The great significance of the '1000 Dong Fund' in a border commune of Nghe An

The family of Mr. Xong Ba Lu, 65 years old, is one of two poor households in Mong Pha Lom village that received support from the "1,000 VND Fund" model to demolish dilapidated bamboo and thatch houses. When we visited Mr. Lu's family, the Pha Lom village management board and the commune's working group were discussing with the family about a plan to demolish and build a new house for Mr. Lu.

Meeting us, Mr. Xong Ba Lu happily said: The materials have been gathered, just waiting to build a new house, thank you very much to the Party Committee, the government and the people, "The 1,000 VND Fund" sounds small but the love is very big, contributing can help people in difficult circumstances like my family overcome difficulties and rise up.

Party members of Pha Lom Party Cell contribute to the "1,000 VND Fund". Photo: HT

In addition to Mr. Lu, this time in Pha Lom village, Xong Tong Xo's family also received support to demolish their thatched and bamboo house with a value of about 30 million VND.

Talking about the "1000 VND Fund" box model, Mr. Xong Ba Giay - Secretary of the Pha Lom village Party Cell said: The Party Cell has 30 Party members who have agreed on the policy that each person will voluntarily contribute 1,000 VND per day (30,000 VND per month) to the fund box. The box is installed at the community cultural house so that each person can proactively put it in during each Party Cell activity or meeting. In addition, all people with a kind heart can contribute to support people in difficult circumstances in the area.

“Currently, the village is on track to build a new rural village and has met 8/13 criteria, with 5 criteria yet to be met. Supporting the elimination of thatched houses or supporting livelihoods for the poor is also a way for the village to strive to complete the criteria in building a new rural area. In 2022, the number of poor households in the village decreased from 72 to 52 households…”, Mr. Xong Ba Giay said.

The working group discussed a plan to help Mr. Xong Ba Lu demolish his dilapidated house with support from the "1,000 VND Fund". Photo: KL

It is known that Tam Hop commune has 11 party cells with 217 party members, including 5 village party cells, each of which has a "1,000 VND Fund" box. In addition, there is a fund box located right at the People's Committee of the commune. According to Mr. Le Hong Thai - Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Hop commune: The model has been implemented since April 2021 to continue to concretize the campaign "Studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style" on saving and practicing saving, promoting the spirit of mutual love in the community associated with movements.“Day for the poor”, “All people join hands to build new countryside”…

Through that, a vibrant movement has been created that has spread to each cadre and party member to form a fund to share and help poor households and households in difficulty in the commune. For party members who are cadres, civil servants and public employees, the campaign is to contribute 1,000 VND/day. For party members who are part-time cadres, rural party members and organizations and individuals, the contribution is made voluntarily.

Officials and party members of the Commune People's Committee and Tam Hop Border Guard Station helped Mr. Xong Ba Lu dismantle his old house for repair. Photo: KL

Accordingly, not only party members who participate in activities at the village and the Management Board contribute 1,000 VND per day (30,000 VND/month), but in reality, many people who come to activities, meetings, competitions, art performances... at the village community cultural house also contribute to the fund.

Every quarter, the "1,000 VND Fund" voluntary donation box will be opened once. The amount of money collected from the Party cells will be transferred to the commune's general fund to support a family in difficult circumstances in the area or a family facing an incident or risk in life.

In addition, based on reality, the Commune-level Steering Committee will select appropriate forms of support for each beneficiary, integrating programs to use capital for the right purpose and achieve efficiency. The use of funds must be made public and transparent so that all cadres, party members and people in the area can understand.

At first, the savings box model was piloted in Xop Nam village and then expanded to the whole commune. Up to now, more than 60 million VND has been raised to support 2 poor households to eliminate dilapidated bamboo and thatch houses in the Mong ethnic village in Pha Lom and 2 households were supported with trees and seedlings to develop production in the Thai ethnic village in Vang Mon village. The happiest thing is that both households that were supported with trees, seedlings and guidance on applying science and technology to production and livestock farming, namely Luong Van Niem and Kha Van Ot in Vang Mon village, have now escaped poverty.

In addition to receiving 30 million VND in support to repair his house, Mr. Xong Ba Lu also received support for breeding animals to develop the economy and escape poverty. Photo: KL

This is a model with profound humanistic meaning, thereby further strengthening the great solidarity bloc in the ethnic minority community in the border commune of Tam Hop so that "no one is left behind". Currently, Tuong Duong District Party Committee has replicated the "1000 VND Fund" model in Tam Hop commune and converted it into the "1000 VND ATM" model implemented throughout the district.