Supporting citizens to eliminate poverty and illiteracy
One day in late April 2025, as we arrived at Binh Thanh Border Post under the Dong Thap Provincial Border Guard Command at dusk, we saw Captain Hoang Trong Nghia, head of the Mass Mobilization Team, return to the unit with his back drenched in sweat. He shared that he had just visited the home of Le Thi Bot in Binh Thanh Commune, Hong Ngu City.
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Ca Mau border guards teach children of fishermen on Hon Chuoi Island. |
“It’s hot these days. Mother Bot is sick, so I took her to see the doctor and get her medicine. I also cooked porridge for her,” Nghia said.
Over time, Bot and her two sisters have come to consider the border guards as their own children. Since both of her sisters suffer from strokes and Bot has a leg disability, they rely heavily on assistance from neighbors and especially the border guards at Binh Thanh Border Post. In addition to monthly supplies, the guards regularly visit and help the three elderly women with daily activities.
“They cook meals for us. On festive days, we are not lonely because they decorate the house, prepare meals, and even make jams. Thanks to them—the border guards—our home is always warm,” said the elderly Bot.
On Hon Chuoi Island, in the middle of the salty sea, where it seems there is nothing but waves and wind, the voices of students and the warm teaching of border guard-teachers can be heard. These guards patiently teach students how to hold a pen, spell, and do arithmetic. “Just seeing the children come to class regularly, with eyes sparkling when they can read and write their names, makes all our fatigue disappear,” said Non-commissioned Major Tran Binh Phuc, Deputy Head of the Mass Mobilization Team under the Hon Chuoi Border Post, adding that they consider teaching on the remote island a meaningful mission.
Border guards in Ca Mau Province have also supported 38 children through the program “Paving the Way for Students to Go to School” and adopted 22 children under the “Adopted Children of Border Posts” initiative. Their simple deeds have helped guide these children toward a brighter future.
Citizens contribute to maintaining peace in border areas
While border guards help citizens escape poverty, the citizens become their “eyes and ears,” strong supporters, and living fortresses who stand alongside them in protecting border markers and preventing violations of national sovereignty.
Farmer Duong Van Phuc in Phu Loi Commune, Giang Thanh District, Kien Giang Province donated land and encouraged other citizens to support the construction of three border markers, 304/1, 304/2, and 304/3, as well as a border patrol route. Now, whenever he visits his rice field, he spends time cleaning and maintaining the area around the border markers. According to Phuc, he has no regrets about donating his land, as building markers and protecting the border help ensure the safety and peace of the local community.
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Ca Mau border guard officer and children on Hon Chuoi Island |
In An Giang Province, for more than 10 years, members of female teams for border and marker protection have partnered with border guards to check borderlines and markers. They also actively urge locals to follow the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, and to report any suspected illegal cross-border activities to the border guard force.
Colonel Nguyen Van Hiep, Political Commissar of the An Giang Provincial Border Guard Command, spoke highly of the role of these female teams in preventing illegal activities and maintaining peace. He noted that thanks to information provided by locals, the border guard force has ensured security and order along the border. “They are like living markers protecting peace in the border areas,” the officer emphasized.
The bond between troops and people in the southwestern border areas has been constantly strengthened. These ties have helped consolidate a firm border defense posture in which the people’s hearts form an impenetrable fortress and defense line.
Translated by Mai Huong