The man who built a home on the frontier

"Border shelters" have been built one after another thanks to the volunteer house-building "team" of Mr. Hien Cuon - a former soldier and youth leader of the Ve ethnic group.

For nearly 3 years now, veteran Hien Cuon in Dak Pring border commune, Nam Giang district, Quang Nam province, along with a number of union members and young people, has been building free houses for the poor in the Vietnam - Laos border area.

Difficult childhood

We visited Mr. Brôl Khuyen's new house in village 48 (Dak Pring commune) in an excited and jubilant atmosphere.

Brôl Khuyen's family is in difficult circumstances. The Nam Giang District Youth Union has mobilized union members and youths to join hands to help build a new house to replace the dilapidated house that his family has had for a long time. The volunteer house building "team" led by Hien Cuon - Secretary of the Youth Union of Hamlet 49A, Dak Pring Commune - has helped Brôl Khuyen's family rebuild a new, spacious house.

This is the 7th house in the "Border Warm Home" program launched by Nam Giang District Youth Union. The cost of building the house was nearly 200 million VND, mobilized from socialized sources, and the construction work was completely free of charge by the "team" of Hien Cuon and local youth union members.

Hien Cuon (3rd from left) and members of the volunteer house building team to help poor people in the border area.

Hien Cuon was born in 1994, of the Ve ethnic group (in the Gie Trieng ethnic group), into a poor family of 4 siblings. When Hien Cuon was 8 years old, the youngest brother was not yet 1 year old when his mother died of cancer. "I had to use rice to cook milk for him to drink, sometimes I went to the fields to cut sugarcane and squeeze the juice to quench his thirst for milk. On days when I worked for hire and had little money, I could only buy a can of condensed milk for him. When my mother died early, the youngest brother was the most disadvantaged" - Hien Cuon recalled.

Due to his poor family background, Hien Cuon had to drop out of school after 11th grade. After that, Hien Cuon was recruited for military service and enlisted at Border Post 635, now La Ee Border Post (Quang Nam Province Military Command), from 2013 to 2015. During his military service, Hien Cuon was honored to be admitted to the Party in 2014. After leaving the army, Hien Cuon was determined to go to school to study and learn a construction trade in Tam Ky City.

In 2019, Hien Cuon graduated and returned to his hometown. He said: "Dak Pring is a border commune, mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities, life is still difficult, many households do not dare to build houses because the cost is too high, so I want to support them in building a solid house". Hien Cuon's volunteer house building "team" was born from that.

Warm human love

We continued to visit Mr. Kring Giong's family in their new house in the Pe Ta Boot residential area (Dak Pring commune).

Pe Ta Boot is an isolated area in the middle of the old forest along the Vietnam - Laos border. The lives of the people here are still difficult. In particular, building a house in Pe Ta Boot is very difficult because the roads are divided, you have to cross the forest and wade through streams for a distance of about 16 km. Despite the obstacles, Hien Cuon's "team" always tries to bring young people here.

For more than 2 months, Hien Cuon and more than 150 union members and youths crossed forests and waded through streams to transport nearly 7,000 bricks, 2 tons of cement, 40 corrugated iron sheets, and 1 ton of steel to Pê Ta Boot to build houses for poor households.

Hien Cuon was honored to receive the "Beautiful Youth" award in 2024. (Photo provided by the character)

Mr. Kring Giong said that his family's situation was very difficult, because his wife had passed away, he was struggling to take care of his elderly mother and young children alone. Living in a dilapidated house, not being able to afford food and clothing, his dream of having a solid home became a distant dream. "Luckily, my family was put on the list of people mobilized to build a new house by the Nam Giang District Youth Union. I will never forget the gratitude of the union members, youth, and the construction team of Mr. Hien Cuon who carried bricks and materials to build the house. Now that we have a decent place to live, I will have less worries when the rainy and stormy season comes" - Mr. Kring Giong expressed.

Hien Cuon's construction team is mainly made up of youth union members, some of whom have had the honor of joining the Party. In particular, there are members who used to live a vagrant life, but thanks to Hien Cuon's encouragement to join the team, they have changed their character and become more responsible.

The current number of members of the volunteer construction team founded by Mr. Hien Cuon is 12. Up to now, Hien Cuon has repaired and built more than a dozen houses for poor households and lonely elderly people in the border area without receiving a single penny in wages.

Vocational training and job creation for youth

Not only helping people build houses, youth leader Hien Cuon opened free vocational training courses to improve skills for union members and youth in the commune. Nearly 30 young people have learned and trained as masons. Some students later joined construction teams and groups, taking on many large and small projects in the border areas of Quang Nam province.

In the near future, Hien Cuon also plans to open a concrete pillar and brick casting workshop to create more jobs for young people, while also finding ways to reduce material costs and design and build low-cost houses for the poor in border areas.

Based on the work in Dak Pring commune, the youth union members of Cha Val and Ta Bhing communes of Nam Giang district have also planned to establish volunteer construction teams similar to Mr. Hien Cuon. These construction teams will contribute greatly to the implementation of the "Border Shelter" projects of Nam Giang district in the coming time.

Mr. Kring Phieu, Secretary of the Dak Pring Commune Youth Union, said that with their youth, enthusiasm and dedication to the community, Hien Cuon's construction team has supported the renovation and construction of dozens of new houses for households with difficult family circumstances and lonely elderly people. Through the construction of new houses, Hien Cuon has also taught dozens of young people a trade, helping them find jobs and stabilize their lives.

The Secretary of the Dak Pring Commune Youth Union commented that Hien Cuon is a typical young party member and youth volunteer who contributes to changing the mindset of highland youth, actively working with the people to build new rural areas for the border area of the Fatherland.

Currently, Hien Cuon is also the Chairman of the Dak Pring Commune Youth Volunteer Veterans Association. With his achievements, he was honored to receive the "Beautiful Youth" award in 2024 presented by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union.

As a party member, I want to contribute to fanning the flame of enthusiasm for working, living for the community, and joining hands to build the border for young union members" - Mr. Hien Cuon shared.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nguoi-xay-mai-am-bien-cuong-196250222220131713.htm