Concrete and meaningful actions
Returning to Nam Giai Commune in Que Phong District today, we saw what felt like a vibrant transformation. This once desolate borderland, ravaged by poverty and the devastating flash floods of 2007, has now undergone a remarkable change. Smooth concrete roads connect village to village; schools and health stations are neat and modern, surrounded by green, clean, and beautiful landscapes. On the hillsides, fruit orchards and lush acacia plantations brim with vitality, alongside bustling roadside service activities.
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The Nghe An Provincial Military Command, in coordination with local party committees and authorities, presents national flags to fishermen. |
In 2010, Nam Giai was a poor commune, with only two unstable criteria met under the new-style rural area building program. Since 2012, the Nghe An Provincial Military Command has adopted and supported the commune. Each year, hundreds of officers and soldiers from the provincial armed forces come to help residents build roads, reinforce schools and clinics, distribute free medicine, and donate breeding cows, pigs, and goats to poor households. Thanks to the dedication of the military, the poverty rate in the commune has dropped significantly. To date, Nam Giai has fulfilled 12 solid criteria under the new-style rural area building program.
Not only in Nam Giai, but across many rural corners of Nghe An, there has been a strong response to the provincial campaign for each department and unit to assist poor communes in the western region. Upholding the tradition of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers – soldiers of the people,” the Nghe An Provincial Military Command has implemented various meaningful models, such as “Savings for Those in Need,” “I Love My Homeland,” “Donating National Flags to Fishermen,” “Saturdays and Sundays for the People,” “One Difficult Task a Year to Help the People,” and “Each Unit Twinned with One Hamlet.”
From 2021 to the present, through these models, the provincial military command has mobilized more than 23,130 working days contributed by officers, soldiers, and militiamen. They have built and repaired 155 kilometers of rural concrete roads, 28 kilometers of power lines, 12 rural markets, 18 clean water projects, 8 civil bridges, and 160 houses. Units have also adopted and supported 109 ethnic minority students in particularly difficult circumstances through the “Supporting Children to School” and “Foster Mothers” programs. Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers have been deployed to assist local communities in flood response, forest fire prevention, and disease control.
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The armed forces of Nghe An Province assist the people of Ta Ca Commune, Ky Son District in building new-style rural infrastructure. |
Senior Colonel Nguyen Ky Hong, Political Commissar of the Nghe An Provincial Military Command, shared: “Driven by our deep affection for the people, in recent years, the Party Committee and Command have focused on effective leadership and implementation of the ‘Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and lifestyle.’ This is closely linked to the ‘Smart Mass Mobilization’ movement, with diverse and practical initiatives tailored to the political tasks of the units and localities. As a result, many struggling families and communities have made significant progress in life.”
Care and support for religious communities
Pointing toward the gently flowing Nguyen Van Troi canal, which supplies irrigation water for two communes, Mr. Ho Xuan De, a Catholic resident of Hamlet 9 in Quynh Thanh Commune, Quynh Luu District, told us: “Previously, this canal was clogged with silt and trash, which hindered water flow and caused severe pollution and unpleasant odors. Officers and soldiers of the provincial military command came and, regardless of cold, heat, or rain, waded through mud and water to dredge the canal and reinforce its banks, restoring its flow.”
Currently, Nghe An Province is home to over 240,000 religious adherents across more than 200 communes, wards, and townships. In implementing the project “Improving the Quality and Effectiveness of Mass Mobilization of Military Region 4’s Armed Forces in Special Areas during 2023–2030 and Beyond,” the Nghe An Provincial Military Command has proactively coordinated with provincial agencies, mass organizations, and stationed military units to better grasp grassroots situations. They have carefully planned and executed public mobilization campaigns in religious areas under the motto: “Listen to the people, speak so the people understand, act so the people trust.”
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Officers and soldiers of the Nghe An Provincial Military Command help residents of Nam Giai Commune, Que Phong District install clean water pipelines to the village. |
Over the past two years, the provincial armed forces have maintained and launched several effective models that have resonated strongly within the community. Notable examples include “Military-Civilian Solidarity, Love in the Land of Faith” and “Uniting Catholics and Non-Catholics with Compassion.”
Through these models, the armed forces have closely collaborated with local authorities, agencies, and stationed military units to advise party committees and governments at all levels on improving the quality of activities within grassroots Party cells, youth unions, and associations in religious areas. The units have organized hundreds of talks, reaching thousands of religious followers with information on the Party’s guidelines and State policies and laws.
Pham Ngoc Canh, Deputy Head of the Provincial Party Committee’s Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilization, said, “The efforts of the provincial armed forces have had a widespread impact, serving as vivid testimony to the spirit of dedication to the people and the nation that defines Uncle Ho’s soldiers in Nghe An.”
Translated by Song Anh