Maintaining strong community bonds

For generations, the spirit of community and neighborly solidarity has been a beautiful cultural characteristic of the people in La Bang hamlet, La Bang commune. For the people here, this bond is demonstrated through concrete actions in daily life: working together to build roads, construct a community center, and sharing resources during family funerals, hardships, and difficulties.

Community projects in La Bang hamlet (La Bang commune) are always discussed thoroughly, and only implemented when there is a high level of consensus among the people.

The 6-meter-wide concrete road running straight through La Bang hamlet has now become a spacious and convenient route for residents to transport tea to collection points, for children to ride bicycles to school, and for the elderly to walk for exercise. Just two years ago, this road, although paved with concrete, was only a little over 2 meters wide. Whenever vehicles passed, pedestrians had to squeeze close to the edge, making tea transportation and daily life quite difficult.

To have the wide and beautiful road it has today, the people of La Bang hamlet held many meetings and unanimously agreed to contribute labor, funds, and land. Notably, the family of Mr. Hoang Cao Nguyen voluntarily donated over 100 square meters of residential land to widen the road.

Notably, his family had previously donated land twice, totaling over 200 square meters, for community projects in the hamlet. Not only the main road, but now 100% of the roads in La Bang hamlet have been paved with concrete thanks to the contributions of the people and cement support from the government. With the roads completed, travel and trade have become more convenient, and many households have confidently invested in production and business.

Along with transportation infrastructure, community facilities have also been built by the people of La Bang since early times. More than 10 years ago, when economic conditions were still difficult, the people in the hamlet collectively contributed to building a hamlet cultural center covering over 200 square meters, complete with a fence, grounds, sports field, and outdoor stage, at a total cost of over 200 million VND. This facilitates meetings, cultural exchanges, arts, and sports activities for the residents of the hamlet.

Having served as the head of La Bang hamlet for 19 years, Mr. Le Van Khiem believes that these projects are not the result of a few individuals, but rather the unity and cooperation of the 93 households in the hamlet. He shared: "We discuss everything openly and transparently with the people. If the people find it reasonable, they voluntarily contribute their labor and money."

La Bang hamlet currently has over 360 inhabitants, comprising 6 ethnic groups, with the Kinh ethnic group accounting for approximately 65%. The economy is primarily agricultural , with tea cultivation playing a dominant role, alongside small-scale business and service activities. By the end of 2025, the hamlet is expected to have only 4 poor and near-poor households, with an average income of approximately 45 million VND per person per year.

In daily life, the strong sense of community in La Bang is most evident when there are common or difficult issues to address. For many years, the village has maintained a self-governing funeral service. When someone in the village passes away, each household sends at least one person to support the family.

The village agreed on a rule: each household contributes 50,000 dong for each funeral. From setting up tents, cooking meals, and entertaining guests to picking tea, tending buffaloes, and raising pigs to help the bereaved family, the villagers all voluntarily help and share the burden.

100% of the roads in La Bang hamlet (La Bang commune) have been paved with concrete.

Mrs. Vu Thi Nam, an elderly resident of the neighborhood, recounted: "Many households consist only of the elderly couple, but whenever there's an event, people from the neighborhood flock to the yard. This gives us some peace of mind for our children and grandchildren who live far away."

Not only during funerals, but also when a family has a sick or unfortunate member, households send people to help, from labor to looking after the house and fields. The neighborhood's Zalo group is used effectively to announce common tasks and to promptly call for support when needed.

Thanks to the strong sense of community and neighborly solidarity, all activities and movements in La Bang hamlet are implemented effectively. For many years in a row, the hamlet has been awarded the title of "Culturally Advanced Residential Area". The wide, paved roads, the well-equipped community center, and the times when villagers help each other pick tea leaves... all contribute to making La Bang a peaceful and prosperous place.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202601/giu-tinh-lang-ben-chat-6fa3997/