When billion-dollar cultural houses compete to grow up from the consensus of the party's will and the people's hearts

In a short period of time, nearly a dozen village cultural centers have been built one after another with funding of billions of dong, gradually taking shape in Duong Thanh commune (Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province) thanks to the strength of the people's will, creating a spacious and prosperous rural landscape.

A spectacular breakthrough in building new rural areas.

Visiting Duong Thanh commune today, one would undoubtedly be amazed and overwhelmed by the dramatic transformation of the rural landscape. Tall buildings and modern villas have sprung up in droves, nestled amidst cornfields and rice paddies, alongside colorful, winding flower-lined roads, creating a prosperous and well-developed rural scene.

The rural landscape in Duong Thanh commune (Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province) is becoming increasingly modern and prosperous, with many multi-story houses springing up and concrete roads lined with vibrant flowers stretching as far as the eye can see. Photo: Kieu Hai

Just about two years ago, when this locality completed the advanced new rural development program (in 2022), although Duong Thanh had already made many spectacular breakthroughs, it was only when it started building a model new rural area that the transformation became truly evident.

Speaking to a reporter from Dan Viet newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Ai – Secretary of the Party Committee of Duong Thanh commune – shared: When starting the new rural development program, Duong Thanh commune had a low starting point; at that time, the commune had not even met 3 criteria. But with the high determination of the entire political system, the active involvement of the local government, and above all, the unanimous support of the people, the commune achieved the new rural development goal in 2018 and the advanced new rural development goal in 2022.

Compared to many other localities, the new rural development program in Duong Thanh has innovative and distinctive approaches. The greatest success in Duong Thanh's new rural development is the trust the government has earned from the people. Gaining that trust required a long process of building through practical and concrete actions. Throughout the new rural development process, the Party committee and local leaders have always been deeply involved with the people, working alongside them, exchanging ideas and discussing matters openly and transparently. It is precisely this trust that has led the people to readily support all decisions and policies implemented from above.

When officials speak, the people trust them; when they tell them to listen, the people obey.

Arriving at the An Thanh hamlet cultural center (Duong Thanh commune) on a morning in early November, when the building was newly completed, we felt as if we were standing in the middle of a large-scale administrative center at the commune or district level. With its luxurious and modern design, the entire cultural center space, spanning nearly 2,000 square meters, has a clean and tidy grounds.

The An Thanh hamlet cultural center (Duong Thanh commune) is spacious and impressive, with a total area of ​​nearly 2,000 square meters, recently completed and put into use. Photo: Kieu Hai

Sitting and resting on a stone bench in the cultural center grounds after finishing her cleaning, Mrs. Pham Thi Nga, 70 years old, excitedly shared: "Honestly, sometimes when I sit at home and look out at the cultural center, I think it's a dream, my dear. I'm so happy. In my whole life, I've never seen a cultural center as big, beautiful, and spacious as this. At 70 years old, seeing the village changing every day makes me very happy."

Mrs. Nga's family was one of the households that contributed a relatively large sum of money to build the village's cultural center. Despite this, during the village's implementation of the construction plan, her family fully supported it voluntarily and wholeheartedly. She understood that when the village is beautiful and well-maintained, residents like her are the ones who will benefit the most.

The people of An Thanh hamlet enthusiastically participated in cleaning the village roads and alleys, helping to clean up the environment. Photo: Kieu Hai

"Since the An Thanh village cultural center was completed and put into use, every morning at 5 a.m., two groups are already there: one group of elderly people practicing Tai Chi in the spacious courtyard, and the other group of women enthusiastically playing volleyball. Regularly, day after day, the sounds of laughter and conversation fill the air like a festival, creating a vibrant and lively atmosphere that brightens up the entire village," Mrs. Nga shared.

According to Ms. Nga, the reason for this transformation is primarily due to the exemplary and proactive local officials, while the people have been cooperative and contributed to the effort. The villagers are very united, and everyone supports the policies of the higher authorities because they trust the officials.

As a dedicated and exemplary village headman for many years, trusted and loved by the people, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thu - Head of An Thanh village, shared: An Thanh is a purely agricultural village, and the income of the people used to be low. Later, with the guidance of the local government and many effective production models, combined with the opening of some commercial services, the lives and incomes of the people have been improved. The average per capita income in the village in 2023 was 73 million VND/person/year.

In recent years, the economic lives of the people in Duong Thanh commune have seen increasingly positive changes. Photo: Kieu Hai

During the process of building a model new rural village, the mindset of the people has changed positively, contributing greatly to the construction of infrastructure such as the cultural center and roads. From 2016 to the present, the village has transformed relatively quickly. In particular, many of the villagers' children who work far from home have been very successful, contributing significantly to the local infrastructure development. To date, the total amount of money donated by local children to build the village's cultural center has reached nearly 500 million VND. The remaining amount of approximately 1 billion VND contributed by the villagers has also reached 95%.

The An Thanh hamlet cultural center project received significant funding from local people who have moved away to work. Photo: Kieu Hai

According to Mr. Thu, the advantage of implementing the village cultural center construction program is that the locality always receives the consensus of a large number of people living in the area as well as their children who work far away. More importantly, the local government's policy of prioritizing investment is very much in line with the people's wishes, so it is supported by the people.

An Thanh hamlet currently has 154 households with 626 inhabitants. This hamlet achieved the model new rural standard in 2022. To date, a total of 5km of hamlet roads have been completely concreted with a road surface width of 3-3.5m.

Besides An Thanh hamlet, An Phu is also one of the seven hamlets in Duong Thanh commune with a completely new cultural center, with an estimated cost of approximately 1.4 billion VND. However, unlike An Thanh hamlet, the funding from sponsors was very limited, so it mainly came from local residents' contributions, plus 100 million VND and 30 tons of cement provided from the commune's National Target Program.

The An Phu hamlet cultural center is currently under construction. Photo: Kieu Hai

Mr. Le Van Tuyen, head of An Phu hamlet, said: In 2021, An Phu hamlet was formed by merging two hamlets, An Ninh and Phu Thanh. Because of this, the old community center no longer met the needs of the residents. Therefore, based on the policy from the Party Committee, the People's Committee of the commune, various departments and organizations, and with the consensus of the people, after mobilizing contributions, in June 2024 the hamlet began constructing a new community center with an area of ​​310 square meters.

To ease the burden on the villagers, the An Phu hamlet Party committee devised a plan to collect funds in several stages. Therefore, the people basically did not face many difficulties in contributing financially. Currently, the project is entering its final stages of completion, preparing for its inauguration on the upcoming National Unity Day.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ai, Secretary of the Party Committee of Duong Thanh commune, informed: The policy of building village cultural houses originated in 2018 when the commune achieved the new rural standard. Subsequently, the commune's Party Committee developed a roadmap to build an advanced new rural commune by 2022.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ai (Secretary of the Party Committee of Duong Thanh Commune, on the left) and Mr. Duong Van Xuan (Head of Pham 2 Hamlet, on the right) introduce the murals painted on the walls along the road surrounding the hamlet's cultural center. Photo: Kieu Hai

Based on that policy, looking back at the area, the village cultural centers were all built between 2000 and 2002, so the physical infrastructure does not meet the criteria for building new rural areas in the current period. Along with the Party and State's policy of merging villages, Duong Thanh is one of two communes in Phu Binh district that had to merge a large number of villages. Previously, Duong Thanh had 20 villages, but after the merger, only 14 remain. Therefore, after the merger, the number of households increased, and consequently, the seating capacity in the village cultural centers does not meet the needs of the people for activities and meetings.

The community center in Pham 2 hamlet was also recently built with significant contributions from the local people. Photo: Kieu Hai

Therefore, since 2021, the Party Committee of the commune has directed the merged hamlets and those with inadequate cultural centers to develop a plan to mobilize resources for the construction of new cultural centers. Starting in 2022, the hamlets began mobilizing resources based on the number of households and residents, and construction began in 2023.

To date, the commune has 7 newly built cultural centers and 2 renovated ones. Among them, An Thanh hamlet has mobilized the largest amount of resources from local people working away from home, totaling over 500 million VND. At this point, most hamlets have completed their construction, with only two hamlets still in the finishing stages; however, the necessary resources for construction are already secured.

The concrete road leading to the Pham 2 hamlet cultural center is lined with trees on both sides, creating a lush green landscape. Photo: Kieu Hai.

Leaving Duong Thanh commune, the image of a peaceful countryside undergoing daily transformation with construction projects built with the consensus of the Party and the people's will seemed to entice us to stay. It's a place with gentle, kind people, united in their desire to build a prosperous and livable homeland.

Source: https://danviet.vn/thai-nguyen-khi-nhung-nha-van-hoa-tien-ty-dua-nhau-moc-len-tu-su-dong-thuan-cua-y-dang-long-dan-20241108160214573.htm