The story of party members clinging to the island.

In Thanh An island commune, a remote area of ​​Ho Chi Minh City, where sea winds and tides dominate life year-round, the people here view hardship as an inevitable part of their lives. But it is also in this very place that Party members quietly choose to stay, clinging to the island, contributing their efforts to ensure that life on the island is not "shaken" by the tides.

The canoe trips are conducted day and night.

Taking an early ferry from Tac Suat wharf (Can Gio commune), we followed the current to Thanh An island commune to meet Mr. Tran Van Thong, affectionately known by the locals as Mr. Ut Thong. Thin and sun-tanned, he cycled around the island, always ready to receive urgent calls.

Ms. Vo Thi Kim Hieu still braves the waves every day, traveling by small boat to Thieng Lieng hamlet to teach the first letters of the alphabet to preschool children. (PHOTO: TL)

Born and raised in Thanh An, he worked as a commune police officer and then at the inland waterway port authority. However, in 2018, when the island commune acquired a speedboat for emergency services, he decided to apply for the job. He said that he heard the commune needed a speedboat driver to transport patients, but there was no one on the island who could do it, so he immediately applied. Partly because he was familiar with river work, and partly because he thought if he could do it, he should return to help the people. His work has no fixed hours; whenever the health station calls to report an emergency, he immediately sets off. There are times when he has to leave his meals unfinished, and there are nights when he still has to rush out to sea in the rain and wind. "I don't allow myself to be indifferent or slow in this work," Mr. Thong confided.

Having spent nearly 10 years working with his speedboat, the most memorable experience for him was during the Covid-19 pandemic. He lost count of the number of trips he made. At one point, he even contracted the disease and had to be quarantined. But he immediately resumed his work, regularly transporting patients to isolation, without dwelling on the danger. The sea wasn't always calm. On days with big waves and strong winds, transporting patients to the mainland became a struggle. Family members worried, sometimes even crying. But he maintained a steady grip on the steering wheel, controlling the speedboat while reassuring everyone. And so, he always managed to reach the shore safely. Perhaps that's why everyone on the island recognizes him. When they meet him at the end of the alley or at the waterfront, people enthusiastically greet him, a silent recognition of the man who spends his days "chasing" emergency cases.

This year marks 40 years of Party membership for Mr. Ut Thong. For him, this period is neither too long nor too short; it represents a long journey of training and effort. He still intends to continue his work, as a way to keep his promise to himself and set an example for the younger generation. His joy is further extended as his daughter has joined the Party, continuing her dedication to education and to the beloved island community.

Day after day, braving the waves to spread literacy.

In Thanh An, besides the emergency rescue boats, there are also small motorboats carrying the educational dreams of generations of students. Every morning, Ms. Vo Thi Kim Hieu (born in 1988), a teacher at Thanh An Kindergarten, leaves the dock, braving the waves and wind to travel by motorboat to Thieng Lieng hamlet to teach. Thieng Lieng hamlet is another small island belonging to the commune, requiring a 20-minute sea journey to reach it. Although her family lives in Thanh An, she teaches in a remote hamlet and cannot stay in the staff quarters, so she commutes daily. The daily travel costs are considerable, but she manages to cover them herself.

Today, Thanh An still faces many difficulties, but it is also confronted with new opportunities as it focuses on developing the marine economy and ecotourism, helping to improve the lives of its people. However, for these changes to materialize, it still needs people willing to stay and cling to the island, like Mr. Ut Thong and Ms. Kim Hieu. As a leader of the island commune once confided, people are the inherent strength; each citizen and each Party member of the commune is the greatest force to work with the government to build a more sustainable and prosperous island commune.

Speaking about the difficulties, Ms. Hieu confided that each trip presents a different challenge, as some days the water level is high, some days the wind is strong, and some days the weather is unpredictable. But what keeps her motivated to persevere in this arduous work is the expectant gaze of the children here, as she says, these children are still disadvantaged.

"If we don't try, the children might lose the opportunity to go to school. And then, their childhood will be confined to salt fields and fishing boats," Ms. Hieu shared. Throughout her years of teaching, what she remembers most is not the difficulties, but the affection of her students and their parents. Sometimes it's a flower by the roadside, a small candy that's been saved, or a bunch of vegetables or a bag of homegrown fruit sent as a gift. These small things have become the motivation for her to stay committed to teaching in this remote island.

As a Party member, she is acutely aware of her responsibilities, which lie not only in teaching but also in setting an example, readily undertaking challenging tasks, and spreading that positive spirit to her colleagues and the people of the island community. In the face of numerous hardships, her efforts become even more powerful.

CAM TUYET - CAM NUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/chuyen-nhung-dang-vien-bam-dao-post847012.html