Devoted to religion and life
(Baonghean) - For 11 years as the hamlet chief and head of the religious committee of Dong Khe parish, Bac Hong hamlet, Dien Hong commune (Dien Chau), Mr. Tran Van Lam, with his dedication, has contributed to strengthening the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics, and the people's lives have increasingly improved; Bac Hong hamlet is a typical cultural hamlet of Dien Chau district.
Arriving at the Bac Hong Village Cultural House, I saw Mr. Lam chatting animatedly with Mr. Tran Van Thang and his wife and Mr. Nguyen Van Tai and his wife from the same neighborhood. After finding out, I found out that this couple came to thank Mr. Lam for the recent Lunar New Year when he came to mediate and act as a bridge to help the couple get along.
Mr. Thang shared: The couple was young, both were stubborn, then filed for divorce, but Mr. Lam and the neighborhood committee came to the house to explain, mobilized both sides of the family to meet and analyze right and wrong, and realized that he was still hasty, so he withdrew the petition. Now the couple lives happily together. Although we are non-religious people and Mr. Lam is Catholic, he is very concerned about non-religious people like us.
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| Mr. Lam (left) shares experiences in solidarity between religions with commune leaders at Dong Khe parish church. Photo: Mai Giang |
Bac Hong Hamlet, Dien Hong Commune has 267 households, half of which are Catholics belonging to Dong Khe Parish, Dong Thap Parish. Contacting many people in Bac Hong Hamlet, through stories about the hamlet chief and head of the parish council, Tran Van Lam, shows that he is highly respected by the people.
Mr. Lam is a veteran, discharged in 1981. Returning to his hometown, he was elected as the Head of the Farmers' Association of the hamlet. With his prestige, from 2008 until now, he has been trusted by the people in the hamlet to be elected as the hamlet chief, Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Dong Khe Parish, and Vice Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Dong Thap Parish.
Mr. Lam also established a housing construction team. At that time, many people in the neighborhood were in difficult circumstances, their houses were dilapidated, so he mobilized a team of workers to support the construction for free. Thanks to that, 5 households in the neighborhood had their dilapidated houses removed and their houses were solidly built.
In the past, Bac Hong people mainly engaged in agricultural production, but on this fertile land, people cultivated two crops of corn and peanuts each year with low efficiency. Worried about the difficult life of the people, Mr. Lam studied to promote the efficiency of cultivation on fertile land. He was the first person to encourage people to plant watermelons and change the crop structure.
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| Peaceful Bac Hong village today. Photo: Mai Giang |
Accordingly, Bac Hong is the first hamlet in the commune to achieve economic efficiency of 200 million VND/ha of watermelon. The family sells agricultural materials, so Mr. Lam discussed with his wife and children to create conditions for people to buy seeds, fertilizers, and nylon materials and pay them at the end of the harvest. With 10 hectares of high-yielding watermelon, the lives of people in Bac Hong hamlet have gradually improved, many families have food and savings. Mr. Lam, together with the Party Committee and the hamlet executive committee, mobilized people to develop trade and services, thanks to which, up to now, 60% of households in the hamlet have people doing business in Laos, bringing in a stable source of foreign currency, many families from difficult situations have risen to become quite rich.
Life is getting better and better, the Catholics and non-Catholics are united, the staff is enthusiastic, so in 2013 Bac Hong hamlet was recognized as a Cultural Village by the People's Committee of Dien Chau district. To continue improving the criteria in building a new rural area, Mr. Lam mobilized Catholics and non-Catholics with nearly 1,300 people to contribute to upgrading the spacious and fully equipped cultural house with a total cost of 280 million VND.
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| Mr. Lam and the hamlet executive committee regularly meet and listen to the opinions of the people in the hamlet. Photo: Mai Giang |
Along with contributing to upgrading the cultural house, the people of Bac Hong hamlet have contributed funds to complete 2 km of traffic routes and are currently building flower beds on both sides of the roads, creating a clean and beautiful landscape.
Mr. Lam is the center of solidarity among the village cadres as well as among the people. His family and himself are exemplary, so people trust him and follow his words. The Catholic and non-Catholic people here never have conflicts with each other. Currently, Bac Hong has become a typical village in solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics. The income per capita of the village reaches 45 million VND/year; poor households account for only 1%, well-off and rich households account for more than 70%, and the rate of cultural families accounts for 92%. The current prosperity of Bac Hong has a very important role of Mr. Tran Van Lam.
Mr. Tran Van Lam is a dedicated person in all matters, always highly trusted by the local Catholics and non-Catholics. Every year, he is honored by the Party Committee, the government of Dien Chau district and Dien Hong commune as a “Patriotic Catholic”, awarded a Certificate of Merit for excellent performance of duties, and has many contributions to the local patriotic emulation movements.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh - Secretary of Dien Hong Commune Party Committee
