“My mother, a petite, single woman, had to work in the fields, work as a construction worker, and harvest crops for hire to take care of us and our children’s education. Seeing her return with her back drenched in sweat after days of hard work, my heart ached so much…” Putting down the last stroke of the pen after completing the mural for the children at the commune kindergarten, Le Van Dong – Secretary of the Youth Union of Hamlet 1, Nghia Thuan Commune (Thai Hoa Town) shared with us the story of his life. It was a difficult journey from an orphaned, disabled boy to a typical example of economic development and an active Youth Union cadre in Thai Hoa land.
It was a haunting October day in 2009, when Dong had just finished his class and returned home when he heard the news that his father had passed away. Dong's father - a strong-willed man - had been fighting lung cancer for a long time, but he never once complained about the pain he was suffering. Perhaps, because he understood, his wife and children had worked hard for him, had to sell all the family's assets to take him to and from large and small hospitals. The house the family was living in, built in 1978 by his grandparents at that time, was also on the verge of collapsing because there was no money to repair it for a long time.
His father had passed away, his younger brother was still young, and Dong was only in 10th grade at the time, so all the burden fell on his mother. Loving his mother, Dong studied and worked as a hired plowman for other families in the commune. Those were days when he had to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to lead the buffalo to plow the fields. When school was almost over, he would rush home to take a shower so that his friends wouldn't see the mud stains on his clothes. When the harvest season ended, Dong would go out to plant trees, hoe grass, clear the forest, or cut firewood to sell.
“At that time, I almost never had breakfast. There were days when I came home from school, ate a quick bowl of rice, and had to cycle to Tan Thang commune, Quynh Luu district to plant sugarcane for hire. Although I was tired, every time I held the money I earned to help my mother pay off the family's debts, I felt extremely happy. Even though my mother cried when she held that money, she wanted me to focus on studying so that she could shoulder everything, but with the self-respect of the eldest child in the family, I understood that I needed to try harder,” Dong recounted.
After finishing 3 years of high school, holding a diploma in hand, although the desire to enter colleges and universities still smoldered, but due to difficult circumstances, Dong was forced to work as a kitchen assistant in Hanoi. In 2019, when he had saved up some capital to build future development plans, Dong unfortunately encountered a serious accident.
To save his life, Dong had to completely amputate his right leg. Waking up in the intensive care unit, Dong fell into despair. Looking through the crack in the hospital room door, he saw his mother and younger brother trying to look inside. His mother's haggard face made him even more pained. After crying alone for many nights, Dong tried to smile to reassure his loved ones. He told himself: "Try hard! Try hard, tomorrow everything will be better!"
After being discharged from the hospital, Dong began to get used to and practice walking with his prosthetic legs, from taking the first steps to walking skillfully. He started to draw calligraphy to earn a living. Luckily, during his time working as a kitchen assistant in Hanoi, he learned and studied this subject. For a long time, he had also linked up with a few calligraphy shops in Hanoi to supply them with products. Thanks to his talent, he sold a large amount of calligraphy to this market to earn extra income to cover his living expenses.
Along with his calligraphy work, Dong was introduced by the Nghia Thuan Commune Youth Union to a stone painting facility in the commune. From here, he began to interact more with local youth, listened to the stories of his peers, and saw that many lives were much more unfortunate than his. That reality helped him regain his lost optimism, become more sociable, and gradually confidently participate in volunteer activities for the community. In 2021, Dong boldly borrowed 100 million VND from relatives and the Social Policy Bank to open a restaurant. Currently, the restaurant has been operating and developing stably, with an average income of 200 million VND/year, creating jobs for 3 union members and young people in the area. With each passing day, Dong has become a leader of the youth of his commune, trusted to take on the role of Secretary of the Youth Union of Hamlet 1 and become a key member of the "Youth doing good business" Club of Nghia Thuan commune.
Also in 2021, Nghia Thuan Commune Youth Union organized a campaign to implement Directive 05-CT/TW of the Politburo (12th tenure) on "Promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle" with many meaningful programs. In particular, Dong participated in a class to raise awareness about Uncle Ho and the campaign to implement Directive 05. Along with that, the class to raise awareness about the Party also changed Dong's awareness a lot. Since then, he has led the youth union members in the hamlet to carry out meaningful work such as repairing and renovating playgrounds for children and implementing green, clean and beautiful roads, and new rural construction activities in the locality.
In particular, during the peak period when Thai Hoa town was struggling to face the Covid-19 pandemic, Dong, despite his poor health, still volunteered to work at night at the commune's checkpoint. Thanks to that, the Youth Union of Hamlet 1 became one of the leading youth unions in the whole commune in 2020 and 2021 with the achievement of "Excellently completing the task".
Ms. Vu Thi Huyen - Secretary of the Youth Union of Nghia Thuan commune said that Dong always had a desire to join the Party. In many conversations, Dong also confided that his love for the Party and the Youth Union helped him have more joy in life. In fact, after Dong participated in the Party awareness training class, he became more determined and made more efforts to both build a sustainable economic model and lead youth volunteer movements in the locality. This is a solid premise for the locality to admit him into the Party in the near future and continue to encourage him to lead the Youth Union movement to develop more and more strongly.
Until now, Ms. Cao Thi Tuyet (born in 1965), a resident of Hamlet 3, Nghia Thuan Commune, is still moved when talking about Le Van Dong. She said that she suffered a stroke that paralyzed half of her body, and because she lost her ability to work, she depended on the care of her husband and children. However, her husband also had to amputate 1/3 of his right leg due to illness. The illness caused the whole family to fall into despair. In that situation, Dong encouraged and gave her optimism. At the same time, he called on the community to donate and support her family with a meaningful amount of money so that she could have more support to overcome difficulties.
Along with Ms. Tuyet, the family of 2-year-old Hoang My Duyen in Trung Yen hamlet, Nghia My commune (Thai Hoa town) also appreciates Dong's sincerity. In 2020, Duyen unfortunately had a serious traffic accident. The accident broke her arm and forced her to completely amputate her right leg. At that time, her family was a poor household with 4 children of school age. Dong directly worked with the Youth Union of Hamlet 1 and the Executive Committee of the Youth Union of Nghia Thuan commune to share articles to connect with benefactors to help the family. From here, new rays of hope opened up for the family to stand up after difficulties.
Looking back on the path he has traveled, Le Van Dong confided: “Many people think that when I am richer and have better conditions, I will be willing to give more. But then life passes and people easily forget the promises they made. I don't know when I will be rich, but I understand how much the poor and unfortunate need to be shared. I myself am lucky to have the help of the community, so now, I always remind myself to try to accompany other unfortunate lives. For me, being able to help people, seeing myself alive and smiling every morning when I wake up, is the greatest happiness in my life”!
