Dong Thap Originally a farmer, Mr. Nguyen Van Be Hai, 67 years old, has worked hard to research, learn and has built hundreds of rural bridges for people in the West.
As a famous rice grower in the area, Mr. Hai is often called Hai Lua by everyone. At the age of 40, he went to O Mon Rice Institute, Can Tho to study seed production techniques, then made purebred rice seeds, supplying them to the seed center (Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development). After only a few years of selling rice seeds, he earned money to buy more than three hectares of land.
After finishing his family chores, in 2000 he started volunteering by repairing roads and patching bridges with some people in the neighborhood. Seeing the effectiveness, many people gave him planks to build bridges. Four years later, his sister advised him to build a concrete bridge, to reduce the effort of maintenance. Realizing that his strength was not enough, he only accepted to build a small bridge, 1.5 m wide and 15 m long, costing nearly 20 million VND, sponsored by his sister.
Mr. Nguyen Van Be Hai, from farmer to builder of hundreds of rural bridges. Photo: Ngoc Tai
Although rural bridges were completed one after another, Mr. Hai was worried about their quality. When his hair was gray, he knocked on the door of the Department of Transport and asked to see the director. "I want to learn how to build bridges, not ask for money," he explained to the guard. The Department's leaders received him, not without surprise, but still gave him detailed instructions.
The first time he encountered drawings, cost estimates, foundations, bridge girders, etc., Hai Lua farmer did not understand anything, but did not give up. Holding the sample documents that had been written down in detail by the Department Director, each specific part, he went home and studied them carefully. After many times of returning the lesson, being guided by the Department leader right on the construction site, he gradually understood and knew how to apply them.
"The bridge piers are driven until they can no longer go down. If there are missing piles, they must be connected, they cannot be pulled up, otherwise the bridge will sink," he said about the rules for driving piers. Dong Thap Department of Transport later established the Bridge and Road Science and Technology Association to disseminate knowledge and support like-minded farmers like Mr. Hai.
Mr. Hai took a souvenir photo with the project he organized to build. Photo: Tran Thanh
In 2010, Mr. Be Hai mobilized 90 million VND from relatives to organize the construction of Nam Thu Bridge in Tan Binh Commune, his hometown. The project is 2.5 m wide, 19 m long, and has a load capacity of 2 tons. The bridge construction team then increased to several dozen people, including farmers who took advantage of their farming work to help and completed the bridge in three months. On the inauguration day, people were happy, came to shake hands, and thank the bridge construction team.
After that, Mr. Hai built 2-3 bridges each year from the funds mobilized by benefactors, and increased to 15-20 bridges from 2015 to present. He took care of everything from fundraising, design, labor to construction. The bridge construction team also increased to dozens of people, including 4 engineers. When completed, the bridge will be appraised by the Bridge and Road Science and Technology Association.
Once, Mr. Hai was invited to build a bridge for people in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City. The project had a large load capacity, so to be assured, he asked an engineer from the Department of Transport to check the drawings. The sponsor reviewed it and immediately approved it because the design met the technical requirements, while the cost was reduced by more than half compared to the estimate.
"There is no need to spend extra money on consulting, design, construction supervision, management... so the cost of building the bridge is significantly reduced," said Mr. Hai, adding that after the sponsor directly visited the construction site and saw the methodical and serious construction, they agreed to support the construction of three more similar bridges.
The Muong Dau bridge project was carried out by Mr. Hai Lua's construction team. Photo: Tran Thanh
Also because of building a charity bridge, Mr. Hai Lua had to mortgage his red book many times because the sponsor promised but did not fulfill. Near Tet, the hardware store demanded the debt, so he took the red book to borrow money, using the profits from the fields to pay interest. Seeing his suffering, his children gave him money to pay off the debt. His family and relatives are also regular sponsors for the bridge projects he built. "I tell my children, what is given away is still there, what is used is gone," he shared.
Up to now, Mr. Hai and his team members have mobilized to build more than 200 bridges, and are confident that after 20 years, no project has encountered any problems. Along the rural routes of Dong Thap, it is easy to see bridges built by Mr. Hai Lua's construction team, many of which were funded by his family.
With his charitable contributions to rural people, Mr. Nguyen Van Be Hai received many certificates of merit from the central to local levels such as: Commemorative Medal for the development of Vietnam's transport from the Ministry of Transport, certificates of merit from the Prime Minister, Provincial and District People's Committees, etc. Most recently, he was honored as an outstanding farmer in 2023.
Ngoc Tai
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