"Effective mass mobilization, driving the movement" in model rural areas.
Without relying on or expecting state resources, Hamlet 5 Nghi Van (Van Kieu Commune) has chosen innovative approaches to leverage its internal strengths and build a new rural area. This includes exemplary leadership from officials, collaborative efforts from the people, and the support of those living far from home.
Gia Huy /Technique:Hong Toai• December 7, 2025
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Without relying on or expecting state resources, Hamlet 5 Nghi Van (Van Kieu Commune) has chosen innovative approaches to leverage its internal strengths and build a new rural area. In this approach, exemplary officials lead the way, the people contribute their efforts, and those living far from home show their commitment to their homeland. Each project and road is built with the consensus and initiative of the community, creating a fresh new look and making this purely agricultural hamlet a shining example in building a model new rural area, a smart village, and a model for promoting grassroots democracy.
Visiting Hamlet 5 in Nghi Van during the end of the year, the first thing that's easily noticeable is the dramatic change evident in every corner of the hamlet. Straight concrete roads, a modern new cultural center, a large outdoor stage, spacious volleyball and football courts, flower-lined streets, tree-lined streets, and flag-lined streets illuminated by streetlights extending to every alleyway, a surveillance camera system ensuring security… Everything is bright, green, clean, and beautiful, creating the appearance of a model new rural hamlet undergoing a powerful transformation.
Taking us on a tour around the hamlet, Mr. Luong Ngoc An, the Party Secretary of Hamlet 5, who has been involved in village and hamlet work for nearly 30 years, smiled kindly when asked about the "secret" of the effective mass mobilization movement here: "It all boils down to a few words: unity - democracy - setting an example," and "what is said must be done, and what is done must yield results." "Mass mobilization in villages and hamlets must be flexible and sincere, not imposing or rigid," Mr. An expressed.
During the process of building new rural areas, the Party Committee and Party Branch of Hamlet 5 have always clearly defined: the people are the main actors, and the political system is the core force in propaganda, mobilization, and implementation. In this, cadres and Party members must be the pioneering force. "If you want the people to listen to you and trust you, then the cadres themselves must lead the way and act first," emphasized Party Branch Secretary Luong Ngoc An.
This exemplary role model is most clearly demonstrated at crucial moments in the new rural development movement. And village head Nguyen Thi Hue – affectionately known by the locals as "the dynamic Mrs. Hue" – is a prime example. When village 5 was newly merged (from villages 5A and 5B, with 174 households and 618 inhabitants), infrastructure was still lacking, and the village set a goal to build a new cultural center, but resources were extremely limited.
At that time, to overcome the initial difficulties, village head Nguyen Thi Hue herself advanced 47 million VND from her own money to buy paving bricks for the community center's courtyard. This act of kindness created a strong ripple effect: families of officials and Party members set an example by contributing first, and eventually the entire community responded in unison.
The hamlet also established a five-member mobilization team consisting of the Party branch secretary, the hamlet head, the deputy hamlet head, the head of the women's association, and a representative to travel to provinces where successful children from the hamlet live to mobilize support. In a short time, the cultural center's courtyard was completed, becoming clean and beautiful.
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Mr. Dang Trong Vien, Head of the Front Committee of Hamlet 5, recounted: “The location where the community center was built was previously a low-lying area, nearly 1 meter lower than the road surface. To obtain the land, we had to mobilize many social resources, especially the support of our children living away from home who helped to fill in the land and raise the foundation. The completion of the project is the result of the efforts of the entire community.”
Thanks to skillful community mobilization, even the smallest details in the cultural center, such as tables, chairs, the podium, filing cabinets, and photos of generations of village officials, were all provided by generous donors.
Community organizations in the hamlet also competed to undertake practical tasks. The Farmers' Association mobilized its members to donate trees to plant around the community center. For each household that donated a tree, the head of the branch association personally funded the printing of a plaque with the family's name to attach to the tree. In this way, households followed suit, donating hundreds of trees and flowers around the community center.
The Veterans Association supported the construction of a nearly 6km long "flag-lined road" with streetlights and contributed nearly 50 million VND to paving the outdoor stage (funded by generous donors who are children of the local community).
The Front Committee mobilized social resources to build a football field, raising over 13 million VND. Ten neighborhood groups take turns cleaning the cultural center and caring for the greenery, ensuring the grounds remain clean and beautiful.
According to Village Head Nguyen Thi Hue, to maintain the people's trust, all income and expenditure must be public and transparent. "The people's contributions are the result of their hard work and effort. Everything must be clear, and not a single penny should be lost," she said. When people see honest, dedicated, and exemplary officials, they will naturally be willing to work together to build their homeland.
As a result, since the merger in 2019, Hamlet 5 has successfully mobilized a series of social resources to build: a 179m² cultural center with a total value of 600 million VND; the cultural center grounds, embankment, well, drainage ditch, sports field and other auxiliary facilities, with a total cost of over 500 million VND.
In addition, the project included installing flagpoles and power lines, widening the roadbed to 8 meters, constructing drainage ditches along the village's roads, and installing outdoor sports equipment and other cultural facilities, with a total value exceeding 400 million VND.
Currently, 100% of the village's main roads and alleys (6.5 km) have been concreted; the percentage of main roads within the fields ensuring convenient year-round transportation of goods has reached 100%. In 2025, the village will continue to strive to build a welcome gate, upgrade the cemetery, and concrete an additional 253 m of road… The total cost of these projects is nearly 1.5 billion VND, of which the Commune People's Committee contributed 400 million VND, and the remaining 1.1 billion VND was contributed by the people and social mobilization sources.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dao, 70 years old and a Party member for 45 years, shared: “With enthusiastic officials and supportive people, anything can be accomplished. With the right policies and skillful people mobilization, the people will trust and cooperate. Life was very hard in the past, but now, seeing our homeland change, we are very proud.”
The success of Hamlet 5 Nghi Van (Van Kieu Commune) shows that effective people mobilization is not just about verbal propaganda, but more importantly, about exemplary actions, transparency, and consistency between the words and deeds of officials. When the people trust, understand, and voluntarily contribute, all policies are implemented smoothly and effectively.
Not only is it a leader in building new rural areas, Hamlet 5 Nghi Van is also the first unit in Van Kieu commune to be selected to build a smart village model – the foundation of digital rural areas.
For a purely agricultural village, transitioning to the digital environment is not easy. However, village officials have pioneered the use of Zalo and other social media platforms to manage affairs, send announcements, and disseminate policies and guidelines. The village's cultural center is also equipped with a modern projector for community activities; eight cameras have been installed at key locations and public areas to help village officials monitor and ensure security and order.
Right in front of the cultural center, a digital database bulletin board has been installed to replace the traditional bulletin board. Information about the Party branch, the village management board, and various associations and organizations... is all tagged with QR codes. By simply scanning with their phones, residents can quickly access updated information.
Mr. Nguyen Van Ha, head of the Veterans Association in the hamlet, happily said: "Since the digital database was established, we only need to scan once to find the information we need. Even though we are elderly, the hamlet officials provide dedicated guidance, making it quite convenient for us to use our phones."
The hamlet also established a Community Digital Technology Team, guiding residents on the use of smartphones, cashless payments, and online administrative procedures. Environmental awareness has been raised: Livestock farmers have built wastewater treatment systems; the hamlet has two public garbage pits for separating soft and hard waste; and garbage trucks collect waste every two weeks.
Along with building cultural institutions, infrastructure, and the environment, the Party committee, Party branch, and management board of Hamlet 5 pay special attention to economic development and creating sustainable livelihoods for the people.
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In addition to efficiently utilizing land and labor for agricultural production, the hamlet encourages residents to build model gardens, develop family farms and large-scale farms, especially raising chickens and pigeons.
Many households have taken advantage of social media to promote their products and find markets. A typical example is the model of raising 500 pairs of pigeons on an area of 120 square meters.2Dao Van Dong's products are sold for 70,000 VND per pair. Thanks to promotion through Facebook and Zalo, he sold over 1,000 pairs in a short time, providing him with a stable income.
In addition, labor export has been identified as a key economic driver for sustainable poverty reduction. Currently, the entire hamlet has 40-50 workers employed abroad or in other distant places, sending stable incomes back home and contributing to reducing the number of poor households in the hamlet to only 2, with 5 near-poor households.
With its outstanding contributions, Hamlet 5 has consistently received recognition from the Party Committee and the government. In 2023, the hamlet was recognized as a model cultural village at the provincial level and received a Certificate of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee for its participation in the exemplary new rural development movement. In 2024, it was recognized as a smart hamlet, and in 2025, Hamlet 5 continued to make a proud mark by being honored by the provincial steering committee as a model of effective mass mobilization and a shining example of grassroots democracy regulations at the provincial level for the period 2021-2025.
Comrade Dinh Thanh Trang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Van Kieu commune, assessed: Hamlet 5 Nghi Van has always been a leading unit in all movements. The unity between cadres and people has created lasting values, serving as a model for other hamlets to learn from.
The wide roads, the well-built public facilities, and the noticeable changes in the material and spiritual lives of the people in Hamlet 5 are the result of persistent mass mobilization, exemplary conduct, and transparency in every aspect of work by officials and Party members, especially the "leading" figures in the hamlet.
They have proven that "effective mass mobilization" lies not only in words, but in sincerity, in a style that respects the people, is close to the people, and relies on the people. When officials set an example, and when the people trust them, every movement will succeed, and every project will be completed.
The achievements of Hamlet 5 Nghi Van (Van Kieu Commune) today are also compelling proof that: When the Party's will aligns with the people's aspirations, all difficulties can be overcome, and the new rural areas will truly be "new" from the simplest actions.
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