Party building

Worthy of being "ambassador of the people's hearts"- Lesson 1: Footprints of the "village shoulderer"

Khanh Ly - Thanh Phuc • November 9, 2025 08:27

The road leading to Tan Son 6 parish is shaded by green trees, with rows of red flags fluttering in the wind. In the distance, the bell tower of Trung Hau parish church rises up against the blue sky, the bells ringing through the treetops, bringing a sense of peace and reverence. In the midst of that peaceful scene, "locomotive" Tran Ngoc Canh regularly goes around every corner every day, visiting people, grasping and solving every small matter of the village.

Khanh Ly - Thanh Phuc /Technique:Hong Toai• November 9, 2025

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The road leading to Tan Son 6 hamlet, Van Hien commune is shaded by green trees, with rows of red flags fluttering in the wind on both sides. In the distance, the bell tower of Trung Hau parish church rises up against the blue sky, the bells ringing through the treetops, bringing a sense of peace and reverence. In the midst of that peaceful scene, every day, Secretary and hamlet chief Tran Ngoc Canh quietly goes around the alleys, visits the people, grasps and resolves every small matter of the hamlet.

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Quickly leading us (PV) on a tour of the Catholic hamlet, Party cell secretary and hamlet chief Tran Ngoc Canh recounted in a warm voice: “In the years before 2002, the hamlet's main road was only concreted about 1 meter, weeds grew wildly, and when it rained, it was slippery with mud. The infrastructure was degraded, and the people were poor, so it was difficult to build anything.”

But then, the new rural construction movement spread like a cool breeze to this countryside, giving the Secretary and Hamlet Chief the motivation to find a new direction.

He started by mobilizing people to donate land, labor, and money to expand rural roads, combining the government and the people to work together. When people did not have enough capital to pay, Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh and his family sold their properties and used the money to lend to people to build roads. He wrote letters and called on his children and relatives living far away to contribute to the construction of their homeland.

A few small things make a big difference. From socialized funding sources, each meter of road was widened and straightened; lighting systems were installed in every alley; cultural houses, sports fields, and playgrounds were built one after another.

Those who witnessed the scene of people in Tan Son 6 hamlet walking in the mud years ago will find it hard to believe the image today: The main traffic routes have been paved, the branch roads have been concreted, spacious and neat.

More than 300 light poles were installed, 6 flag routes and dozens of colorful flower routes stretched throughout the village. At night, the electric lights were bright, illuminating every corner of the village.

It is not only the light of infrastructure but also the light of faith, of the awakened community spirit. The people in the neighborhood jokingly say, “asphalt road, flower road, flag road, light road - all four roads have Mr. Canh’s footprints, the footprints of the village’s errand bearer”.

Not only building infrastructure, he also devoted his efforts to beautifying his hometown. Along the main roads, the flowers of the ten o'clock, the chrysanthemums, and the purple afternoon flowers stretched out into brilliant flower paths. Every tree, every flower bed, and every stone bench had the contribution of the people, but the core, the initiator was still Mr. Canh.

For many years, Tan Son 6 hamlet has been chosen as a model hamlet, a typical cultural hamlet, a destination for sightseeing and study for many localities. The hamlet cultural house is now spacious, fully equipped, with a spacious campus, and is a place for meetings and community activities.

Children have volleyball and soccer fields; the elderly have a place to walk and chat. The area in front of the village gate is being completed by him and the villagers, with a decorative stone worth more than 120 million VND, a gift he paid for by hiring a sculptor himself, contributing to creating the beloved and proud “Tan Son 6 Mark”.

Along with taking care of the village's appearance, Secretary and Village Chief Tran Ngoc Canh also encourages people to develop the economy. Worried that the Trung Hau carpentry profession, the pride of many generations, had once faded away, with only a few households remaining, Mr. Tran Ngoc Canh was determined to "revive the craft village".

He went to every alley, to every house, to persuade the old carpenters to return to the profession, asked the superiors to support loans, and asked for investment projects to build roads to the craft village. From a few households at first, up to now, more than 40 households are engaged in carpentry, creating stable jobs for hundreds of workers.

In 2015, Trung Hau carpentry was recognized as a traditional craft village by the Provincial People's Committee, opening up a sustainable development direction for the locality. "People have food and property, so they are enthusiastic about taking care of public affairs," Mr. Canh shared.

Therefore, economic development always goes hand in hand with cultural development and solidarity consolidation. The whole hamlet currently has 36 households, 1,346 people, of which 115 households follow Catholicism. Thanks to the change in crop structure, development of services and carpentry, vermicelli and cake making, and promotion of labor export, the average income of the hamlet now reaches more than 65 million VND/person/year, the poor households have decreased to less than 1%, and the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics is always closely linked.

Another highlight is digital transformation in rural areas. Tan Son 6 Hamlet is moving towards a “smart hamlet”, each household has a Zalo group to update information, activity images, and new policies. The loudspeaker system is connected to the internet, helping people quickly access news, science, technology, and discuss village and neighborhood affairs together.

The hamlet also proactively installed 6 cameras at key locations to monitor security and order; not to mention many households have their own surveillance cameras. From a poor rural area, Tan Son 6 hamlet has now met the advanced new rural standards, and is aiming for the title of a model, smart new rural hamlet.

That story of change is not only the collective achievement, but also bears the mark of the "pioneer" Tran Ngoc Canh.

The early winter weather was chilly, the wind blew through the banyan trees, and the laughter of children echoed from the stadium next to the village cultural house. In the hall, Tan Son 6 Party Cell was meeting to discuss the upcoming National Great Unity Day. Mr. Canh sat in the middle, his kind eyes shining with joy.

His phone rang continuously, and every time he finished a call, he smiled: "Mr. A. has donated 10 million, Ms. B. will contribute another 5 million!". Everyone in the room joined in the fun: Mr. Canh has the "magic" to connect people's hearts. Every movement, big or small, when he stands up to mobilize, receives positive responses. Because he is a sincere, fair, dedicated, and transparent person - "every penny is the sweat of the people, it must be used in the right place to gain people's trust", he stated his opinion. That trust was built during more than 20 years of his work as Party Cell Secretary, Hamlet Chief, and Commune People's Council delegate.

At work, he is a persistent person, works scientifically and has a high spirit of "dare to do, dare to take responsibility".

Comrade Nguyen Ba Tan - Head of the Party Building Committee of Van Hien Commune commented: "Comrade Tran Ngoc Canh is an exemplary and dedicated cadre. Under his leadership, the movements of Tan Son 6 hamlet always lead the whole commune. His actions have contributed to strengthening solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics, bringing the hamlet to comprehensive development."

The people in the neighborhood also told stories that there was a time when, in order to complete the neighborhood's collection, Mr. Canh paid his own rent first and then collected it later. He lived a life of kindness and devoted himself to the people. When electing the new neighborhood chief, the people proposed to vote by show of hands, and 100% agreed to elect him. That is the absolute trust that few people have.

Mr. Canh always kept in mind:“Being a village cadre, the most difficult thing is to "please the people". To do that, you have to understand each family and grasp each situation. Therefore, even after the merger, even though the area is large, the population is large, and the village has hundreds of households, he still knows the names and faces of each person, knows who is poor, who is sick, who is in difficulty and needs help.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Tat Hanh, both husband and wife are war invalids, with three sick children, is a typical example. Whenever there is a gift of support, Mr. Canh always prioritizes it, at the same time, skillfully does ideological work to get everyone to agree. "Thanks to Mr. Canh, my family has received care and help, it warms my heart," said Mrs. Hoa, Mr. Hanh's wife, emotionally.

Not only taking care of social security, Secretary and Hamlet Chief Tran Ngoc Canh is also the one who keeps the fire of cultural and sports movements. On every festival occasion, he mobilizes children far from home, businesses, and benefactors to contribute to organizing art performances and sports exchanges, creating an atmosphere of solidarity and attachment. Once, he spent nearly 20 million VND out of his own pocket to buy flags, lights, and flowers to decorate the central area during Tet; when people heard about it, they were all moved and then voluntarily contributed more. He was also the one who initiated the model of "Self-managed group of food and religion", where people from both sides join hands to maintain security, order, protect the environment, and propagate the law. Hamlet 6 has therefore been free of social evils for many years, with stable security and a rich spiritual life.

Rain or shine, people still see his figure on the streets, sometimes supervising construction, sometimes visiting poor households, sometimes planting flowers and cleaning with union members.

He said:“As a grassroots cadre, one must be close to the people and work with them so that they will follow. Not only is he popular with the people, but Party Cell Secretary and Hamlet Chief Tran Ngoc Canh is also the “extended arm” of the grassroots government. All policies, resolutions, and guidelines are communicated promptly and easily to each household by him.

With party members, he always reminded them to "match words with actions"; with young people, he encouraged them to "study to return to help their homeland"; with the elderly, he valued "advice as life experience".

Nearing the age of 60, Mr. Canh is still diligently and enthusiastically involved in the village's work. The villagers call him "Mr. Canh of the village's work", "the person who connects the two banks of religion and non-religion", "the ambassador of the people's hearts".

When asked about what he was most proud of, he just smiled gently: “My father is a war invalid who fought in the Border Campaign. He taught that when a nation rises or falls, every man has his responsibility (as a person, we must be responsible for our homeland). I am just continuing and practicing what my father taught me”...

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(To be continued)