Under the colors of the New Year's Spring

From an isolated H'Mong village in the remote border region of Thanh Hoa, with difficult road access and outdated production practices, Mua Xuan village is gradually transforming. Under the colors of the new spring, changes are not only evident in the landscape but also in the lives of the people, from roads and farming methods to daily activities.

Hmong people in Mua Xuan village meet at the beginning of the new year.

After 7 years, we returned to Spring Village in the early days of the new year. The new road was longer, but instead of taking 13 hours for the round trip on the muddy, steep, and slippery dirt road, now motorbikes could travel quite conveniently.

Although not yet complete, it represents a significant change, a dream come true for the local people. From a nearly isolated highland village, it is gradually becoming a connecting point between production areas and other highland villages in the region.

The village of Mùa Xuân currently has 127 households with 595 inhabitants, all of whom are H'Mông ethnic people.

Comrade Sung Van Cau, Party Secretary and Head of Mua Xuan village, said that the village Party branch has identified changing perceptions and eliminating the mentality of waiting and relying on others as the breakthrough. Economic development is included in monthly meetings so that people understand and follow the guidelines.

The village has 17 party members. We assigned comrades to closely monitor households, guide people in economic development, and encourage their participation in collective economic models such as loan groups and cooperatives.

Through these community meetings, people's mindsets gradually changed. Many households switched to raising breeding cows, selling one or two each year; some raised black pigs and H'Mong breed chickens for sale during Tet (Lunar New Year); the area for growing pineapples, peaches, and apricots also expanded, no longer entirely dependent on nature but proactively applying science and technology, creating changes in productivity and income.

Sung Van Da, born in 1998, is a successful entrepreneur in his village. Besides his 5 sao (approximately 0.5 hectares) of rice paddies, he invested in a small truck to transport goods for hire, creating a stable additional income. His family has also learned to switch to two rice crops per year, maintaining year-round cultivation.

“Before, we only did one crop, and we were always short of money. Now we do two crops, plus we drive a truck to earn extra income, and the whole family earns over 10 million dong a month, making life much easier,” said Mr. Da. From people like Sung Van Da, the spirit of self-reliance and initiative is gradually spreading, contributing to the formation of a new generation of farmers in the highlands.

As the economy improved, many outdated customs gradually disappeared, weddings became simpler, having many children decreased, children attended school more regularly, and harmful customs were gradually eliminated. Positive traditional cultural values ​​were preserved and promoted, creating a new look for the villages.

Comrade Le Dinh Xuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Son Thuy commune, affirmed: The role of the Party committee and the Party branch is very clear; Party members demonstrate pioneering spirit, exemplary conduct, initiative, and creativity for the people to follow, thereby strengthening the people's trust in the government.

According to Comrade Le Dinh Xuan, the village of Mua Xuan holds an important position in the overall development of the locality, serving as a connecting point between production areas and H'Mong ethnic minority villages; the long-term orientation is to develop forests in conjunction with agricultural production and community tourism, creating sustainable livelihoods, preserving land and forests, and maintaining cultural identity.

According to Comrade Mac Van Toi, Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Thuy commune, many programs and projects that have been and are being implemented have brought about many noticeable changes.

In 2022, all families in the village were classified as poor households. By 2025, 85% of the families in the village will have moved to the near-poor category, with an average income of 14.2 million VND per person per year.

In the coming period, we will continue to focus on sustainable poverty reduction, promoting production linked to the market and community tourism, improving the quality of education, and providing vocational training for the people. Within this changing landscape, women in the village are also gradually asserting their role.

According to Thao Thi Cha Ly, head of the Women's Association, women in the village are increasingly participating in economic models, savings groups, and building happy families. Although child marriage and having many children still exist, women are gradually becoming more actively involved in the development of the village.

At the school in Mua Xuan village, teacher Ha Thanh Son, who has been working in remote highland schools for 13 years, said: Although conditions are still difficult, the school has been renovated and built to be more spacious than before, and teaching and learning are much easier.

Previously, many students here dropped out of school, but now they maintain a 100% enrollment rate, and the students are more confident and proactive in their studies. From education to daily life, the village of Mùa Xuân is witnessing many positive changes. The villagers still mention Mr. Thao Văn Dia, a pioneer in labor and production, who pushed back against outdated customs and changed the local people's perceptions.

From 2003 to 2022, Dia was continuously elected to the positions of deputy village head, village chief, and then village Party branch secretary. Dia shared: "I remember the last time a journalist came to the village, the whole team ate dinner under the light of headlamps, and if we wanted to make a phone call, we had to go to the mountaintop nearly 3km from our house."

Now that we have electricity, cell phone signal, and Wi-Fi, we can get a lot done from home without having to travel far.

BUI THAI BINH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/duoi-sac-xuan-nam-moi-post945290.html