Electricity reaches Tia Ma Mu village.

The day electricity arrived brought even greater joy to the people of Tia Ma Mu village, Ta Tong commune (Lai Chau province), as the "dead zone" for mobile phone signal was also eliminated.

Residents of Tia Ma Mu witnessed workers from the Lai Chau Power Company completing the procedures to connect and supply electricity to the village.

The availability of electricity and mobile phone coverage, along with the development plan for cardamom cultivation and livestock farming set forth by the commune leaders, promises a brighter future for Tia Ma Mu, a remote area on the northwestern edge of Vietnam.

Tia Ma Mu village, located more than 200 km from the center of Lai Chau province, is one of the most difficult villages in the area today. When I visited in 2012, Tia Ma Mu had no roads, and we had to travel for two full days by motorbike and on foot to reach Nam Nga village.

From Nam Nga, we continued walking along the stream for another half day to reach Tia Ma Mu. At that time, the village had only over 40 households, 100% of which were poor. Besides the two makeshift primary and kindergarten schools built in the style of "buffalo sheds," the village had no electricity, no roads, no phone signal, and no other essential services...

After 14 years, we returned to Tia Ma Mu just in time for the energization ceremony of the project to provide electricity to villages and hamlets without access to the national power grid. Tia Ma Mu is one of the last three "electricity-free" villages in Lai Chau province to receive grid electricity in this phase.

On this special day, sharing in the joy of the government and relevant units, the 86 households in the village were extremely excited. From now on, they will no longer live in the dim light of oil lamps and the unstable power supply from small hydroelectric generators; having grid electricity means having telephone service, opening up opportunities to access information, serving production and stabilizing their lives.

According to Mr. Tran Kim Long, Director of Lai Chau Power Company, the project to supply electricity to Tia Ma Mu village has a total investment of over 14.4 billion VND. Despite being implemented in extremely difficult terrain and transportation conditions, and with only 6 months to complete procedures and construction, with the support of the Provincial People's Committee, relevant departments and local authorities, the investor implemented comprehensive solutions, from streamlining the contractor selection process to controlling construction and mobilizing manpower and materials efficiently. As a result, the project was completed and electricity was supplied 60 days ahead of schedule, ensuring both progress and quality.

In my conversation with Village Chief Giàng A Trừ, I gained a deeper understanding of their longing for the light of the electricity grid, for mobile phone signals, and for civilization and knowledge. Village head Giàng A Trừ shared: “Before, the village had over 40 households, 100% of which were poor. Now, with cars reaching the village, the number of households has increased to 86, and the number of poor households has dropped to only 20%. Previously, there was no electricity; the entire village lacked any electrical appliances. In recent years, with improved roads, some households have bought small hydroelectric generators, but they only provide enough power for lighting and charging phones, and the power supply is unstable; it goes out during rain and storms. We have phones, but to make a call, we have to walk more than 2 km up the hill to get a signal; those who don't want to walk to get a signal have to ride their motorbikes more than 10 km to call from Nậm Ngà village. Only two houses in the village use solar power, but it's only enough for lighting and running refrigerators. Now that we have a stable power grid, the villagers will surely buy electrical appliances for daily life, especially televisions. With electricity and phone signals, learning and accessing information will be easier, and the future will be better.”

Sharing the joy with Village Chief Giàng A Trừ and the villagers, on the day electricity reached the village, teachers and students at the two preschool and primary schools received meaningful and practical gifts from the Lai Châu Smile Volunteer Group. These gifts included insulated cabinets, rice cookers, electric pans, electric fans, water filters... essential items for the daily lives of both teachers and students.

Kindergarten teacher Ly Gio Nu emotionally shared: “The school has 4 teachers and 55 students aged 3 to 5 years old. Every day, in addition to teaching, we also have to take care of the children's meals and sleep. Because of the long distance, at the beginning of each week we have to bring food for the whole week. Previously, food was stored in the village head's refrigerator and only taken home to cook at mealtime. Now, with electrical equipment, preservation and processing are more convenient, we are less burdened, and the children's meals and sleep are better ensured.”

The Tia Ma Mu hamlet now has roads, schools, electricity, and telephone coverage, along with the basic conditions to stabilize the lives of its 86 households. In the future, the commune leaders have agreed on a direction to support the people in developing purple cardamom cultivation, raising large livestock, and protecting the forest.

According to Nguyen Viet Hoa, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ta Tong commune, with a stable food supply from over 40 hectares of rice paddies, annual income from forest environmental services (nearly 20 million VND/household/year), along with the orientation to expand the area of ​​cardamom cultivation (currently over 5 hectares) and develop a herd of over 200 buffaloes and cows, it is believed that the people will have the conditions to improve their economic development, stabilize their lives, and have a brighter future.

TRAN TUAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dien-ve-ban-tia-ma-mu-post960994.html