The heart of the village elder Dan Lai

(Baonghean) -When talking about Mr. La Van Yeu, the village elder of Co Phat village, the Dan Lai ethnic group (Mon Son, Con Cuong) are proud and respectful of a man with a heart for the people and the village. He is 71 years old this year, but Mr. Yeu has been a Party cell secretary for 37 years.

Village elder La Van Yeu chaired the Party Congress of Co Phat village.

Born in 1943, orphaned at a young age, the wild Pu Mat forest, the Giang River and the milk of the Dan Lai women in the village nurtured the boy Yeu. Life in this remote area forced people here to depend on nature, today this forest, tomorrow another forest. At night they lit a fire to sleep in the forest, during the day they went out to find food, so no one studied. He was one of the few villagers who went to school when soldiers went into the forest to eradicate illiteracy for the villagers. In 1964, he volunteered to join the Southern battlefield. After 12 years of fighting, going through the battlefields of Quang Tri, Hue, Buon Ma Thuot, going through life and death, he was admitted to the Party right on the battlefield. When peace was restored, Mr. Yeu decided to return to his homeland. Remembering the day he returned, the villagers ran out to welcome him with all their love. That night, he stayed up all night telling the villagers stories about the battles and the lives of the ethnic groups in all regions of Vietnam that he had passed through.

In 1978, Mr. Yeu was elected as the Party Secretary of Co Phat village. After 37 years, Mr. Yeu has always been concerned about how to make sure that the villagers are no longer poor and hungry. To do that, the first thing Mr. Yeu did was to propagate and mobilize the villagers not to maintain a nomadic life, telling them that burning forests to make fields will make the land poorer, and that losing forests will cause more droughts and floods, and life will be poor forever. Instead, they must stabilize their villages, participate in raising livestock, and grow rice.

He propagated and mobilized people to implement all policies and guidelines of the Party and laws of the State. With the attention of the Party and the State, the villagers now have kindergartens, primary schools, border stations to help people, and ranger stations. He coordinated with the stations to mobilize people to participate in developing the family economy, protecting the environment, preventing epidemics, eliminating backward customs and building new rural areas.

Up to now, the village has 105 households, with more than 18 hectares of rice, 1,200 poultry, 100 buffaloes, cows, 67 pigs and goats. The forest is preserved. Ms. La Thi Phuong - Co Phat village, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district shared: "Before, it was very difficult, we had to go to the forest to find brown tubers and khua tubers to eat, hungry all year round, now it's different, we have rice fields, and the Party and State take full care of us, we are happier".

Although he is small and has wrinkles on his face, Mr. Yeu's spirit never gets tired. His old legs have traveled to countless forests, mobilizing people inside and outside the village to stabilize their lives. He has devoted 48 years of his life to the Party, made countless sacrifices with blood and tears, and gone through countless hardships for the people and the village. Mr. Vi Van Tu - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district said: "Comrade Yeu is always enthusiastic about his work, completing all assigned tasks well. Thanks to him, the life of the villagers is increasingly prosperous."

Tuong Vi