Settling in the highlands - Creating warm and sustainable springs

The joy of settling down - A fulfilling Tet holiday thanks to new homes.

In the final days of the year, as the cold of the highlands permeated the villages, the spacious house of over 90 square meters belonging to the family of Mr. Truong Van Nam in Nam Din hamlet, Tong Cot commune, was completed. For Mr. and Mrs. Nam, the joy of having a home today was once a distant dream. As a poor household, spending their lives working in the fields with an unstable income, they never imagined they would one day live in a sturdy, spacious, and comfortable house like today.

Thanks to a 60 million VND grant from the Rural Development Program, along with the labor assistance from neighbors, the couple borrowed additional capital from the Social Policy Bank and relatives to build a new house to replace their old, dilapidated one, which leaked during the rain and was very cold during the winter. The new house is not only the family's biggest asset but also a source of motivation for the couple to work hard and stabilize their lives. "This Tet, my family gets to celebrate the New Year in our new house; I really don't know how to express my joy," Mr. Nam shared.

As a mountainous, border province with harsh natural conditions and a fragmented terrain, the lives of the people were still fraught with difficulties. Years ago, it wasn't uncommon to see makeshift houses with leaky roofs and bamboo walls perched precariously on the mountainside. But now, spring arrives in these highland villages bringing a very different joy – the joy of having a stable home after years of waiting. Those temporary shelters, once battered by rain and wind, have been replaced by sturdy, solid, and spacious houses thanks to the determination and involvement of the entire political system, from the central government to the local authorities.

The family of Mr. Hoang Dang Truong, residing in Lam Son Thuong hamlet, Hoa An commune, received 60 million VND in support for house construction from social mobilization funds.

This year's Tet (Lunar New Year) brought early joy to the family of Mr. Hoang Dang Truong in Lam Son Thuong hamlet, Hoa An commune, as their new, spacious house, completed in 2025, replaced their dilapidated wooden and mud-walled house. Thanks to social contributions, his family received support to build a new 80m² house with a total cost of nearly 200 million VND, including 60 million VND from the Provincial Military Command and the labor assistance of officers and soldiers. In his new home, Mr. Truong said emotionally: "I never thought I would celebrate Tet in such a sturdy house. With a new house, I feel much more at ease, no longer worrying about rain and wind like before, especially now that I'm old and weak. This is the warmest and most fulfilling Tet I've ever had."

These are two of thousands of families across the province who are celebrating the Lunar New Year in their new, sturdy homes for the first time. For them, this is the most fulfilling Tet holiday, fulfilling not only in material terms, but also in terms of faith, peace of mind, and hope. This demonstrates the profound humanitarian significance of the Rural Development Program, which is not just about "giving houses," but about providing opportunities for long-term stability, helping people alleviate worries, work and produce with peace of mind, and gradually rise out of poverty.

Political determination and decisive action from the entire system.

Statistics up to 2019 show that the province still had over 22,000 houses that were structurally unsound and unsafe; by the end of 2020, there were still 6,602 poor households and policy beneficiaries living in temporary or dilapidated houses – this is the "core of poverty," posing a major challenge to the goal of sustainable poverty reduction. With the view that sustainable poverty alleviation must begin with "stable housing," drawing on practical experience and building on the success of the Rural Development and New Rural Development Program in the former Ha Quang district, the Provincial Party Committee advocates mobilizing all resources and leveraging the role of the entire political system to focus on fundamentally and completely eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses in the province, considering this a central and continuous social security task throughout the term.

From the first houses in Ha Quang supported by the Ministry of Public Security at the end of 2020, the joy of having stable housing gradually spread throughout the province. With the spirit of "leaving no one behind," the Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU on July 15, 2021, followed by Resolution No. 16-NQ/TU on January 19, 2023, on leading the implementation of the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses in the 2021-2025 period, clearly defining the goals, roadmap, and responsibilities of each level and sector. Steering Committees at all levels were established and regularly strengthened, with the head of the Party Committee at the grassroots level serving as the Chairman.

According to Nong Thi Hang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairwoman of the People's Council of Tong Cot commune, the implementation of the program in the locality has been continuous, consistent, and closely linked through various stages. After the merger of the three communes: Cai Vien, Tong Cot, and Noi Thon, the Party Committee and the commune government proactively reviewed and assigned specific tasks to each hamlet and household; established working groups to go directly to the grassroots level to disseminate information, mobilize support, and promptly resolve difficulties, ensuring that the program is not interrupted.

Mr. Truong Van Nam's newly completed house in Nam Din hamlet, Tong Cot commune, was built with support from the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses.

In the context of limited local budgets, the province proactively mobilizes all available legal resources, especially focusing on social mobilization, calling for the joint efforts of ministries, departments, businesses, organizations, and individuals inside and outside the province. In Hoa An commune, community involvement has played a crucial role in helping the locality accelerate progress and provide additional support to particularly disadvantaged households that lack the financial means to contribute. By mid-2025, Hoa An district (formerly) will support the construction and repair of 1,352 houses, including 150 households receiving additional support from social mobilization sources with a total budget of nearly 63 billion VND.

Numerous campaigns and intensive emulation drives were launched throughout the province, most notably the "Joining Hands for Rural Development and Rural Construction" movement and the 180-day intensive campaign to complete the program by 2025, demonstrating the province's high political determination. Local authorities mobilized support forces with systematic, thorough, and flexible methods, creating high consensus among the people; the police, army, border guards, Fatherland Front, and mass organizations became the core forces directly involved at the grassroots level, supporting people from transporting materials, leveling the ground, digging foundations to building houses and roofing. Many good models and innovative approaches were implemented, such as organizing simultaneous groundbreaking ceremonies in the same hamlet, connecting local construction teams, businesses providing advance support with materials, and the community joining hands to help elderly and lonely families…

During the period 2021-2025, the entire province provided support for rural and near-poor households and policy beneficiary families facing housing difficulties to 19,067 households, achieving 100% of the actual needs of the people, with a total budget of over 955.5 billion VND. In 2025 alone, after the Prime Minister launched the Rural and Near-Poverty Reduction Program nationwide, the province supported 6,684 households, completing the program ahead of the deadline set by the Central Government. The total budget for implementation was over 412 billion VND, including over 52.3 billion VND from the local budget; nearly 191 billion VND from socialized capital; and the mobilization of over 201,000 man-days of labor along with tens of thousands of tons and cubic meters of construction materials…

Comrade Be Thanh Tinh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Council, affirmed: This is not only a material value, but also contributes to building the people's trust in the Party and the State; consolidating the great national unity, spreading humanistic values and compassion, and affirming the resilience and aspirations of the people of Cao Bang. To maintain and promote the achievements, all levels and sectors will continue to strengthen propaganda work, awaken the spirit of solidarity and community responsibility, mobilize all social resources to help poor households, near-poor households, and policy beneficiary families stabilize their lives and rise out of poverty sustainably; proactively integrate with national target programs towards the goal of "sustainable poverty alleviation, no re-poverty, and no new temporary housing."

From the well-built houses in the highland villages, faith in the policies of the Party and the State continues to be nurtured and spread, becoming a driving force for people to work and produce, making the springs in Cao Bang even warmer, more fulfilling, and more sustainable.

La Nga

Nguồn: https://baocaobang.vn/an-cu-giua-non-cao-tao-nen-nhung-mua-xuan-am-ap-ben-vung-3185340.html