Poor neighborhood rejoices at receiving clean water.

According to Lo Van Phap, the head of Dong Kho Dong Tho hamlet, there are 354 households with 1,500 inhabitants. It is a disadvantaged area, with over 98% of the population being ethnic Thai people. The hamlet was established in 2019 after merging three hamlets: Dong Kho, Dong Tho, and Duong Le. With its arid, hilly terrain, the people's lives are still difficult, and infrastructure is lacking. The most significant shortage is probably access to clean water for daily use.

In previous years, to get water for daily use, the people of Dong Kho Dong Tho hamlet had to walk nearly 4km to the headwaters of the stream on Dong Ai hill to carry water back. During the rainy season, the water was muddy, and during the dry season, the stream dried up completely. For large families, sometimes carrying water for half a day was still not enough. Life was therefore even more difficult. Many households invested tens of millions of dong to hire people to drill wells, but due to the rocky terrain and high acidity, the water was unusable.

The Đồng Kho Đồng Thờ hamlet is located in a hilly area, making drilling wells to find clean water sources very difficult. Photo: Đặng Quý

Understanding these difficulties, in March of this year, with the support of the Steering Committee for the "Skilled Mass Mobilization" emulation movement of Tan Ky district, the Tan Ky District Youth Union coordinated with the Youth Union of the Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police to launch a campaign to call for support for the construction of a "Self-flowing water system" for the local people. At the end of the campaign period, more than 230 million VND was raised.

With the support of the Provincial and District Steering Committees for the "Skilled Mass Mobilization" emulation movement and the contributions of the people, the total amount of donations and fundraising for the construction project reached 850 million VND.

Mr. Lo Van Mao (born in 1963, Dong Kho Dong Tho village) at the headwaters of the self-flowing water system. Photo: Dang Quy

The gravity-fed water system was constructed with two branches leading water from a reservoir on the top of Dong Ai hill to two community water reservoirs in the Dong Kho and Dong Tho clusters. Each branch is estimated to be nearly 4km long, traversing many steep and challenging hills. The two main reservoirs have capacities of 105.6m³ and 52.8m³ respectively. From the main reservoirs, smaller branches connect to supply water to the local population.

Seeing the project being implemented in a systematic manner, Mr. Lo Van Mao (born in 1963), a respected figure in Dong Kho Dong Tho hamlet, could not hide his joy, saying that as soon as the local authorities announced that the village would receive support to implement the gravity-fed water project, the villagers were extremely excited. Some contributed labor, others donated land, and still others contributed construction materials, all working together to make the project happen.

Previously, the villagers improvised to build gravity-fed water systems without blueprints, steel bracing, or supporting pillars, resulting in unevenly sized plastic pipes that deteriorated over time. Now, every step is implemented scientifically and meticulously. Seeing clean water reaching their homes, the villagers feel immense happiness and gratitude towards the agencies and organizations that supported them.

Water pipeline system and reservoir at the source. Photo: Nghia Dung Commune People's Committee.

The water reservoir in Dong Kho Dong Tho hamlet is solidly built and clean, providing water for the local people. Photo: Dang Quy

Sharing with the local people, Comrade Hoang Thi Trang - Secretary of the Tan Ky District Youth Union - said that for a long time, the local government and Party committee have been concerned about building a gravity-fed water system to serve all the people in the poor hamlet of Dong Kho Dong Tho, but the large amount of funding has prevented its implementation.

However, that concern was resolved when implementing Plan No. 43-KH/BCĐ, dated June 10, 2021, of the Steering Committee for the "Effective Mass Mobilization" Emulation Movement of Tan Ky District on building a model of effective mass mobilization in ethnic minority areas. The Tan Ky District Youth Union, together with the Steering Committee for the "Effective Mass Mobilization" Emulation Movement at all levels and the Youth Union of the Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police, coordinated to implement the project. In particular, throughout the construction of this system, 30 youth union members from Nghia Dung commune actively contributed their labor and mobilized their families to participate in the project in a highly effective manner.

Inauguration ceremony of the gravity-fed water system supplying Dong Kho Dong Tho village, Nghia Dung commune, Tan Ky district. Photo: Thanh Quynh.

On December 23rd, the project was officially put into operation, bringing great encouragement to the local people. At the same time, it strengthens people's confidence in the policies and guidelines of the Party and State; encouraging them to actively contribute to socio-economic development, national security, and social order. The project's results also contribute to the successful implementation of the National Target Program on Clean Water and Rural Environmental Sanitation and the National Target Program on New Rural Development in the current phase.