Always remember his words.

(Baonghean)During his lifetime, beloved President Ho Chi Minh always held a special affection for the people of his homeland. He always hoped that Nghe An would develop into a prosperous and strong province, standing shoulder to shoulder with other provinces and cities. During his brief visits to his hometown, he visited many localities, and wherever he went, he expressed his concerns and offered heartfelt advice… Although many years have passed, his homeland still remembers and follows his words.

Explanation about President Ho Chi Minh's family and life at the Kim Lien historical site.

Although the village festivals of Hao Kiet and Phu Van have long passed, the festive and joyful atmosphere of Vinh Thanh, Yen Thanh district, is still evident on the faces of the people today. In the fields of Bac Thap hamlet, everyone is busy harvesting the winter-spring rice crop. We met Mr. Phan Cong Man (76 years old), former Chairman of the Vinh Thanh Agricultural Cooperative and currently Chairman of the Elderly Association of the commune, who was lost in thought in front of the field. For Mr. Man, every May is a time of great emotion. The season of abundance arrives, and the anniversary of the birth of beloved President Ho Chi Minh is approaching… He and all the people here still remember vividly the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh during his visit to Vinh Thanh on the morning of December 10, 1961. In those years, Vinh Thanh was a shining example of a model socialist cooperative in transportation, irrigation, and tree planting. On the day President Ho Chi Minh was welcomed, Mr. Man, then the Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of the commune, had been sent to study in Vinh and rushed back to see and listen to the President's instructions. Mr. Man recounted: "The President instructed the local government to take care of the people's lives, to improve their living conditions, so that everyone has enough food and clothing. Vinh Thanh must improve its labor and production methods to maintain the three movements of building rural cooperatives, developing irrigation, and planting trees and reforestation..."

Mr. Man, in particular, and the people of Vinh Thanh commune have always remembered and followed Uncle Ho's kind words. For Mr. Man: “Following Uncle Ho's example, I don't shy away from difficulties, I take the lead in every movement and every task, and I try my best to complete every assigned job thoroughly…” For the Party Committee and people of Vinh Thanh: Following Uncle Ho's example, barren land and hills once covered with weeds and wild plants have quickly become hills of pine, eucalyptus, melaleuca, and timber trees. The tree planting movement has been embraced by every household and individual. Intensive farming has been implemented, irrigation canals have been built solidly, and new, high-yield varieties have been introduced. Rural roads have been built, with concrete roads leading to every house and every hamlet. People's lives are becoming more prosperous, houses are sturdy, children receive a full education, and progress is ever-increasing. – Mr. Man proudly said: This year, Vinh Thanh commune had a bumper harvest, with rice yield reaching 74 quintals/hectare…

Explaining the transformation from a semi-mountainous, low-lying area threatened by floods and natural disasters to the rice granary of Yen Thanh district, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Thanh commune, said: Remembering the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh, for many years, the commune has built a good irrigation system, continuously upgraded pumping stations to serve irrigation, built a system of hardened canals more than 40 km long, and reinforced lakes and dams that were eroded or damaged… To build a more developed homeland, Vinh Thanh embarked on the construction of new rural areas. The commune determined that new rural areas begin from the fields, and the consolidation of land plots and the construction of internal field roads were completed by the end of 2013. To date, Vinh Thanh has achieved 9 out of 19 criteria for new rural areas. Mr. Hung said: Vinh Thanh has determined that the direction is to develop agriculture in parallel with the development of trade and services. To develop trade and services, the commune is currently expanding roads according to standards and criteria, striving to expand one road in each hamlet in 2014. The road expansion is expected to proceed smoothly, as building a new rural area is the work of the people, for the people, and every citizen of Vinh Thanh always remembers President Ho Chi Minh's teachings.

Like the people of Vinh Thanh commune, the people of Dong Hieu commune today (workers and children of workers at the Dong Hieu State Farm, which President Ho Chi Minh visited on December 10, 1961) always remember President Ho Chi Minh's teaching, "Maintaining unity leads to success," as a guiding principle for all their actions. Mr. Tran Van Hong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Hieu commune, affirmed: To strengthen unity, Dong Hieu has created a widespread cultural, artistic, and sports movement. Through these activities, they create a joyful and enthusiastic spirit, aiming for the stability and development of the commune. The vibrant atmosphere of sports and arts has become a daily life for every resident of Dong Hieu. The development of Dong Hieu's cultural, artistic, and sports movement not only creates a beneficial playground for interaction among all strata of people and strengthens solidarity among the people in the commune, but also contributes to reducing social evils.

Throughout his life, beloved President Ho Chi Minh always showed special affection for the people of his homeland. Conversely, every citizen and every locality has always strived to build and develop, living up to his affection and expectations. Mr. Lu Dinh Thi, Chairman of the People's Committee of Que Phong District, shared: “It is an honor and a source of pride to have received a letter from President Ho Chi Minh praising and instructing the people and officials of the district to strive to achieve many accomplishments in increasing production. The Party Committee, government, and people of all ethnic groups in Que Phong District always consider the President's heartfelt wishes as a driving force in the fight against poverty. With many concrete actions and deeds, in the two years (2012 - 2013), the district has made efforts to reduce the poverty rate and increase the living standards of the people. As a result, the poverty rate at the end of 2011 was 50.53%, which decreased to 41.18% at the end of 2013; the average annual economic growth rate was 7.6%; and the average per capita food production reached 343 kg/year. The district strives to reduce the poverty rate to 34.18% by the end of 2015, and the average per capita income will reach a certain level.” 13-15 million VND/year.

Determined to build Nam Dan into a "model district," as beloved President Ho Chi Minh wished during his lifetime, the people of his hometown have recently joined forces to build Kim Lien commune into a model new rural commune, serving as a model for the entire district, province, and country to learn from. Thanks to this determination, Kim Lien has developed rapidly. In 2013, the total production value of the commune reached over 233 billion VND, and only 4% of households remained poor. In May 2014, Kim Lien will complete 19 basic criteria for building a new rural commune. It is expected that by June 30th, the commune will submit its plan to the Provincial People's Committee for inspection and then to the Government for approval, becoming one of the first communes in the district to be recognized as a new rural commune.

Visiting Nam Dan this May, we were truly moved by Party member Nguyen Cong Hai (Hamlet 1, Xuan Hoa Commune). Although he doesn't hold any significant position in the hamlet or commune, he is highly respected by everyone because every action he takes stems from a spirit of voluntarism and a sense of responsibility towards the community, helping families in need and those facing hardship in the hamlet. Responding to the New Rural Development movement, in 2013 the hamlet mobilized people to contribute to the construction of the hamlet's cultural center. In addition to the required contribution, he voluntarily donated an extra ton of cement worth 1.5 million VND to help the villagers speed up the construction. Remarkably, despite his difficult family circumstances – his wife works in the fields, he works hard as a bricklayer, and his children are still in school – when he found a wallet containing important documents, a gold ring, and 5 million VND, he sought out the owner, Mr. Nguyen Van Duong, in Van Dien Commune, to return it.

Among the countless blossoming young talents in Uncle Ho's hometown of Nam Dan, stands out the exemplary student Nguyen Thi Phan, a student at Van Dien Secondary School. At only 15 years old, this petite girl has to shoulder the burden of supporting a family of four. Her father suffered a spinal injury in an accident and has been bedridden for many years; her mother suffers from depression and paranoid schizophrenia; and her older brother has a congenital disability and is unable to work. The family burden is overwhelming for a teenager, yet, overcoming all adversity, Nguyen Thi Phan has consistently been an excellent student for nine years, from primary to secondary school, and is a top student in Literature at the district level.

For the staff and employees of the Kim Lien Historical Site, studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh is an integral part of the unit's political mission and each individual's professional responsibility. In particular, from 2012 to the present, the Kim Lien Historical Site Management Board has mobilized cadres, Party members, and employees to contribute to helping several policy beneficiary families, single-parent families, and those in difficult circumstances in Hong Long and Nam Linh communes with a total value of over 27 million VND; donated 35 gifts to families of war invalids and martyrs, poor students who excel in their studies, and poor women in Kim Lien, Nam Giang, and Nam Thai communes; and provided regular care for the family of Mr. Pham Van Mao in Hamlet 6, Hong Long commune – a former youth volunteer during the anti-French resistance period, now 82 years old, frail, and facing extreme hardship.

The rural areas that Uncle Ho visited, the people he met and advised during his two visits to his hometown, are still striving every day to implement his teachings, working to make Nghe An a prosperous province in the northern region, as he wished during his lifetime.

Thanh Son - Mai Hoa