Young people brighten up the highlands

(Baonghean) - When the Ban and Peach flowers bloom on the hillsides, the smoke from every kitchen blends with the mountain mist, the Mong people in Ky Son are happily preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year. We had an interesting journey to meet and talk with typical young Mong party members - the factors that are considered as "red seeds" in the highland villages.

In the border commune of Na Ngoi (Ky Son), many people mention young party member Xong Ba Denh as an example in labor production and participation in social work. Starting out as Secretary of the Youth Union of Buoc Mu 1 village, through the process of striving and maturing, the Mong man born in 1985 was honored to join the Party and was trusted by the Party Committee, government, and youth union to be elected as Secretary of the Youth Union of Na Ngoi commune.

With his dynamism, creativity and enthusiasm, in his position as Secretary of the Commune Youth Union, Xong Ba Denh launched a pilot movement to implement a collective ginger planting model in the village youth union branches; the money from ginger harvest will be used to serve the activities of the union and youth movements right at the grassroots level. Initially, only 3 youth unions responded, but now in the commune, 13/19 village youth unions have a collective economic model.

Secretary of the Na Ngoi Commune Youth Union - Xong Ba Denh (blue shirt) introduces the collective economic model of local youth. Photo by Hoai Thu

Typical examples are the Xieng Xi village Youth Union with the winter-spring rice growing model, the Pu Quac village Youth Union with the red mahogany growing model. The movement of young households doing good business has also been replicated with many types (forest planting, tea, raising cows and buffaloes, black chickens), Xong Ba Denh himself is also a "young millionaire" in the border commune of Na Ngoi with 1.3 hectares of ginger, elephant grass and a herd of 15 buffaloes.

Leading us to the buffalo raising and ginger growing area deep in the misty mountainside in the cold of 8-90C, Xong Ba Denh happily said: "I am the leader of the commune's youth union and a party member. If I want to encourage and mobilize the youth in the village and commune to develop the economy and eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, I myself must do good business. If I do well, people will be pleased with me, and then they will be pleased, believe me, and listen to me." It is known that the economic model of raising and growing ginger brings Xong Ba Denh's family a total income of more than 200 million VND each year.

Secretary of the Youth Union of Na Ngoi Xong commune, Ba Denh, takes care of the buffalo herd. Photo: Khanh Ly

Not only caring about the material and spiritual life of the youth, the Secretary of the Xong Ba Denh Commune Youth Union also cares about the work of training and introducing outstanding people for the Party to consider and admit. Every year, the Na Ngoi Commune Youth Union introduces 8-10 outstanding youth union members to study for party membership, of which about 4-5 people are considered for admission to the Party. Commenting on the young party member Xong Ba Denh, Mr. Mua Ba Cu - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Na Ngoi Commune Party Committee said: He is an exemplary, dynamic, hard-working young man, born into a Mong family that wholeheartedly follows the Party (Xong Ba Denh's father is a party member, former Chairman of the Commune Fatherland Front, his younger brother Xong No Va, born in 1987, is currently the Party Cell Secretary of Buoc Mu 1 village and his younger brother Xong Ba May, a party member, is currently the Party Cell Secretary of Buoc Mu 1 village)...

In Son Ha village, Ta Ca commune (Ky Son), there is a young female party member named Mua Y Khu, born in 1986, the head of the village's Women's Association, an example of a Mong woman who is "good at national affairs and good at housework". Mua Y Khu exudes agility and resourcefulness. Mua Y Khu's husband is also a party member, often away from home in the army, but Mua Y Khu still fulfills the role of a good daughter-in-law, a good wife and does well in the role of head of the village's Women's Association.

Young Party member Mua Y y Khua with his children. Photo by Hoai Thu

Son Ha is the only Mong village in Ta Ca commune (the rest are mainly inhabited by Thai and Khmu people). The village has more than 90 members of the women's association. Under the leadership of young party member Mua Y Khu, the Son Ha Women's Association is always at the forefront of all movements of the commune's Women's Association from culture, arts, environmental sanitation, growing clean vegetables to developing and preserving the traditional embroidery craft. In addition, the women also develop the profession of fattening cows, with members raising 2-3 cows, while households with large numbers raise up to 10 cows...

By the flickering fire in the cozy house, Mua Y Khu shared with us in fluent Mandarin: For Mong women, the time of going to the fields in the morning and coming home at night around the fire, their feet used to clinging to the ground and not leaving the village, has gradually passed. Now, the back is not only used to carry corn and cassava, but also to "carry" letters. The feet are not only used to hang around the fields and fields, but also to participate in movements and social activities, contributing to building the village, bringing the Party's policies closer to the villagers.

It can be said that Mua Y Khu is a typical example of a modern Mong woman. Very busy with family matters, women's work, and party work, she still strives to complete part-time economics university classes, raise cows, grow vegetables, and take good care of her children so that her husband can work with peace of mind. With her efforts, Mua Y Khu was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Ta Ca Commune Party Committee for excellent performance of her duties, and a Certificate of Merit from the Ta Ca Commune Women's Union and the Ky Son District Women's Union for outstanding achievements in union work and the emulation movement "good at state affairs, good at housework"...

We also went through the fog to Huoi Tu commune to meet young party member Ha Ba Ly - a former student of the provincial Ethnic Boarding High School, who won a Silver Medal in Mathematics at the National Ethnic Boarding School Conference and was recognized by Nghe An Provincial Youth Union as an outstanding young face. Ly is originally from Tay Son commune (Ky Son), life is difficult, the road to school is far and isolated, but the Mong boy still wants to learn and is determined on the path of learning.

After graduating from the National Economics University (Hanoi) in 2014 with a good degree, Ly took up the position of Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune under the project of bringing 600 young intellectuals to work as Vice Chairmen of poor communes. Huoi Tu is a particularly difficult commune, with low educational level and limited application of science and technology in production and livestock farming. The whole commune has 872 households with 4,261 people, of which about 586 households participate in agricultural production, mainly slash-and-burn farming. Assigned to be in charge of the economic sector, programs and projects, Ly worked hard to be close to the people, staying close to the area to learn about the potential, strengths of the locality and the production practices of the people.

Young Party member Ha Ba Ly speaks at the closing ceremony of the Central Party Cell of Huoi Tu Commune (Ky Son). Photo: Khanh Ly

Realizing the advantage of Huoi Tu commune is tea trees, not only suitable for soil and climate but also guaranteed output by the Youth Volunteer Corps 8, Ly proactively coordinated with the Corps cadres, village elders, and prestigious people to mobilize and guide people on planting and care techniques, not spraying herbicides on tea trees; applied scientific and technical advances in production and breeding, built a model of youth raising fattening cows from capital sources under the 30a and 135 programs to support breeding cows and seedlings, contributing to changing backward farming practices and improving the lives of people in the highlands. Currently, the whole Huoi Tu commune has nearly 500 hectares of tea, with a total herd of 3,000 cows.

Ha Ba Ly's determination to overcome difficulties and enthusiasm were rewarded. In June 2016, Ly was one of the 8 officials of the 600 young intellectuals project who were officially appointed as vice chairmen of the commune People's Committee according to the Law on Local Government. "That is the motivation for me to continue to strive, grow, and contribute to building the village...", the determined Mong young man confided.

Young party members such as Xong Ba Denh, Mua Y Khu, Ha Ba Ly... have become the core nucleus in solidarity, community development, economic construction, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and bridges to bring the Party's policies to ethnic minorities in the highland border areas...

Khanh Ly