The "young" Ca Dong village elder...

Young village elder Pham Xuan Nghia (far right) performs gong music at a festival in Bac Tra My district in 2022. Photo: NB

Overcoming difficulties for the community

Pham Xuan Nghia comes from a poor family in Tam Goc village (Hamlet 2, Tra Ka commune, Bac Tra My district). Lacking the opportunity for higher education, after finishing high school, Nghia returned to his village to help his parents support his younger siblings' education and joined the local militia. With his dynamism and responsibility in grassroots movements, Nghia was honored to be admitted to the Party at the age of 19.

In 2017, Mr. Nghia got married and moved out on his own, initially facing many difficulties as a poor household. As a Party member, Mr. Nghia worked hard and persevered through hardship. After only about 5 years of hard work, his family escaped poverty and improved their lives.

Currently, Mr. and Mrs. Nghia own an ideal integrated economic model combining gardens, forests, ponds, and livestock with hundreds of goats, cows, buffaloes, pigs, and chickens of various kinds, along with more than 3 hectares of forest land planted with cinnamon and acacia trees for raw materials. Each year, after deducting expenses, Mr. and Mrs. Nghia earn an average income of over 70 million VND.

Mr. Nghia is also very skilled with his hands, self-taught, and has become a very proficient bricklayer. In the last two years, he has mentored and taught the trade to two local young men and formed a group specializing in turnkey house construction in Tra Ka…

The "young" village elder, Party Branch Secretary and Head of Hamlet 2, Tra Ka Commune - Pham Xuan Nghia. Photo: NB.

Nghia's team is very trustworthy and knowledgeable about local customs and traditions, so the villagers trust them and order their houses from them in large numbers. However, Nghia only accepts a limited number of projects to ensure quality construction, timely completion, and on-time delivery.

Young Party member Nguyen Thanh Bich, from Tam Goc village, shared that thanks to Mr. Nghia's enthusiastic guidance, he has become proficient in the construction trade, has regular work with Mr. Nghia, and earns a stable income of 300,000 VND per day.

According to Mr. Ho Van Ut, a resident of Tam Goc village, whether at home or in the fields, he and many other villagers often seek out Mr. Nghia to chat and receive guidance on business strategies, including how to calculate and manage expenses effectively. Many people facing unexpected difficulties, lacking tools or seedlings, have received enthusiastic assistance from Mr. Nghia.

“The villagers here are still struggling, so when they ask for help building houses, the team of workers led by Mr. Nghia happily helps with electrical and plumbing work without charging any fees. In addition, Mr. Nghia also raises a breeding boar to provide free breeding support for local livestock farmers,” Mr. Ut said.

Passing on the flame of enthusiasm

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kien, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tra Ka commune, Mr. Nghia is a shining example of studying and following President Ho Chi Minh's example in the locality, practicing what he preaches. In Hamlet 2, although only 30 years old, Mr. Nghia is loved by the villagers and regarded as an elder.

As the Party Branch Secretary and Head of Village 2 (since 2019), Mr. Nghia has always been exemplary, demonstrating a high sense of responsibility in his work and inspiring positive change, building a civilized and progressive life for the villagers.

Pham Xuan Nghia, Secretary of the Party Branch of Hamlet 2, Tra Ka Commune, always focuses on Party building work and presented Party membership certificates to two new members at the end of 2023. Photo: NB.

“All the children in the village attend school regularly and don’t drop out. The movement to eliminate temporary housing, escape poverty, and build rural roads is progressing very smoothly. In the village, there are almost no cases of violations of laws regarding forest management and protection, security and order, or child marriage… These results are all thanks to the contributions of the Party Branch Secretary and Head of Village 2, Pham Xuan Nghia,” Ms. Kien shared.

Sharing a different perspective, Mr. Ho Van Tran - Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Ka commune - said that Mr. Nghia has a deep understanding of traditional spiritual rituals, folk songs, dances, and drumming and gong playing of the Ca Dong people.

In local and district-level cultural activities and festivals, Nghia is always the key figure, leading the way in gathering young people in the village to teach and train them, both to compete with other units and to preserve and promote the cultural identity of his ethnic group.

Speaking about his work, Mr. Nghia confided that, being young, healthy, and a Party member, he couldn't accept living in poverty; he had to think and find ways to improve his life. Party members must set an example for others to follow and escape poverty together.

“Our people, especially the younger generation, must preserve their language, their identity, and protect the forests… If they destroy the forests, blindly follow bad and decadent trends on social media… without discernment, it is absolutely unacceptable. Because if they do that, their future will be difficult and miserable, and their identity will fade away. To preserve all of this, as the Party Branch Secretary and Village Head, I must set an example,” Nghia confided.

This entry is for the journalism competition "Spreading Positive Energy for the Aspirations of Quang Nam ".

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/gia-lang-tre-nguoi-ca-dong-3136831.html