PANO - Party member Dinh Van Tri, a Co Tu ethnic minority person, turning 72 this year, daily comes to each local household to encourage them to eliminate unsound customs and build up cultural life. He instructs them on cultivating wet-rice and taking care of local forests.

The elderly lives in Phu Tuc village, Hoa Phu commune, Hoa Phu district, Da Nang city.

Having returned home from the Vietnam War, Tri found out that his village was in poverty while the locals, mostly ethnic minority people, were illiterate.

Party member Dinh Van Tri encouraging locals to build up the village

Tri wondered why his home village remained poor and how to help them get out of poverty. With a sense of his responsibility, Tri spent time in persuading each local to give up bad habits and to reclaim uncultivated land to plant maize and cassava. However, unsound custom are deep-rooted in the locals’ mind.

Tri tried another way. He started clearing the land, turning uncultivated land into fields of maize and cassava. With this practical model, he succeeded in encouraging the locals to follow him, gradually eliminating hunger in the locality.

To entirely eradicate hunger and alleviate poverty, planting wet-rice is the first choice. Aware of that, Tri started chopping bamboo to transport water from Cha Lieu spring to the village. Once again, the locals believed in Tri and grew wet-rice successfully.

Some years ago, despite his age, Tri volunteered to grow six hectares of acacia auriculiformis and give technical instructions to the locals. As a result, Phu Tuc villagers’ living standard has improved much with stable income.

Party member Dinh Van Tri is now still a role model for the locals to follow.

Translated by Ngoc Bich