Bac Ninh veterans fight for the community

Leading role models in movements

One of the typical examples is veteran Nghiem Dac Vuong (born in 1961), residing in Ben Tram village, Bo Ha commune. Although he is over 60 years old, he is still as agile and decisive as when he was in the army.

Veteran Nghiem Dac Vuong (right) directly directed the construction of the road connecting Ben Tram village with Trai Moi village.

The recent storm No. 11 caused a serious landslide on a 150-meter-long road connecting Ben Tram village with Trai Moi village (Dong Ky commune), almost paralyzing traffic, forcing students to take a nearly 6-kilometer detour to get to school. Unable to bear it, Mr. Vuong voluntarily wrote a request to the local government for permission to advance personal funds to rent machinery and temporarily level the road. After only a few days of urgent construction, under his close direction, the road was completed, more than 7,000 m³ of earth and rock were leveled, opening a convenient path for people. When asked about the road, Mr. Vuong just smiled gently and said: "Contributing to building a road for people to travel is a necessary thing to do, should not be hesitated."

Mr. Vu Van Dong, a local resident, shared: “My family has a child in grade 4, the road to school was washed away by floodwaters. As soon as he heard the news, Mr. Vuong was the first person to show up. He not only spent money, but also went directly to the construction site to monitor and direct each stage to complete the road soon. Everyone in the village respects him and considers him a relative.”

Not only active in the community, Mr. Vuong is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phu Cau Investment and Development Joint Stock Company - specializing in the production of industrial plywood for export. With a sharp mind, he invested in three modern production lines, creating stable jobs for more than 100 workers, with an income of 9 - 15 million VND/month. In the past three years, the company's revenue has always exceeded 160 billion VND/year, contributing billions of VND in taxes to the state budget.

At the same time, he actively responded to the movement "Veterans help each other to do good business ", providing capital support and sharing production experiences with many members. In the new rural construction program alone, he and his business contributed more than 10 billion VND to build more than 7 km of roads, support poor households, restore relics, repair village roads, and organize practical volunteer activities.

In Kinh Bac ward, veteran Nguyen Van Vu, Chairman of Khuc Xuyen Handicraft Cooperative, chose another direction to promote the qualities of a soldier, which is to build a livelihood for his comrades.

Enlisting in the army in 1976, he fought in the Central Highlands and the Northern border. In 1984, after being demobilized and returning to his hometown, he started to develop the family economy, especially focusing on the traditional craft - producing fine art wooden products. However, in recent years, small-scale handicrafts have encountered many difficulties due to strong competition from the aluminum and glass industry. To maintain the profession and regain the market, it is necessary to innovate designs, improve quality and optimize costs.

In August 2022, Mr. Vu and other veterans in the area discussed and decided to establish the Khuc Xuyen Handicraft Cooperative. In the early days, the cooperative struggled to maintain operations, and its revenue was not enough to pay salaries. But Mr. Vu was not discouraged, proactively mobilizing members to borrow capital, invest in modern machinery, and apply high automation technology to production.

Modern machinery such as CNC wood lathes, planers, milling machines, etc. have been put into operation, helping to significantly improve production efficiency. By 2024, the Cooperative's revenue will reach 10 billion VND. Currently, the unit has 50 regular employees, with an average income of about 15 million VND/person/month. The Cooperative's products, including wooden paintings, tables, chairs, doors, and furniture with traditional motifs such as: Ly Ngu Vong Nguyet, Tu Linh, etc., are increasingly popular in the market.

Mr. Vu shared: “Doing business is also a front. In the past, we held guns to protect the Fatherland, now we hold machines and wood to keep our profession, create jobs for our comrades, that is also the way we contribute to building our homeland.”

Spreading the qualities of Uncle Ho's soldiers

Bac Ninh province currently has more than 180,000 veteran members, active in 100 grassroots organizations. In all fields, from production, business, new rural construction to volunteer activities - the "Exemplary Veterans" movement has become a driving force urging veterans to continue to make positive contributions to the community.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Provincial Veterans Association, said: The emulation movement "Exemplary Veterans" creates solidarity between members and the association, contributing to building a clean and strong organization. Members promote their role as exemplary in their families and communities; help each other develop the economy, reduce poverty; and actively contribute to building an increasingly prosperous homeland.

In addition to prominent figures such as Mr. Vuong and Mr. Vu, there are thousands of veterans in the province who have silently contributed. Currently, there are more than 3,000 member households doing farm business; 148 cooperatives; nearly 4,600 service businesses and 374 enterprises owned by veterans, creating jobs for more than 33,000 workers. The rate of poor member households has decreased significantly, from 0.6% in 2024 to 0.45% in 2025. In 2025 alone, the association at all levels has mobilized more than 1.2 billion VND, supported the elimination of 23 temporary houses, and given thousands of gifts to members in difficult circumstances and illnesses.

The movement is also closely linked to the campaign "All people unite to build new rural areas and civilized urban areas". Members of the whole province have voluntarily donated more than 75,000 m² of land, contributed about 6.3 billion VND and tens of thousands of working days to build and upgrade 140 km of roads, install 12,000 security cameras and nearly 400 km of rural lighting lines.

Not only being the core force in socio-economic development at the grassroots level, many veterans also actively participate in Party and government work, acting as a bridge between the Party, the State and the People. Chairman of the Provincial Veterans Association Nguyen Duc Thuan affirmed: “From the emulation movement, the quality of the association's organization has been significantly improved. The rate of member families achieving the title of "Cultural Family" is currently over 99.8%. The Bac Ninh veteran force is truly a solid support in all movements at the grassroots level.”

Article and photos: Trung Anh

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/cuu-chien-binh-bac-ninh-xong-pha-vi-cong-dong-postid429428.bbg