"Stay close to the people" to safeguard the border.

"Staying close to the people and the villages" is a regular practice of the Thanh Hoa border guards. Every officer and soldier always adheres to the motto "3 close ties, 4 together" to build a solid "people's support base".

Officers and soldiers of the Hien Kiet Border Guard Station helped a disadvantaged family in Chieng Hin village, Hien Kiet commune, repair their house.

The village of Chiềng Căm in Hiền Kiệt commune used to be difficult to access. Just a few years ago, 80% of the internal village roads were still dirt roads. When it rained, they became muddy. When it was sunny, they were dusty. The poverty rate in the village was still high. Due to difficult economic conditions, mobilizing villagers to participate in emulation movements was not easy.

Today, Chieng Cam has transformed. 100% of the inter-village and intra-village roads have been paved with concrete. More than 40 solar-powered streetlights have been installed along both sides of the roads. The cultural center has been renovated, with a green, clean, and beautiful grounds. The lives of the 118 households and 589 people of the Thai ethnic minority have improved significantly. From a situation where nearly 40% of households were poor, many families now have enough to eat and save. In 2024, Chieng Cam village will achieve the standards of a New Rural Village.

Party branch secretary and village head Ha Dinh Dieu said: “To achieve the results we have today, the officers and soldiers of Hien Kiet Border Guard Post have contributed in part. They work alongside the people, not doing it for them.” According to Mr. Dieu, the officers and soldiers of Hien Kiet Post have jointly built 150 meters of internal village road and poured 250 square meters of concrete for the cultural center's courtyard. The soldiers also built flowerbeds and replanted green hedges with tea plants. The drainage system was also dredged and damaged sections repaired. The post also helped 10 households renovate their gardens and grow vegetables; and together with the people, they carried out general environmental sanitation, building a bright, green, clean, and beautiful residential area. These small things, when combined, create big changes. The villagers see this and follow suit.

For the Tam Chung Border Guard Post, the unit identifies "staying close to the people" as its core task. Each Party member in the unit is assigned to be responsible for a household. This responsibility is not just about gathering information; it's crucial to guide and assist the people in developing their economy. Soldiers directly go down to the villages, working with the villagers to plan what crops to plant, what livestock to raise, and where to build hygienic livestock shelters. Through this, many successful models have been replicated, such as the clean vegetable garden model; intensive cultivation of high-yield cassava; and raising livestock and poultry away from residential areas to reduce environmental pollution and prevent disease outbreaks.

Along with providing technical guidance, the Tam Chung Border Guard Post also allocated a day's salary to purchase breeding stock to support poor households. The unit donated 5,000 ducklings, chickens, and geese to help people raise them in a disease-free manner. The soldiers also intensified propaganda and mobilization efforts to eliminate superstition, prevent illegal proselytization, and discourage the practice of cults. Many outdated customs in weddings and funerals were gradually abandoned... Thanks to the cooperation of the border guards with the local Party committee and government, the poverty rate in Tam Chung commune decreased from 65% in 2015 to 23.9% in 2025.

Ms. Luong Thi Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Chung commune, said: "The image of border guards helping people harvest rice during the harvest season or repairing houses for disadvantaged families has become familiar. These tasks not only provide material support but also strengthen the bond between the military and the people." According to Ms. Tuan, when there are difficult issues in the village, border guards cooperate with the local government and immediately "roll up their sleeves" to help. Building roads, repairing cultural centers, participating in environmental sanitation... the soldiers are present in every task. Thanks to this, grassroots movements have been implemented smoothly, and the dissemination of laws has also been well received by the villagers.

It can be seen that at border guard posts in mountainous areas, the practice of "staying close to the people" is concretized through livelihood models. For example, Quang Chieu Border Guard Post and Pu Nhi Border Guard Post have implemented a garden-pond-livestock-forest model; the sturgeon farming model in Bat Mot generates hundreds of millions of dong in income annually. In Tam Thanh and Tam Lu communes, the bamboo cultivation model brings in revenue from 80 to 300 million dong per household per year. In Muong Chanh commune, the breeding cattle model, starting with 16 cows, has now grown to nearly 190...

Besides livelihood models, the Thanh Hoa border guards also "stay close to the people" through long-term programs such as "Helping Children Go to School - Children Adopted by Border Guard Posts," "Borderland Study Corner," "Teacher in Military Uniform," "Borderland Lesson," "Borderland Shelter," "Military-Civilian Medical Cooperation," "Party Members in Charge of Households," etc., which are implemented in many places. Each program addresses a specific issue, such as helping disadvantaged students attend school; providing books and study corners; teaching literacy and skills; providing free medical examinations, treatment, and medicine; participating in building and repairing houses; helping poor households with livestock and seedlings, etc.

Colonel Le Van Long, Deputy Political Commissar of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Border Guard Command, affirmed: "In the cause of building, managing, and protecting national border sovereignty and security, the border guards always focus on building a people-based defense posture. That is the source of strength. Every officer and soldier always proactively and actively joins hands with the Party committee, government, and people to develop the economy, culture, and society, build the grassroots political system, thereby consolidating a solid people-based border defense posture."

Experience shows that when border guards "stay close to the people," it's not just about staying close to the grassroots; they also live with the people, work alongside them, explain things to them, and work with them to implement concrete and practical solutions. When the material and spiritual lives of the people are improved, that becomes a solid "fortress" for protecting the nation's borders.

Text and photos: Xuan Minh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bam-dan-de-giu-vung-bien-cuong-286865.htm