"Warm sunshine" has returned to Kho Vang

Contractors and workers are actively and urgently building houses for people in Kho Vang village. Photo: Phong Son.

"Overcoming the sun and rain" to complete the project on schedule

Today, it has been more than a month since Typhoon Yagi passed, leaving behind extremely serious consequences for many localities in the North in general and Coc Lau commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province in particular. In some other localities, life seems to have returned to normal. But in Kho Vang village, people still have to face many difficulties; even the fear of flash floods that can strike at any time, taking away people's lives and property.

That is why not only the reporters but also the authorities and people here are very interested and looking forward to the early completion of the new village reconstruction project. Present at the construction site early in the morning, despite the heavy rain, we could feel the positive and urgent atmosphere of the contractor as well as the workers. All for one goal, the people of Kho Vang will welcome a new house, no later than December 31, 2024.

Unlike the groundbreaking day, today the site for nearly 40 houses has been handed over to the contractor by the local government. A new road has also been opened to facilitate the transportation of materials to the construction site. And the happiest thing is that many houses have had their foundations dug by workers, and are preparing to pour concrete; some have already been “walled up”… The shape of a new residential area has gradually emerged…

Mr. Luan, the officer in charge of the field of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Coc Lau commune shared with us. Right after the groundbreaking day, the leaders of the Provincial People's Committee, the District People's Committee and the Commune People's Committee all gave very strong and close instructions on the handover of the site and urged the contractor to promptly start transporting materials, digging the foundation, pouring concrete...

A project has taken shape. Photo: Phong Son

Pointing to the leveled hill area in front, revealing a layer of yellow-brown soil, Mr. Luan said that unlike the original design, the houses for the people will be built on an area of ​​about 60 square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen and outbuildings. There is also a small garden. Looking into the distance, a spacious cultural house is about to be built.

Through observation, we can also feel that the construction work here is not simple. The weather in Coc Lau is very harsh, the jungle rains have made the road carrying raw materials flooded with mud, if you are not a professional driver, familiar with the road, it is very easy to "get stuck". The rain stops, then comes the scorching sun, the scorching sun makes the workers easily tired and exhausted.

Mr. Bui Van Thang, manager of one of the many construction teams at the site, told us that when receiving the request to build nearly ten new houses here, with great social significance, all the workers in his team were determined to "overcome the sun and rain" to carry out the work from digging the foundation, pouring concrete and completing in the shortest time, with the best quality.

Faced with the possibility of heavy rain affecting the transportation of materials, Mr. Thang discussed with the contractor the mobilization of 4WD vehicles and excavators. For difficult sections of the road, excavators will be used to level the road, or trucks will be towed to try to gather enough materials. According to Mr. Thang, to ensure progress, workers are willing to work overtime and night shifts. It is expected that it will take about 10 days to complete the rough construction of a house, and the finishing work will be completed by the end of December.

The road to the old Kho Vang village is extremely dangerous.

The hills could collapse at any moment.

The pain is still there

Leaving the construction site, we returned to the temporary shelter for nearly 20 households “flooded”, located along the Chay River. Unlike a month ago, there was no longer the “bustling” scene of giving and receiving relief packages from fellow countrymen and philanthropists… People are now trying to integrate into normal life. Talking to us, we could see that although they are facing many difficulties, people are all excited, looking forward to moving into new houses, which Petrovietnam is urgently building in coordination with Lao Cai province.

To better understand the concerns of the people, we – with the help of the leaders of Coc Lau commune – borrowed a few motorbikes to visit the old Kho Vang village. Starting from the new settlement site, we followed the Chay River, going deeper and higher into the rolling hills.

The Mong and Dao people have a habit of living on high ground, the highest in the area - so to reach the old Kho Vang village, we had to overcome dozens of steep slopes. According to Mr. Ma Seo Chu, the head of Kho Vang village, just a year ago, the State completed a 3.5m wide, 7-8km long concrete road leading to Kho Vang.

However, before my eyes, this road had completely… disappeared. Looking down into the deep abyss, we could only see a few pieces of broken concrete. On the slope, every few hundred meters I would see an electric pole – although it had been firmly concreted at the base – still falling over, lying flat like a banana tree cut horizontally.

The concrete road has almost completely disappeared. Photo: Phong Son

This place used to be the "home" of many people in Kho Vang village.

But the most tragic thing was when we reached the houses that had been swept away by the flood. It was only when Mr. Chu pointed out that I realized that there had been houses there. Now, the only traces of dozens of houses were fragments of concrete floors, which only a sharp eye could recognize.

Sharing with us, Ms. Ly Thi Toong was still shocked when recalling the historic flood on the night of September 9. It rained heavily for two or three days, the water of the Chay River initially only reached the concrete road, then kept pouring in. That night, all we could hear was the roar of the water like an airplane, then tons of water suddenly collapsed, sweeping away the house that the couple had saved up for many years to build. Ms. Toong and her sons were lucky to escape, but her husband and father-in-law were swept away by the flood. Many days later, people found his body in Yen Bai , 150km from home.

Ly Thi Toong and her children next to the house that is now just concrete debris.

After the flood, her family and many other families who lost their homes received attention, visits and support from local authorities and people across the country. Her children were also taken care of and given scholarships by several organizations.

Notably, her family was also on the list to receive a house in the new village. Ms. Toong choked up and said: “My husband and father died, we no longer knew where to turn. But fortunately, my children and I received care and support from the government and businesses; and were also given a new place to live. I will never forget this favor!”

"Warm sunshine" returns to the homeland

Saying goodbye to Ms. Toong, we continued on our way to the old Kho Vang village, where 17 households had gone to escape the flood with the village chief Ma Seo Chu. After the first few kilometers of “walking and pushing” our motorbikes, we encountered a steep cliff blocking the way. At first glance, everyone shook their heads in dismay. The former road was now deep in the valley, with only muddy puddles and narrow stone crevices, just the size of a foot, that the people had carved out for themselves. Leaving our motorbikes behind, we took the trouble of walking and crawling, and ventured across.

To get to the area of ​​17 Mong households, one must go through a very difficult road. Photo: Phong Son

Continuing to move by “the ministry’s vehicle”, overcoming many steep cliffs, steep slopes that made us almost out of breath, after more than an hour we were able to reach the old Kho Vang village. The residents here seem to be isolated from the community, because the only means of transportation is still on foot. And since the road is not yet open, essential goods such as rice and salt cannot enter the village.

Village chief Ma Seo Chu led me to the landslide area, and showed me the cracks on the hillside. “Just a few more heavy rains and the rock mass up there could collapse at any moment, endangering the people here. That’s why I had to call on 17 households to flee the flood. Currently, only a few households are left here to harvest the remaining rice, and take care of the chickens and dogs.”

The hill could collapse at any moment.

Mr. Ma Seo Thai is one of the people who still lives in the old village, because he has to take care of his sick mother and young children. His wife is working to harvest food for the upcoming winter. When they heard that the government had granted their family an apartment in the new reconstruction area, the couple hugged each other with tears of joy.

Mr. Thai shared that last week, he had the opportunity to go through the construction site of the new village, and his heart was filled with many emotions. First of all, it was joy, because soon he and his loved ones will be able to settle down in the new village; which is very close to the traffic route. Especially, this is a very stable location, no need to worry about flash floods anymore. But Mr. Thai also has a lot of nostalgia for the old village, which according to him is very beautiful and cool.

Ma Seo Thai still misses the old version.

Ms. Hang Thi Say shared with us that she is very grateful to the leaders at all levels for truly caring for the small people like her, like the people in the village. “We, our children, and our grandchildren will never forget this favor.”

Village chief Ma Seo Chu affirmed that all the people of Kho Vang village are grateful to the people of the whole country who joined hands to help the households in times of trouble. They were also very moved when they learned that Petrovietnam coordinated with the provincial leaders to rebuild a new residential area, with a cultural house, an elementary school... Then he shook our hands forever, not letting go.

In the morning when we arrived at Coc Lau, it was still raining heavily, but now that we have said goodbye to Chu and our fellow countrymen, the sky has suddenly cleared up.

The new rays of sunlight signal a bright future for the people of Kho Vang.

Definitely!

Warm sunshine has returned to Kho Vang village.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Dung, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group, responding to the call of the Party, the State and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, with the consent of the Prime Minister, with the tradition of mutual love, affection and social responsibility, Petrovietnam proactively proposed to coordinate with Lao Cai province to undertake the reconstruction of the residential area of ​​Kho Vang village, ensuring a stable, safe and long-term life for the people. The resettlement area of ​​Kho Vang village is expected to be 2.5 hectares wide and provide accommodation for about 40 households.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Dung, the new residential area will fully meet the daily living needs of the people according to the new rural standards. In particular, the design and construction of the new residential area will be based on the cultural characteristics, customs and practices of the Dao and Mong ethnic groups - the two main ethnic groups in Kho Vang village. The new location is about 1.5km from the old location of the village.

Article: Minh Tien; Photo: Phong Son

Source: https://www.pvn.vn/chuyen-muc/tap-doan/tin/83e3b647-bbed-4883-8b2a-23941078767a