Sowing 'red seeds' in the highlands

Bright spotfromvillage party branch,copy

Following the winding, treacherous mountain road, littered with landslide marks from recent storms, after many hours, we finally arrived at the center of Keng Du commune. There, we joined commune officials and border guards for the regular Party meeting held in the evening in Huoi Phuon 1 village.

Among the party members attending the meeting at Huoi Phuon 1 Party Branch, there was a young woman carrying a small child who arrived very early - that was Ms. Hoa Thi Ngac, born in 1994.

When asked, she shared that despite having three children, being busy with farming and her roles as wife and mother, she still actively participates in the activities of the village women's association and has been selected as a candidate to be recommended to the Party for training and admission.

“Initially, when I was introduced to and encouraged to join the Party, I was hesitant, but with the encouragement of the Party branch secretary and the support of my husband, who is a Party member, I became even more determined. After a period of striving, at the end of 2024, I was honored to be admitted to the Party by the Huoi Phuon 1 village Party branch. This is a great source of pride and honor not only for myself but also for my family and relatives,” Ms. Ngac said.

The young female Party member, with the characteristic simplicity of Khơ Mú ethnic women, also expressed that since joining the Party, she has had timely access to new policies and guidelines, expanding her knowledge and understanding, making her more confident in communication, bolder in expressing her opinions in meetings, and more exemplary in all movements and activities of the village.

In further discussion with Party Branch Secretary Xeo Van Com, he happily stated: Despite facing many difficulties due to many young workers leaving for work elsewhere, over the past three years, the Huoi Phuon 1 Party Branch has consistently met and exceeded its target for admitting new party members.

In 2025, up to September, the Huoi Phuon 1 Party Branch had admitted two outstanding individuals into the Party: Mr. Moong Van Thong - Security Team member and Ms. Lo Thi Hoa - Women's Association member.

To effectively develop the Party, according to Party Branch Secretary Xeo Van Com: First and foremost, Party members within the branch must set a good example in all movements and activities for the masses to follow. Furthermore, the branch must demonstrate its role as the political "nucleus" at the grassroots level by issuing practical resolutions and creating vibrant emulation movements. Through this, positive individuals can be identified and nurtured for Party development.

The Party branch must also truly be a "center of solidarity," demonstrated through helping each other build houses, harvest crops, visit each other when sick, or donate seedlings and livestock to support disadvantaged households in developing their livelihoods and eradicating poverty.

Some Party members in the branch have pioneered overcoming difficulties and developing household economies, such as Party branch secretary Xeo Van Com, Party member Moong Pho Phan with his cattle and buffalo farming model, and Party member Moong Thi Hien with her black chicken and native pig farming model... contributing to reducing the poverty rate from 57 to 49 households. This has created motivation for the masses to strive to join the Party.

In Keo Con village, the source of "red seeds" (ideologically sound Party members) is identified primarily from the families of Party members in the branch. A typical example is the extended family of Party member Luong Van Tho, which currently has eight members, including his two sons, his father, his siblings, and his sister-in-law.

Luong Van Son, the Party Secretary of Keo Con village and also the younger brother of Luong Van Tho, said: "In propaganda and mobilization efforts, I and other Party members in the branch have determined that we must help our relatives and the people understand that striving to join the Party is not only for personal growth but also an opportunity to contribute to building a prosperous and peaceful village."

Thanks to its practical approach to propaganda and mobilization, the Keo Con village Party branch consistently meets its annual Party membership recruitment targets, and currently has 24 Party members.

Discussing the work of training and developing Party members, the Secretary of the Keng Du Commune Party Committee, Tho Ba Re, said: The unique characteristic of this mountainous area is its 29.909 km long border; it borders the Bo Nhia and Huoi Lom villages in Noong Het district, Xieng Khouang province (Laos), with a total population of 1,002 households/5,020 people, comprising two ethnic groups, Thai and Khmu, living in 10 villages, including 8 border villages.

Economic, cultural, and social life faces many difficulties, with a high poverty rate (67.37%), near-poverty rate (19.2%), and outdated customs and traditions.

The Party Committee of Keng Du commune has always identified Party development and preventing the re-establishment of Party branches as one of its key and ongoing tasks.

From proactively reviewing potential candidates and assigning responsibilities to subordinate Party branches, to assigning Standing Committee members, Executive Committee members, and officials within the political system to participate in activities and provide hands-on guidance to Party branch committees in villages and hamlets, helping them overcome difficulties, select promising candidates for Party membership, and recruit them into the Party.

As a result, during the 2020-2025 term, the entire Party Committee admitted 58/40 individuals into the Party (exceeding the target by 18).

Entering a new term, along with the operation of the two-tiered government, the Keng Du Commune Party Committee sets the goal of recruiting 10-15 new party members annually. Sources include local associations and organizations, students remaining in the area, demobilized soldiers and police officers, and schools in the commune…

To achieve this goal, the Party Committee issued a thematic resolution on the work of developing Party members. Specific recruitment targets were assigned to each Party branch based on the practical situation of each village. At the same time, political and ideological propaganda and education were intensified, coupled with promoting the exemplary role of Party members, especially leaders.

Thanks to the strong involvement and determination of the entire political system, along with many specific solutions, in the first six months of 2025, the Party Committee of Keng Du commune admitted 14 new party members.

DCompaniontraining "seeds"

According to the Party Secretary of Keng Du commune, Tho Ba Re, this achievement would not have been possible without the parallel role of the Border Guard Party members stationed in the area. Not only do they "eat, live, and work together" with the local people, but these military-uniformed Party members also act as a bridge, bringing the light of the Party to the people; supporting and assisting village Party branches in training and developing new Party members.

For example, in Khe Linh village – one of the most remote areas of Keng Du commune, home to 60 households and 306 Khmu people – transportation is difficult, often cut off during the rainy season, and the poverty rate is high. Due to the lack of strong community activities in the village, selecting potential candidates for Party membership is also challenging. The Party Committee of Keng Du Border Guard Post and the Party Committee of Keng Du commune have agreed to assign Lieutenant Colonel Vo Cong Bac, a professional military officer from the Mass Mobilization Team, to temporarily serve at the Khe Linh Party Branch.

For over two years, Lieutenant Colonel Vo Cong Bac has regularly traveled more than 9km each month to attend regular meetings with the Khe Linh Party branch. "Because the village doesn't have phone signal, when there's a need to communicate or when floods occur, we have to go there in person to assess the situation, advise the unit and local authorities on how to clear landslides and reopen the road for the villagers," Bac shared.

The border guard lieutenant colonel also stated that, along with maintaining discipline and improving the quality of activities, the quality of drafting and issuing resolutions, he and his colleague, Deputy Commander of the Keng Du Commune Military Command - Luong Van Xom (who is also assigned the task of Secretary of the Khe Linh Village Party Branch), have been supporting the Party branch committee from the training and recruitment stages to the process of preparing documents for admitting new Party members.

In particular, emphasis was placed on identifying positive factors in labor and production, and in mass movements, to disseminate awareness through various forms and channels. Thanks to this, despite facing difficulties, in 2024, the Khe Linh Party Branch admitted two new party members: Xeo Van Bien (a graduate of a medical college) and Mong Van Thi (a demobilized soldier). In 2025, up to the present time, the branch has recommended two outstanding individuals to attend party membership orientation classes: Lo Van Nhi (a demobilized soldier) and Mong Thi Hom (a graduate of a teacher training college)...

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Political Officer of Keng Du Border Guard Station: Identifying the task of building, consolidating, and improving the effectiveness of the grassroots political system in border areas as one of the key tasks, the Station's Party Committee always accompanies and supports local Party committees in training and developing new Party members.

Currently, in addition to one comrade assigned to the commune Party Committee, the unit has assigned five border guard Party members to participate in activities at five village Party branches in border areas, including Khe Linh, Huoi Xui, Quyet Thang, Keng Du, and Huoi Cang… contributing to strengthening grassroots Party organizations and building an increasingly robust political system.

Thanks to the systematic and persistent approach of the Party committee, the synchronized involvement of the political system, the support of the border guards, and above all, the aspirations of the ethnic people, the work of developing Party members in the border commune of Keng Du not only ensures quantity but also focuses on quality.

This contributes to strengthening and enhancing the leadership capacity and fighting strength of grassroots Party organizations, aiming towards the goal of "three pacities": "pacification of the people, pacification of the locality, and pacification of the border".

Khanh Ly-Thanh Phuc