Brighten up your life

Dark past

More than a month before Tet, the family of Mr. Phan Duy Sinh (born in 1982, Tan Thai village, Tan Phu commune, Tan Ky district) was busy harvesting oranges according to customers' orders. The orange garden of 300 trees, each tree full of fruit, has brought his family a prosperous life.

While picking oranges for customers, Mr. Sinh said that although the price of oranges this year is not high compared to previous years, because of the good quality, the profit is quite good.

Mr. Sinh next to his family's orange garden. Photo: PB

Sinh is the youngest of four siblings and is pampered by his parents. In 2003, he graduated from college with a degree in Finance but could not find a job. When he returned to his hometown, Sinh was given a job as a long-distance bus assistant by his village elders.

Seeing Sinh’s gentle nature, many people invited him to join and he became familiar with drugs without realizing it. During that time, Sinh used all the money he earned to buy drugs. But then, when he thought about his old and weak parents living in poverty in his hometown, Sinh felt guilty and determined to quit the “white death” before getting deeper into it.

However, Phan Duy Sinh did not expect that it was drugs that turned his life in a different direction. Knowing that Sinh had used drugs and knew some drug dealers, a drug addict asked him to help him buy drugs. The first two times went smoothly, but on the third time, while receiving drugs, he was caught red-handed by the police.

In 2006, Phan Duy Sinh was sentenced to 48 months in prison for illegal drug trafficking. “When I was arrested, thinking about my family, I felt regretful and tormented. My parents never let me lack anything, worked hard to raise me and educate me, and now I am repaying them like this,” Sinh recounted.

During his days in prison, Sinh was absent-minded and listless. Seeing this, the prison officers tried to understand him, encouraged him, and shared with him. Gradually, Sinh regained his faith in life. Although he had committed a big mistake, during his time in prison, he was still visited by his parents and his new girlfriend, who often showed concern and encouragement, so he felt secure in his rehabilitation.

Sinh's family wraps banh chung to prepare for the New Year. Photo: PB

Since then, he has had his sentence reduced many times and was released from prison a year early. “I cannot give up and make my parents and those who have trusted and loved me suffer. Thinking that, I am determined to work and reform,” Sinh said.

Rebuild life

The day he walked through the prison gate, his mood was extremely mixed. He was both happy to be back to normal life but also very shy and self-conscious because of his prison sentence which made him feel unconfident in facing people. During that time, he lived in a closed shell that he created himself, not daring to step out into the street.

Seeing his parents' lives getting more and more miserable, he had many sleepless nights, remembering the days when he first started school, how much his parents had hoped for him, thinking about many of his friends who were now successful, with comfortable lives.... Thinking about that, tears welled up in his eyes and he was determined to stand up and rebuild his life.

Then Sinh lived a more active life, starting with participating in local movement activities. In 2009, he married the girl who had stood by him through the dark days. With a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, Sinh began to think about getting rich and not just relying on a few fields.

Every afternoon, standing and looking out at his homeland's fields, seeing the fertile land that had not been exploited to its full potential, he thought, "Why don't I get rich right on this land?"

After discussing with his parents and wife, he decided to borrow money to buy seedlings, learn how to care for them, and then start building an economic model with 400 orange trees, 8 sao of sugarcane, and 1.3 ha of rubber on the contracted land. Taking advantage of the remaining land, he and his wife grew crops, raised pigs and chickens, and used the short-term to support the long-term.

In the first years, the trees had no harvest, and his family's life was extremely difficult. But after more than 10 years, his family's orange and sugarcane gardens yielded regular harvests. This was also the first year that his family's rubber trees produced sap, promising a high income.

The economic model generates an income of about 300 million VND/year. Phan Duy Sinh has become a typical example of economic development in the locality, being sent to attend conferences, give typical reports, and share experiences with the people in the district. On November 27, 2014, Sinh was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam and elected as Head of the Village Front Committee.

Mr. Sinh was elected as village chief and People's Council delegate for many years. Photo: PB

In 2015, Tan Thai villagers trusted and elected Mr. Sinh as village chief. In 2016, Phan Duy Sinh was elected as a delegate of Tan Phu Commune People's Council, term V, 2016 - 2021 with over 97% of the votes and was a member of the Legal Committee of the Commune People's Council. Recently, he was trusted and elected by the villagers to continue holding the position of village chief for the second term.

Looking at the spacious house in the middle of Phan Duy Sinh’s orange garden, many people could not hide their surprise because it was built by two hands that had been dirty before. Sitting next to his son, unable to hide his emotions, Mr. Phan Duy Tang (Sinh’s father) said he was very happy to see his son grow up and overcome the dark period of his life.

“When Sinh was arrested for drug use, my family was devastated. 10 years have passed, and he has bravely stood up from his fall and built trust with the people. That is what makes me happiest,” Mr. Tang shared.

Mr. Sinh confided that everyone has youth and can make mistakes. The important thing is to overcome those mistakes to live a useful life for the family and for society. No one rejects people who have committed crimes from society, everyone is ready to extend a hand for you to hold and confidently move forward.