Great solidarity on public land - Part 2: The smile of a peaceful home

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Mai happily stands next to her new TV. Photo: GIA KHÁNH

In house number 3C, Dai Doan Ket area, Trung Hung hamlet, My Thoi ward, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong Mai is looking at her new TV. At the age of 80, she has found her life most peaceful in the past 10 years, since she was approved to live in this housing area. “When I was young, I lived in a dilapidated house with my parents and many siblings. When I grew up and had my own family, it was also difficult, I could not buy land or a house. After my husband passed away, I had to take care of my 5 children, the third daughter of whom was mentally ill. Later, when the children grew up, they all had their own hardships. As a result, none of them could help me,” Mrs. Mai said.

For a long time, Mai and her children lived in a makeshift wooden house that a temple lent them land for. The house gradually deteriorated, and the mother and her children gradually aged, and their dream of owning a house and land gradually faded. She only received a monthly pension of 500,000 VND. Her daughter, Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, received a monthly disability pension of 720,000 VND. Together with those two amounts of money, Mai and her children managed to get by.

One day in 2018, Ms. Mai was asked by a local official: "Do you wish to receive a solidarity house?" At first, she was a bit hesitant because she was afraid of living in a communal house, many inconveniences, and she and her children were single and widowed. But then, the crumbling floorboards under her feet urged her to leave, to avoid the house collapsing at any time. House number 3C was the last vacant house in this row of 26 solidarity houses, welcoming Ms. Mai and her children into their new home.

Then the 80-year-old mother and her 60-year-old son had many more close neighbors. Under the solid roof, she felt secure cooking and living leisurely with her children. “The monthly electricity and water bills are only about 100,000 VND, I can take care of them. If anything is broken, I call a technician to fix it. For the past few months, the old TV broke down, and a nephew took pity on me and bought me a new 40-inch TV. My life is very good now!”, Mrs. Mai smiled brightly in the afternoon sun.

Mr. Khau Thanh Qui - Deputy Head of Trung Hung Hamlet said that the whole hamlet has 852 households, more than 3,440 people. Particularly, 26 households in this housing area, about 70 people, have lived there since the time they were granted houses until now, no one has moved. "Determining this is a special residential area, the people's lives are difficult, so every time a benefactor supports with gifts, the hamlet prioritizes giving them to the people here first, then distributes the rest to other households," Mr. Qui affirmed.

In the upstream area of Phu Huu, Mr. Tran Minh Chau (born in 1972) is also happy in house number 12 of the Phu Thanh Great Unity residential area. He always remembers September 2, 2023, when his whole family officially left the life of depending on others and moved into their own house. “My wife and I both suffered from polio since we were young. My legs were atrophied, making it difficult to walk, but I could still stand. My wife could only move by crawling. At the age of 42, fate brought us together and we had a healthy daughter who was in 5th grade. But the whole family of 3 had to temporarily live on the floor of my wife's family's house. Every day when I went to sell lottery tickets, I often joked: Only when I win the special lottery can I buy land to build a house. Just kidding, but my heart aches!”, Mr. Chau recalled.

And yet, he really “won the lottery”! In March 2023, the local authorities checked and said they were arranging housing for households like him. Just 3-4 months later, the 4m x 10m house was completed, with electricity and water, and ready to move in. Mr. Chau still remembers the feeling from that day: “I have never lived in a spacious house before, so I thought I was dreaming. We no longer have to worry about the house when it rains and is windy, and we feel more secure.”

Then he gathered his savings to open a small grocery store, serving the needs of 19 other households in the Great Unity House. It was just a few necessities and a shelf of soft drinks, but it created a great belief in him that this was truly his home, a place where he would stay for a long time. “I still hope that my family will have a stable income, soon be able to buy land and a house to give the Great Unity House to a more disadvantaged household. I know that, besides us, there are many households living in poverty and needing housing,” Mr. Chau expressed.

Just visit any house of the 700 households that have been granted solidarity houses on public land and you can hear touching stories. Perhaps, the fleeting impression people have of the households is just the number of households that have been arranged to live on public land, but for each household, this is a profound turning point in their lives, which can last for their children and grandchildren.

Ms. Mai, Mr. Chau… are living proof of the spreading power of a humane policy, explaining why this model deserves to be replicated. They are not left behind. Humane policies and guidelines truly touch the lives of disadvantaged people. When people look at their new home with warm eyes, they are also placing their trust in the government and the community - those who join hands to build a sustainable living foundation for them.

It is also from that smile that many households are determined to rise up: Trying to work, saving, taking care of their children's education... because they understand that life has given them a new foothold to change. Mrs. Le Thi Lien (born in 1972), slowly peels cashew shells in the solidarity house in Thoi Thanh hamlet, My Thoi ward. The house is located next to the field, cool and quiet. She finds a job at home, helps her children and grandchildren with the market money, no longer under the pressure of making a living like before. Therefore, her smile when visitors come is also more comfortable and leisurely!

(To be continued)

GIA KHANH

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/dai-doan-ket-tren-quy-dat-cong-bai-2-nu-cuoi-an-cu-a469733.html