Lesson 1: Strengthening the people's support

Not only do these soldiers stand alongside the people in overcoming difficulties and stabilizing their lives, but they also help underprivileged students realize their educational dreams, contributing to building a strong foundation of public support.

In the border regions of our country, through concrete and practical actions, the Border Guard has been building trust and becoming a solid support for the people in the border areas.

Not only do these soldiers stand alongside the people in overcoming difficulties and stabilizing their lives, but they also help underprivileged students realize their educational dreams, contributing to building a strong foundation of public support and maintaining peace on the nation's borders.

To commemorate the 81st anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944 - December 22, 2025), VNA reporters have produced a series of three articles vividly reflecting the specific, practical, and humane actions of the Border Guard in border and island areas.

Lesson 1: Strengthening the people's support

By staying close to the grassroots, being close to the people, understanding the people, and serving the people, the Border Guard has implemented many effective "People's Mobilization" models.

Practical and humane actions not only help people in border and island areas stabilize their lives and reduce poverty sustainably, but also contribute to strengthening the all-people border defense posture and maintaining national border sovereignty .

"Effective mass mobilization" - everything will succeed.

The Ngoc Vung Border Guard Station ( Quang Ninh Border Guard Command) is responsible for managing and protecting the sovereignty and security of the sea and islands in the Ngoc Vung and Thang Loi areas (Van Don Special Zone) with a 60km long border.

To effectively fulfill its assigned tasks, Ngoc Vung Border Guard Station always focuses on coordinating with local Party committees and authorities in consolidating and improving the operational capacity of the grassroots political system and building a strong coastal border area.

Having spent a long time working in the island communes of Quang Ninh province, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Political Officer and Team Leader of the Mass Mobilization Team - Ngoc Vung Border Guard Station (Quang Ninh Border Guard Command), has a good understanding of the customs and traditions of the local people.

In early 2024, upon being assigned to participate in activities with the Party Branch of Ngoc Nam village (Ngoc Vung), Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong quickly familiarized himself with the work and actively advised the village Party Branch, proposing many solutions to help the activities of the grassroots Party committee become increasingly organized; proactively advising on the planning, training, and recruitment of cadres, and developing Party members annually, ensuring both quantity and quality.

Ms. Dang Thi Nhan, Party Branch Secretary and Head of Ngoc Nam village (Van Don Special Zone), assessed that, participating in Party branch activities, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong proactively advised on consolidating and maintaining the order and procedures of Party activities in accordance with regulations.

During Party branch meetings, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong always incorporated content promoting security and protection of the sea and islands, and preventing social evils.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong advised the Party Branch to issue leadership resolutions that were relevant and appropriate to the specific characteristics of the area, helping the people develop the economy and stabilize their lives.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Lai Duc Anh, Political Officer of Ngoc Vung Border Guard Station, it's not just Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Manh Cuong; in recent times, in implementing the assignment of Party members to participate in activities at 7 Party branches in coastal border villages in Ngoc Vung and Thang Loi (Van Don Special Zone), the station's Party members have actively advised and assisted the village Party branches in bringing monthly Party activities into order.

Party members are assigned to regularly spend time visiting local areas to understand the situation in their managed territories; based on this, they advise the Party branches to issue resolutions that are relevant to the local situation, especially resolutions on socio-economic development linked to protecting sovereignty, border security, and social order and safety in the border guard's managed areas.

Thanks to the accurate, effective, and timely advice from the Border Guard, there are now no more impoverished households in the area under their responsibility.

Recognizing the importance of mass mobilization work, the Party Committee and Command of the Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard have concretized the resolutions and directives of the Party and State on mass mobilization work, linking it with studying and following the ideology, ethics, and style of Ho Chi Minh.

The emulation movement "Skilled mass mobilization, building good mass mobilization units" for the period 2021-2025 has been widely implemented in each agency and unit.

Following the motto "3 close ties, 4 together," officers and soldiers of the Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard always consider mass mobilization as a key political task and an important, regular job to build trust and strengthen ties with ethnic minorities in the northeastern border region of the Fatherland.

Based on practical experience in the area, officers and soldiers of the Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard have developed and replicated many effective "People's Mobilization" models. Typical examples include programs such as "Accompanying Women in Border Areas," "Women's Clubs Towards Border and Island Areas," "Helping Children Go to School - Children Adopted by Border Guard Posts," "Model Gardens" to help people develop their economy, "Skillful Propaganda and Mobilization of People for Socio-Economic Development" by Thanh Lan Border Guard Post, and the "Skillful Propaganda to Raise Awareness Among Teachers and Students About Territorial Socio-Economic and Border Issues" model by Tra Co Border Guard Post...

These models contribute to changing the mindset of farmers in border areas towards commodity production in their garden farming; creating a green, clean, and beautiful new rural environment; disseminating information and educating teachers and students to raise awareness and a sense of responsibility about national border sovereignty, arousing national pride and self-respect, and building a "People's Border Defense" system to participate in protecting national territorial sovereignty and border security.

The role of the Quang Ninh Provincial Border Guard in mass mobilization work is clearly demonstrated through the effective organization of the "National Border Guard Day" in conjunction with the new rural development program in border areas.

From 2021 to the present, the Quang Ninh Border Guard units have spearheaded fundraising efforts, contributing nearly 10 billion VND and over 3,000 man-days of labor from officers and soldiers to participate in building new rural areas and supporting poverty reduction efforts in border and island regions.

Border Guard troops have coordinated the construction of 65 "Shelter for the Poor in Border Areas" for policy beneficiary families and families in difficult circumstances in border and island areas, with a total value of nearly 3.2 billion VND and nearly 2,000 man-days of labor from officers and soldiers; and supported the repair and construction of 7 houses for households in border areas with particularly difficult circumstances, with a total construction support cost of over 630 million VND and over 500 man-days of labor.

The Border Guard of Quang Ninh province has also effectively implemented the "Helping Children Go to School - Children Adopted by Border Guard Posts" program and the "Army Officers and Soldiers Helping Children Go to School" project.

Currently, the entire province has 159 students receiving support, with each student receiving 500,000 VND per month.

The Quang Ninh Border Guard Force also organized free medical examinations, treatment, and medication for people in border and island areas, benefiting over 1,350 people with 170 million VND worth of medicine; donated 21,900 national flags and 3,405 portraits of President Ho Chi Minh to the people; and assisted 6 households in building "Model Gardens"...

Implementing the emulation movement "Joining hands to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses in Quang Ninh province," in 2025, units within the Provincial Border Guard contributed over 350 man-days to repairing and building new houses for households with particularly difficult circumstances, with a total support value of over 998.5 million VND; handing over 1 "Comrade's House" worth 80 million VND, 1 "Great Solidarity House" worth 50 million VND...

The Quang Ninh Border Guard Command stated that the operational models implemented by the provincial Border Guard in coordination with other agencies in the past period serve as a basis for raising awareness of responsibility and mobilizing the strength of organizations and forces to participate in building a "people's border defense" posture, contributing to the firm protection of national border sovereignty.

"Helping one poor family every week"

Starting from the model "Helping one poor household in the border area every week" launched by the Border Guard of Binh Dinh province (formerly) in April 2023 along the maritime border, after the merger of Binh Dinh (formerly) and Gia Lai (formerly) provinces in July 2025, the Border Guard of Gia Lai province has inherited, developed, and expanded the model to the entire land border of Gia Lai province (formerly).

Border guards at Ia Mơ Border Post, in coordination with local authorities, helped residents dig irrigation canals to enable two rice crops per year, helping them stabilize their lives. (Photo: Hong Diep/VNA)

From a deeply humane initiative, the model quickly spread, contributing to strengthening the bond between the military and the people, helping hundreds of poor households rise to stable lives, and building a strong "protective barrier" in the border regions of the Fatherland.

While the model was implemented along the coastal border of Binh Dinh (formerly) in conjunction with community outreach activities in coastal areas, aiming to support poor fishermen and families entitled to preferential policies, when expanded to the land border of Gia Lai (formerly), the content and methods were adjusted more flexibly to suit the terrain, living conditions, and customs of ethnic minority communities.

These concrete and practical actions have helped the model not only maintain its initial effectiveness but also create a strong ripple effect in this new land, the sun-drenched and windy Central Highlands border region.

Following the motto "one practical action for the people each week," border guard units select poor households, policy beneficiary households, single-parent households, people with disabilities, and orphans to support, depending on the conditions of each locality.

Every week, officers and soldiers go directly to each household to clean, repair houses, provide guidance on production; donate seedlings, livestock, rice, essential goods, or mobilize resources to help disadvantaged households build new houses.

After nearly three years of continuous implementation in both phases - along the coastal route of Binh Dinh (formerly) and the inland route of Gia Lai (formerly), the model has helped more than 700 poor and near-poor households with a total value of material support and labor exceeding 800 million VND.

In the border commune of Ia Mơ, the sight of soldiers from the Ia Mơ Border Guard Post regularly helping the family of Mrs. Rơ Lan Blê (a poor household with particularly difficult circumstances) clean up their garden, repair sanitary facilities, replace light bulbs, and provide rice and other essential necessities has become a familiar image.

Mrs. Blê suffered a stroke, her husband is old and frail, and her daughter is only 13 years old... Moved by the soldiers' kindness, she shared: "Thanks to the Border Guard soldiers, my house is clean, I have rice to eat, and there are people who ask about me and encourage me. I see that life still has many good things."

In Ia Chía commune, the model continues to yield clear results. When Rơ Lan H'Líu's temporary house was almost completely destroyed in the heavy rains at the end of September 2025, the Ia Chía Border Guard Post proposed including her family in the support list. Within just a few days of launching the campaign, the unit raised 70 million VND to build a new house for the family.

Lieutenant Colonel Dinh O Ring, Deputy Political Officer of Ia Chia Border Guard Station, said that this model is linked to movements such as: Border Guard soldiers joining hands for the poor - leaving no one behind, the "Rice Jar of Compassion," "Helping children go to school - Children adopted by the Border Guard Station,"..., thereby strengthening the bond between the military and the people in the border area.

According to Colonel Doan Ngoc Bau, Secretary of the Party Committee and Political Commissar of the Gia Lai Provincial Border Guard, the "Helping one poor household each week" model is a bright spot in mass mobilization work, vividly demonstrating the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style.

These seemingly small actions, though seemingly insignificant, hold profound humanitarian value, contributing to strengthening the people's trust in the Party, the State, and the Army; and at the same time mobilizing community strength to jointly build a strong, prosperous, and happy border region."

Lesson 2: Helping underprivileged students conquer knowledge

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bai-1-vung-vang-the-tran-long-dan-post1084254.vnp