Shining the spirit of youth volunteers in peacetime

They spent the best days of their youth for the country, returning to ordinary life, they were pioneers in social activities, becoming simple but noble examples. In recognition of those efforts, over the years, this is the pioneer unit to receive many consecutive Certificates of Merit from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Veterans Association and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province.

Upholding tradition

On the road turning from National Highway 48 to Dien Doai commune, Mr. Chu Vinh Hiep - Chairman of the Association of Veteransyouth volunteersNghe An province is proud to introduce a road with a very special name. It is “Green - Clean - Beautiful Youth Volunteer Road”. Few people know that, over the years, to have such green - clean - beautiful road, it is the result of so much effort, care and cultivation of former youth volunteers here.

It is known that this road is more than 2.5 km long, connecting from National Highway 48 to Xuan Duong hamlet, Dien Doai commune. Before 2017, it was a concern for many people and children every rainy season because of the mud and slippery. Until 2017, Dien Doai commune decided to invest in cement, raw materials to upgrade the road, nearly 60 former youth volunteers in the area took the lead in undertaking the task of carrying out the project. After nearly a month of hard work day and night, the dirt road has taken on a new look. Since its completion, thousands of vehicles have rolled smoothly on the main road that has been concreted neatly and straight.

In 2022, the commune's former youth volunteer force will continue to work together to complete and restore the degraded areas after 5 years of use. Along with that, they clean and clear the grass on both sides of the road every day to always ensure the criteria of green - clean - beautiful.

In peacetime, the new rural construction movement of the former youth volunteers is always full of enthusiasm. There are names that were once bright spots in the time of bombs and bullets, and are now the pride of the people, such as Mr. Nguyen Duy Trung (born in 1956).

According to the introduction of Mrs. Ho Thi Lam - President of the Veterans Association of Dien Doai Commune, during the war, Mr. Trung was the leader of the youth volunteer group that built the road. When peace came, he became a "prisoner" and for the past 28 years, he has always taken on the role of Secretary and Hamlet Chief of Xuan Son Hamlet, Dien Doai Commune.

Most recently, witnessing the road leading to the Xuan Son Village Cultural House degraded, not yet concreted, causing loss of aesthetics and affecting the local new rural criteria, he used all his personal money to invest 100 million VND to upgrade the entire road, more than 60m long. That was just one of his many pioneering contributions and support in the process of building local infrastructure. With the style of doing - saying, many "skillful mass mobilization" projects have been effectively implemented by him, becoming bright spots receiving many Certificates of Merit and Certificates of Merit from all levels in this movement.

I still remember, in 2020, when the commune had a policy to upgrade the road connecting the two areas (upper and lower areas) of Xuan Son hamlet with a length of 400m, nearly half of the households did not agree. Understanding the thoughts and aspirations of the people, he and representatives of the local government went to each household to mobilize. That job was not easy when during the day everyone was attached to the fields. Therefore, he could only wait until nightfall to go to each house to mobilize. After much dedication, the road was completed in 2020, contributing to changing the face of the whole countryside.

Warm comradeship

“If it weren’t for my teammates, my husband and I probably wouldn’t have been able to support each other to this day,” former youth volunteer Nguyen Thi Bao (born in 1951), in Xuan Duong hamlet, Dien Doai commune (Dien Chau), sadly said when talking about her teammates and comrades.

She said that she and her husband got married in 1972, then together joined the youth volunteer force in the districts of Do Luong, Quy Hop, Quy Chau... on Route 7 of the province. In 1975, after completing their duty and returning to their hometown in the joy of the country's reunification, the couple received another happiness when she became pregnant with their first child. In 1976, she gave birth to her first son and in the following years had 3 more children, both boys and girls.

However, the joy was short-lived when before reaching adulthood, their first child suffered from secondary mental illness, and their second child suffered from a serious illness that left him bedridden. In addition, her husband, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hoe (born in 1951), after many years of hard work, also suffered from heart disease and lost his ability to move.

In the house about to collapse, 6 people fell into poverty. Then, in the midst of the crisis, Mrs. Ho Thi Lam - President of the Commune's Association of Former Youth Volunteers stood up to mobilize members to join hands to help her family. At the same time, Mrs. Lam herself used all the money she had saved, more than 60 million VND, to support the construction of a house for her comrades. Mrs. Lam's heart moved many people, and from then on, the local former youth volunteer force contributed tens of millions of VND, along with 40 million VND in support from the Provincial Association of Former Youth Volunteers, the house almost had enough raw materials to start construction.

At this time, comrades and teammates joined hands and hearts to dig every meter of foundation, build every brick, and give Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bao a new house. After more than a month, the house took shape, containing so much affection from the honest and simple former youth volunteers.

Along with Mrs. Nguyen Thi Bao's family, many other former youth volunteers have received care and support from their comrades. For example, recently, former youth volunteers aged 70 to 83 with difficult circumstances such as Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dao (Bau Xuan hamlet), Mrs. Hoang Thi Hai (hamlet 6), Truong Thi Loan (My Thanh hamlet) were each supported with 5 tons of rice from the fundraising rice farming model of the Association of Former Youth Volunteers of Dien Doai commune.

Since 2017, 56 former youth volunteers of the commune have cultivated more than 1 hectare of rice field in Xuan Son hamlet. With 3 branches taking turns cultivating, the rice fields are always lush, bringing outstanding productivity. For example, in the last crop, from this field area, more than 40 tons of rice were harvested, after deducting all expenses, the fund was supplemented with 28 million VND. The money from this fund is publicly and transparently used every year to visit and support comrades in difficult circumstances living in the area; at the same time, contributing to local movements.

Saying goodbye to Dien Doai land, the Chairman of the Provincial Association of Former Youth Volunteers - Mr. Chu Vinh Hiep could not help but be moved when telling us that the spirit of former youth volunteers always shines on Nghe An land, whether in wartime or peacetime. In 2022 alone, the number of grassroots association officials directly participating in the work of the Party, government, and mass organizations in the locality reached 516 people. At the same time, the association's grassroots organizations have pioneered in supporting social security activities worth more than 13 billion VND.

In everyday life, the former youth volunteers continue to uphold their traditions, work enthusiastically, produce, become typical examples of economic development, contribute to social activities and join hands to share difficulties with their teammates.