During a mobile medical examination session in Bu Gia Map commune (Dong Nai province), before dawn, Lieutenant Colonel Ninh Thi Dao, a doctor at the Military-Civilian Medical Clinic (Logistics - Technical Department, Economic - Defense Group 778) and the medical team began their working day.

His shoes were covered in mud and his shirt was soaked with dew, but he still worked hard to measure blood pressure, give health advice, and dispense medicine to people.

Doctors of Economic - Defense Group 778 examine policy beneficiaries in Phu Nghia commune ( Dong Nai province).

“Once, when we went to Dac Son 1 village, Phu Nghia commune (Dong Nai province), it suddenly rained heavily, many sections of the road were eroded, we had to wade through the forest for nearly 5km. It was hard, but seeing the people trust and love us, we were happy,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ninh Thi Dao.

Economic - Defense Group 778 coordinated to present a symbolic plaque of the amount of money to support the construction of "Military - People Friendship" houses to households in difficult circumstances in the area.

From 2020 to present, Economic-Defense Group 778 has organized 82 mobile medical examination and treatment sessions, provided free medicine, medical examination... worth more than 2.4 billion VND for more than 12,000 people in the border area of ​​Dong Nai province.

In particular, during the Covid-19 outbreak, the “blue-shirt doctors” were always on the front lines fighting the epidemic and protecting the people. The unit provided more than 15,000 masks and 7,000 bottles of hand sanitizer; nearly 4,000 people were vaccinated and screened.

Economic - Defense Group 778 supports domestic water for households in the project area that lack water during the dry season.

Leaving the free medical examination and medicine station, we, along with Colonel Hoang Van Hung, Political Commissar of the 778th Military Economic Group, visited the family of Mr. Dieu Cha Ra, a Stieng ethnic group, in Bu Ren village, Bu Gia Map commune (Dong Nai province). In the middle of the red basalt land, Mr. Dieu Cha Ra's durian and avocado garden is lush and green, with fruit hanging heavy on the branches.

“Before, this land was full of weeds, making it difficult to grow anything. Thanks to the soldiers providing seeds and instructions on how to grow, I now earn nearly 100 million VND per year, enough to pay for my children’s education and medical treatment,” Mr. Dieu Cha Ra happily boasted.

Leaders of Economic - Defense Group 778 give gifts to the poor in the area.

Mr. Dieu Cha Ra's family is just one of more than 500 poor households receiving livelihood support from the Union. Over the past 5 years, the Union has distributed 168 breeding cows, 320 goats, 1,000 fruit trees and more than 5,600 kg of fertilizer to people in communes on the border of Dong Nai province in the project area.

Not only providing material support, the unit also sent teams to hamlets and villages to "hold hands and guide" people in cultivation techniques, animal husbandry, and pest control...

Leaders of Economic - Defense Group 778 and units attended the inauguration ceremony of the residential road in Phu Nghia commune, Dong Nai province.

Through many effective coordination measures with local Party committees and authorities, the poverty rate in communes in the project area of ​​the Group has decreased from 20.1% (in 2020) to nearly 1.5% (in 2024). This result is the result of both sweat and heart of the officers and soldiers of Economic-Defense Group 778 stationed in the difficult border area.

In the hot midday sun, on a residential road in Phu Nghia commune (Dong Nai), groups of soldiers from Economic-Defense Group 778 were busy working with the locals to build a 1,150m long inter-village road with a gravel surface of 3.5m wide. Nearby, a few other soldiers were pulling electric wires to light up households in Sub-area 115, Phu Nghia commune.

Ms. Dieu Thi Mo, a Stieng ethnic, Phu Nghia commune (Dong Nai) with 3 young children, emotionally shared: "Since the day the Union gave me a house, it has a road and electricity. At night, my children have electricity to study and are no longer afraid of snakes and centipedes. I also actively participate in women's activities in the evening."

Over the past 5 years, Economic-Defense Group 778 has built more than 200 Great Unity houses, "Houses of military-civilian affection", 15km of rural roads, 10km of electric lighting lines. All are free or supported by 90% of the cost, for poor and near-poor households, ethnic minorities, and policy families in the project area. Not only helping people with material things, officers and soldiers of Economic-Defense Group 778 also regularly organize legal propaganda sessions, teach literacy, popularize health care , prevent and combat drugs and social evils. Thanks to that, people's awareness has gradually changed. Currently, 100% of villages and hamlets are "covered" with health care, 86% of households have improved their income and 15 pilot economic models have been replicated throughout the area.

Colonel Hoang Van Hung, Political Commissar of Economic-Defense Group 778, confided: "We do not expect people to remember the names of each officer and soldier, we only hope they remember that there are always soldiers here, no matter what difficulties. The people's trust is the greatest reward for us."

The afternoon gradually falls on the green cashew fields. In the last sunlight of the day, the soldiers of the 778th Economic-Defense Group still appear in the fields, working with the people to repair roofs, harvest pepper, and clean the roads in residential areas.

The soldiers have become friends, relatives, and pillars of support for the ethnic minorities in the border areas of Dong Nai province. They are the embodiment of the spirit of “for the people”, a solid force at the Fatherland’s fence, contributing to building a solid people’s heart in the border areas. With passionate hearts and hands that are not afraid of hardship, officers and soldiers have quietly built a peaceful, prosperous, and loving border.

Article and photos: DO THANG

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/quoc-phong-toan-dan/doan-kinh-te-quoc-phong-778-cau-noi-yeu-thuong-noi-bien-cuong-858274