Join hands for difficult lands
From Dong Le town (Tuyen Hoa, Quang Binh) go to Ca Xen village about 60m of forest road. Needless to say, for a time because of the long distance, that land seemed to become isolated.
Thinking back to the time more than 30 years ago, many people still have not forgotten a sad memory. That is the story of the Ma Lieng people who live nomadic lives on the mountain slopes around the Giang Man range; Every 2 to 3 farming seasons when the land is poor, people pull together to find new fertile land to reclaim for rice, corn, and hunting and gathering. Life here, tomorrow, there, poverty, disease and inbreeding cause this ethnic group to face the risk of extinction.
The year 1993 became an important milestone in the lives of the Ma Lieng people, when the State implemented the sedentary farming program, built houses, schools, clinics... and then persistently mobilized the people. left the mountains to settle in villages. However, the nomadic lifestyle is deeply ingrained in the people's subconscious, so getting them to get used to a new life is not simple.
So, the party committees, authorities, functional forces... have joined forces, accompanied, shared, and helped so that the people of Ca Xen village can soon adapt to the new life.
In order to help people adapt to their new home, the State also built houses for people following the traditional stilt house model in accordance with the beliefs of the Ma Lieng people; Complete infrastructure from building bridges and making concrete roads to villages; Build community houses, clean water, irrigation dams to serve production...
In addition to guaranteed accommodation and infrastructure to serve life; Governments at all levels have paid great attention to creating long-term livelihoods for people. A tour to study the settlement model of the Van Kieu people was carried out. Along with that, we support people in reclaiming production land, support plant varieties and fertilizers, and send staff to provide technical guidance to help people produce on their own... Thanks to that, people's awareness in Building a changed life, the Ma Lieng people in Ca Xen village constantly strive to rise up, proactively produce, and improve their material and spiritual life.
Head of Ca As for commune officials, they only urge and provide technical guidance, and do not have to replace them as before. People's awareness of developing production and stabilizing their lives has changed a lot.
Not only knowing how to farm, the Ma Lieng people in Ca Xen village now also know how to raise cattle, poultry, garden and plant forests to increase their income. Currently, the whole village has 4,6 hectares of wet rice, about 80 cattle, dozens of pigs and 2.000 poultry of all kinds. People in the village have also planted about 50 hectares of forest...
Currently, Ca Xen village has a number of workers working in companies and factories, earning an income of 8-10 million VND/month; Many people go to the forest to collect rattan, honey and other byproducts from the forest to increase their income and improve family life. The economy has improved, and the people of Ca Xen village are also more aware of environmental protection and encourage their children to attend classes. From middle school down, no child drops out of school, the village is increasingly spacious, clean and beautiful.
Letters of self-esteem
In the story with Chairman of Thanh Hoa Commune People's Committee Nguyen Huu Tam, we learned that the rate of poor households in Ca Xen is still very high.
At the end of 2022, Ca Xen village will have 96,49% of poor households. After a year of striving, at the end of 2023, two households voluntarily applied to escape poverty, Ho Chi Thanh and Ho Bot. Currently, the poverty rate of Ca Xen village is 92,98%.
That's right, just looking at the terrain of the land, looking at the history of the village's formation, that also makes it clear. Ca Xen village currently has nearly 57 Ma Lieng households, located 60km from the district center on a forest road; Her life mainly depends on rice and crop production, animal husbandry, and forest protection...
Even so, the people here have never stopped trying. Just looking at people's applications to leave poor households is enough proof of that.
Among the "leading birds" in Ca Xen village, it is impossible not to mention Mr. Ho Bot and Ho Chi Thanh. Although family life is still very difficult, the two have shown their determination to rise up by applying to get out of poor households.
Ho Bot is only 55 years old this year, but because of his hard life, he looks older than his age. But in return, the Ma Lieng man has crisp black skin and is very tough, like the ironwood and au trees on the Giang Man range. Having productive land, knowledge, health..., Mr. Ho Bat thought: I can't stay poor like that, I have to escape poverty.
Thinking of doing it, he wrote a letter asking to leave the poor household and submitted it to the Thanh Hoa commune government. Mr. Bat confided: I didn't want to rely on the government anymore, so I wrote an application to leave the poor household status. My family is working on 5 acres of rice fields. Every day we go to the forest to collect rattan, honey, and bamboo shoots to sell, which also brings us a good income. Life has gradually become more stable. In fact, each crop my family has nearly 2 tons of rice, enough to eat for the whole year.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ho Chi Thanh also confided: Although his family does not have much money, compared to other households in the village, life is more stable. I myself am a Party member and Secretary of the Party Cell of Ca Xen village, so I must be exemplary and take the lead in economic development. Thinking so, I wrote an application to escape the poverty status and give support to more difficult households.
Then Mr. Thanh excitedly said: My family is cultivating 8 acres of fields, 4 hectares of acacia forest and raising 8 buffalos and 4 cows, so the family's economy is improving day by day.
And Mr. Nguyen Huu Tam - Chairman of Thanh Hoa Commune People's Committee is more radiant: Although the rate of poor households is still high, people are gradually becoming conscious to rise up in production and life. The actions of households like Mr. Bat and Mr. Thanh are a shining example for other households in the village to follow. We very much welcome, appreciate and will continue to help and accompany these households to escape poverty sustainably. In the general development task, the locality has had specific plans to empower Ca Xen people on their journey out of poverty.
Also according to Mr. Tam, the implementation of ethnic policies, taking care of the lives and production of the people is getting more and more attention. The locality has been coordinating with units and organizations to propagate career guidance and find jobs for people. At the same time, plan, call for investment, and support the construction of community houses, dam systems, irrigation canals, roads... to better serve the needs of Ca Xen people.
Amidst the excitement about the plans that the commune leader discussed, the stories of the people overcoming difficulties in Ca Xen village made us even more confident. A beautiful new future will certainly not be far away for the people of Ca Xen.
