Bringing technology to villages
During visits to border families having received new homes, we saw many essentials like blankets and cookware, and smartphones as gifts from border guards of the Lai Chau provincial Border Guard Command. Viettel Lai Chau joined in the Command, donating SIM cards.
Receiving a smartphone from Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Hung, Deputy Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command and Political Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command, Cheo Ta May, a Dao ethnic woman from Si Lo Lau commune, was guided by border guards and Viettel Lai Chau staff to insert a SIM card, register her ID, and install key apps and then practice using them.
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Officers from Vang Ma Chai Border Post guide local people how to use smartphones. |
Colonel Truong Minh Duc, Deputy Commanding Officer of the Provincial Military Command and Commanding Officer of the Provincial Border Guard Command, noted that to eliminate digital illiteracy, they provide local residents with not only guidance but also digital devices. Therefore, the Provincial Border Guard Command decided to bring technology to villages to facilitate villagers’ digital application.
However, the challenge was huge. Some 3,000 border households did not have smartphones; some villages had poor or no mobile coverage. Since the launch of the movement on May 31 this year, the Command has presented 35 smartphones to local residents. It aims to provide locals at least 200 smartphones, funded by its staff and benefactors. Viettel Lai Chau is providing free SIM cards and free 4G service for three years and upgrading network coverage.
“Digital Literacy for All” through creative, effective models
Every week, “Teachers-Border Guards – Accelerating Digital Transformation” team of Mu Ca Border Post, including five young, tech-savvy cadres, visit Mu Ca border commune to help eradicate digital illiteracy here. As the most remote commune of Lai Chau province, Mu Ca covers an area of nearly 400 sq.m, stretches over 5.6km of borderline, and houses nearly 3,300 people in eight villages.
Major Nguyen Van Phan, Commanding Officer of Mu Ca Border Post, said that while helping local people rebuild their houses, the team takes advantage of their break time to teach residents digital skills. The team works with other local forces to equip them with digital benefits, safe social media use in the evening.
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Leader from the Lai Chau Provincial Border Guard Command presents smartphones to local people. |
This effective model began in February 2025 at Vang Ma Chai Border Post. According to Political Commissar of Vang Ma Chai Border Post Major Pham Minh Tri, the team itself has created digital materials, managed online community groups, and directly guided people in using e-services.
They have also introduced a digital crime and immigrants-reporting system via QR codes posted in public places, so that local people can scan to submit reports securely.
These two above models launched by the Lai Chau Provincial Border Guard forces have been multiplied nationwide.
The Provincial Border Guard Command is striving to ensure that “no one is left behind” in the digital era.
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Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Hung affirmed that the military has always taken the lead in helping people fight poverty, illiteracy, and disaster. In the digital era, each border guard troop must also be a “digital soldier” helping border communities connect, progress, and develop. |
Translated by Chung Anh