed many heartbreaking situations requiring emergency blood transfusions. This deeply affected him and motivated him to dedicate himself to humanitarian blood donation.

To help more patients, Ho Minh Nam mobilized many local friends to join him. Later, in 2018, he established the Quynh Luu District Blood Donation Club. At that time, the club had nearly 200 members who lived and worked in and outside the district. To date, the club has over 1,000 members, not only from within the province but also from neighboring provinces such as Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh.

The Quynh Luu District Blood Donation Club has organized hundreds of blood donation drives, providing thousands of units of blood to hospitals and saving the lives of many critically ill patients. In many emergency cases where the patient's family was too poor, Ho Minh Nam and other club members would drive to the hospital where the patient was being treated, donate blood, and then return home without ever accepting any thank-you payment.

Ho Minh Nam and his club also organize many other charitable activities such as visiting and giving gifts to patients and families in difficult circumstances, supporting people in areas affected by natural disasters, floods, and remote areas, and ethnic minority communities.

In 2024 alone, the Quynh Luu District Blood Donation Club raised over 3.7 billion VND to support people in the northern provinces in overcoming the consequences of Typhoon Yagi. At the same time, they supported the construction of three charity houses in Quynh Tan, Quynh Thuan, and An Hoa communes (Quynh Luu district); and called for 400 units of blood for emergency use at Quynh Luu District General Hospital and the Nghe An Provincial Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center.

Over the past period, the youth of Nghe An have overcome many difficulties and challenges to unleash their youthful energy and implement meaningful projects and activities aimed at the community and society. These contributions affirm that: Youth are the future masters of the country, but they will not fulfill that noble mission without dedication, training, and contribution!