The combined efforts of the border guards and the volunteers have given local residents not just material support, but also hope and confidence to move forward in life.
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Students of Ethnic Minority Secondary Boarding School enjoying curry bread, milk, and sweets |
Located near the Vietnam - Laos border, Dac Pring is home to 3,028 people, over 90% of whom belong to the Gie Trieng ethnic minority group. Despite its proximity to major towns, the commune remains isolated due to poor road conditions and a lack of infrastructure. The journey to Dac Pring was bumpy for the team, who braved pothole-filled roads and difficult terrain. Yet all exhaustion melted away when the roofs of the Gie Trieng houses finally came into view.
Thanks to careful planning, the team immediately got to work upon arrival. During this event, the team handed over a drilled well, five solar-powered lamps, 40 sets of textbooks, and 80 handheld calculators to students and teachers at Dac Pring–Dac Pre Ethnic Minority Secondary Boarding School. These essential items are expected to ease the daily learning challenges faced by students and serve as a reminder that others care about their future.
More than 100 students at the school were visibly thrilled, not only by the gifts, but also by a hearty meal of curry and bread prepared by the volunteers and border guards. Such meals were both a treat and a novelty for children in this remote region. School meals typically cover basic nutritional needs, but lack extras like milk, sweets, or baked goods. The boxes of milk, biscuits, and candy brought immense excitement, and watching children enjoy the meal with laughter and curiosity brought smiles to everyone. The volunteers felt even more determined to continue supporting the children in border areas.
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Officers and volunteers presenting solar lights, textbooks, and calculators to the school |
Principal of Dac Pring–Dac Pre Ethnic Minority Secondary Boarding School Ngo Phi Cong was touched receiving the gifts from the team. Previously, the school had relied on water from a nearby stream filtered through a basic system. Cong said that the new well means safer, cleaner water and fewer illnesses. He also highlighted the value of the calculators, which will help ninth-grade students prepare for their graduation exams, and the solar lights, which will allow them to study at night during power outages. He added that teachers and students treasure and would use the gifts with care.
What moved the volunteers the most, however, was the resilience and dedication to education among the Gie Trieng people. In spite of facing poverty and isolation, the community deeply values learning. Years ago, children would walk for days through forests, bringing only cassava and corn for food, just to attend school. Today, many of them have become successful people, including border guard officers like Lieutenant Colonel Kring Thuong, Lieutenant Colonel Ton Ui, Senior Captain Ton Xat, Major Kring Phuong, and Major Kring Đinh. They serve as role models for the younger generation.
Political Commissar of Dac Pring Border Post Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Sy Danh said the unit has long worked with local authorities and schools to support education in the area with the hope to give encouragement to children in this border area to study.
The volunteer group also reached deep into the forest to support the PeTa Pot community, a remote settlement near the old Kon Tum - Quang Nam provincial border. For years, its residents lived without citizenship or legal documents due to a nomadic lifestyle. It was the Dac Pring border guards who first settled with them, building trust, providing support, and helping them gain official household registration and access to government benefits.
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Volunteers handing over a newly-drilled well to the Dac Pring Border Post |
Even today, Pe Ta Pot has no electricity. A few families use small hydropower generators, but unreliable water sources often leave them without light. Grasping the situation, the volunteer team donated nine solar-powered lamps to households. The locals were filled with joy because from now on the light will finally brighten their houses.
According Le Phung Hao, a member of the volunteer group, during this activity, the team donated eight drilled wells, 31 solar lamps, 500kg of rice, 20 boxes of instant noodles, 40 sets of textbooks, 80 calculators, and a desktop computer, worth over VND 400 million in total. These gifts were given to two Dac Pring and La Ee Border Posts, schools, and households in Dac Pring and La Ee communes. The gifts demonstrated the team’s efforts in sharing difficulties with the border guards and the ethnic communities who live in such difficult conditions.
Source: bienphong.com.vn
Translated by Tran Hoai