Party members who "walk the talk"

(Baonghean) - In reality, wherever the grassroots political system, with its strong Party branch as the core, and each Party member effectively plays a pioneering and exemplary role, wholeheartedly serving the community, that locality sees significant progress in various fields. In the mountainous region of Que Phong, the Party branch of Hamlet 2, Que Son commune, stands out as a prime example of this.

In late June, I had the opportunity to return to Que Son. This area is home to 95 households with 380 inhabitants. They came here from various regions to settle and start their lives decades ago. Having weathered many ups and downs in life, Que Son has now become their second home, embracing and sheltering these displaced people alongside the kind and gentle local residents of the ethnic minorities in the Mekong Delta.

Following the wide village paths, I arrived at the home of the Party Secretary of Hamlet 2, Comrade Ngo Quang Noi. In the small courtyard, filled with the chirping of birds, overlooking a lush, fruit-laden garden, this experienced man told me the story of his struggle for survival in the border region, a story he was one of. Born in the coastal town of An Hoa, Quynh Luu, unlike other young men from his hometown who chose fishing, Ngo Quang Noi studied surveying engineering and then worked at the Que Phong Forestry Station in the late 1970s. However, his work at the forestry station was not going well, so he quit to work elsewhere, only contributing to his insurance to ensure a pension for his old age. But a reality faced by former forestry workers like Comrade Noi was the extremely limited amount of arable land. “The entire hamlet only had 1.9 hectares of self-reclaimed paddy fields and 15 hectares of cultivated land. Therefore, developing the economy and stabilizing livelihoods was very difficult,” Comrade Noi recalled.

Comrade Ngo Quang Noi (right) and Comrade Bui Thi Vinh (middle) visited and discussed economic development directions with the family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Van.

With the qualities of a Party member, Comrade Ngo Quang Noi did not "stand idly by" in the face of life's challenges, but always strived and worried to bring income to his family and ensure his children received a proper education. His small garden became a place for rotating various vegetables, with different crops each season, for both family use and sale. He also invested in building pigpens to raise breeding sows. With only 0.5 hectares of cultivated land, he intensively cultivated sugarcane. The land did not disappoint him, and his family's income steadily increased. "On average, the family earns about 60 million dong per year. The income isn't huge, but it's enough to provide a stable life for the family," Comrade Noi said.

Not only did he develop his family's economy, but as a Party member, especially since being elected as the Party Secretary of Hamlet 2 in 2008, Comrade Noi and 17 other Party members in the hamlet also closely encouraged, motivated, and actively shared their business methods with the people to help them develop their economy, especially the poor households. Besides helping each other escape poverty sustainably and strive for legitimate wealth on this land, there is another deep-seated reason, which Comrade Noi confided: "We are all people who left our ancestral homeland to establish ourselves in a new land; we must support and love each other!"

That aspiration guided Comrade Noi and other diligent Party members in the Party branch of Hamlet 2, and was realized through concrete activities. Following Comrade Noi, I visited the family of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van. She and her husband, originally from Ha Tinh and Nghi Loc, settled in Que Phong to start a new life and got married. With many children and little land for farming, despite their hard work and diligence, poverty still surrounded their family. But, "We may be poor in material things, but we are not poor in spirit. My family is happy because the Party branch, the hamlet's leadership committee, and the neighbors have shown us much care and encouragement. Thanks to Comrade Noi and the enthusiastic Party members in the branch, we were able to connect and verify our eligibility to borrow capital from the Social Policy Bank," Mrs. Van shared warmly. With the capital, her family invested in pig farming, and in 2013, they were removed from the list of poor households in the commune.

Among the many stories of poverty alleviation thanks to the perseverance and support of dedicated Party members in Hamlet 2 (Que Son), one cannot fail to mention the effective approach of the hamlet's Party branch directly assigning mass organizations to "roll up their sleeves" and help their members. A prime example is the Women's Association of the hamlet. Every year, all 62 members voluntarily contribute 24,000 VND to a fund that provides free support in the form of specific livestock such as pigs, chickens, and ducks to members who are poor households. In addition, the association also acts as an intermediary, mobilizing capital from women with better financial means to lend to poor women for production at low interest rates. Comrade Bui Thi Vinh – Party Committee member and head of the women's association in the hamlet – said: “The dedicated involvement of the women's association has created trust among the women. This has also enabled the association to directly and effectively implement and disseminate many policies of the Party and the State, including family planning policies. Therefore, for the past 18 years, no one in Hamlet 2 has had a third child.”

"Speaking and acting accordingly," the Party members in Hamlet 2 have earned the trust and created a ripple effect among the people. Currently, the hamlet's economy has diversified into service industries, forest product processing, and intensive sugarcane cultivation on a total area of ​​9.5 hectares. As a result, the poverty rate in the hamlet has steadily decreased every year, and currently only 6 households remain poor. This also serves as a foundation for Hamlet 2 to implement the New Rural Development program. In 2012, the Party branch mobilized the people to contribute over 60 million VND to purchase land for the construction of the hamlet's cultural center. Furthermore, in 2012 and 2013, with the support of cement from the State, Hamlet 2 completed the construction of 2 km of rural roads according to New Rural Development standards. Walking along the wide, sturdy concrete road, Comrade Ngo Quang Noi said: “When the government decided to support cement, the Party committee held a meeting to reach a consensus, then discussed it with the Party branch, and then sought the opinions of the people. After analyzing and understanding the government's policy, as well as the benefits of building new rural areas in general, and roads in particular, the people responded very enthusiastically.”

This is evidenced by the very impressive figures. Each household in the hamlet contributed 450,000 VND in two installments to buy sand and gravel. The people also donated nearly 7,000 square meters of land and over 350 meters of fence. Notably, during this process, aware of their role, many Party members did not hesitate to take the lead in donating land and removing fences to encourage others to follow suit. For example, Comrade Ngo Quang Noi donated over 100 square meters, Party member Ngo Cong Anh donated nearly 200 square meters of land and over 100 meters of sturdy fence. And Party member Hoang Thi Thi, in addition to the average contribution per household in the hamlet, voluntarily contributed an extra 1.3 million VND to support the hamlet's road construction.

In a conversation with us, Comrade Lo Thai Huyet – Secretary of the Party Committee of Que Son commune – said: “Among the 17 Party branches of Que Son commune, the Party branch of Hamlet 2 is the one with the most outstanding activities. Each Party member in the branch truly fulfills their role and position in the community with enthusiasm, always close to the people, and practicing what they preach. Therefore, in recent years, Hamlet 2 has made remarkable progress, contributing greatly to the development of Que Son and leaving behind many valuable lessons in improving the quality of the grassroots political system.”

Thanh Duy