Typical ethnic minority families

Through benefiting from government support policies as well as individual efforts, the living standards of ethnic minority families in Dong Nai are steadily improving.

The family of Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, a respected figure among the Chơro ethnic minority community in Nhan Hoa hamlet, Tay Hoa commune (Trang Bom district) - one of 50 families honored at the 2023 Dong Nai province conference to commend and reward exemplary ethnic minority families. Photo: VAN DUNG

Among them are families who have become exemplary role models, rising from poverty to prosperity. Many families have raised their children to be well-educated. Numerous families are shining examples in charitable work and have made contributions to local development.

* A bridge to unite the people

Mr. Dieu Minh (of the Choro ethnic group, Phu Tuc commune, Dinh Quan district) is the Party Secretary of Dong Xoai hamlet and the Head of Dong Xoai hamlet.

Mr. Dieu Minh stated that 85% of the 464 households in the hamlet are Chơro ethnic minority people. Of the 15 Party members in the branch, 5 are ethnic minority members. The material and spiritual lives of the people are constantly improving.

During his three years as Party Branch Secretary and Village Head, Mr. Dieu Minh connected the people to maintain security, order, and environmental hygiene. He regularly met and discussed with the villagers about maintaining internal unity and not being influenced by malicious individuals that could affect national unity.

Mr. Minh recounted: “I always tell the people that the State is paying more and more attention to the lives of the people, creating many jobs through industrial zones and clusters, improving transportation and trade, and implementing policy capital and poverty reduction programs in ethnic minority areas. The key is that the people must work diligently to change their lives.”

In addition, there are many policies for children of ethnic minorities to attend local schools or boarding schools. Parents must encourage their children to study, and each child must work hard to have a good job in the future…

According to Mr. Minh, propaganda alone is not enough; he and his family must set an example. Mr. Minh said that he and his wife used to farm, but because the land was small and the profits were low, they switched to working as factory workers. Their hard work and stable jobs have ensured they don't struggle financially. Their two children, born in 2006 and 2013, are of school age and are being tutored to improve their studies and achieve good results.

“From then on, people saw how I acted and what I said, and they believed and listened to my message. There were cases of children dropping out of school midway through, even in grades 2 and 8. The teachers contacted them, and I went with them to each house, meeting each parent and each child to talk. Fortunately, the children returned to school,” Mr. Minh shared.

Similarly, for the past six years, Party member Tho Mi, a respected figure among the ethnic minority community in Xuan Que commune (Cam My district), has been actively playing the role of a bridge between the Party, the government, and the people.

Mr. Tho Mi said that the commune has about 80 households of the Chơro ethnic minority. Many elderly people in the community still cannot read or speak Vietnamese fluently. Therefore, when he took on this position, he became an interpreter, conveying the Party and State's policies and guidelines to the people in their own language. At the same time, he also served as a channel for relaying the people's opinions and aspirations to the government.

In addition, Mr. Tho Mi also connected the villagers to participate in the hamlet's self-governing group, of which he is the leader. Currently, the group has 45 members assigned to patrol and guard the hamlet's roads. To encourage the spirit of volunteerism, even though he is over 60 years old, Mr. Tho Mi still maintains the routine of patrolling or manning checkpoints with the other members at the scheduled times.

On June 28th, the Provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee organized a conference to commend and reward outstanding ethnic minority families in Dong Nai province in 2023. Accordingly, 50 ethnic minority families were honored in this round.

Furthermore, according to Mr. Mi, the Chơro people live in concentrated areas, often in remote fields far from the commune center. Therefore, to proactively illuminate their villages, he encouraged the villagers to contribute funds for installing streetlights and to contribute 10,000 VND per household per month to pay for electricity to light the roads, a decision that was unanimously agreed upon by the villagers.

Currently, four members of his family are working together to get the gong ensemble up and running soon. “My wife, son, and daughter all want to preserve the traditional culture of our community, which is playing gongs and dancing, so the whole family is supporting each other in building this ensemble. We hope that soon there will be children in the community willing to learn to play gongs, drums, and dance,” Mr. Mi shared.

* Sharing with the community

Currently, many ethnic minority families in the province are actively involved in local social welfare work. Among them is the family of Mr. Ly Nam Sang, a respected figure among the Hoa ethnic minority community in Tan Phong Ward (Bien Hoa City) - a rare ethnic minority family in the province with two children who have both completed doctoral programs.

Party member Thổ Mì, a respected figure among the Chơro ethnic minority in Xuân Quế commune (Cẩm Mỹ district), converses with the local people. Photo: SÔNG THAO

According to Mr. Sang, to help people in need, through fundraising and family contributions, he distributes gifts to people in 3-4 batches each year, with 200-300 gifts per batch. He also plays a role in connecting sources of donations to help families in difficult circumstances cover funeral expenses for their loved ones.

Similarly, the family of Party member Dinh Thi Kim Dieu (Vinh Tan commune, Vinh Cuu district) also actively participates in social welfare activities in the locality.

Ms. Điều shared that nearly 25 years ago, her family came to live and start a new life in Đồng Nai. Initially, lacking a stable job, besides farming, she and her husband worked as laborers for families in need. In 2002, her family bought a well-drilling machine and began drilling wells to find water for people in need. Her family also proactively switched to cultivating crops and raising livestock with higher economic value on their land. Although the work was hard, her family worked together to improve their lives and gradually built a comfortable existence.

From 2012 to the present, as a respected figure among ethnic minority communities in the commune, she has strived to act as a bridge in disseminating information and mobilizing people to comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, the laws of the State and the locality, as well as conveying the people's suggestions and aspirations to the authorities. Furthermore, drawing from her own experiences, Ms. Điều has encouraged 150 ethnic minority families to proactively develop their economy.

As for Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, at the beginning of 2023, he took over the role of a respected figure among the Chơro ethnic minority in Nhan Hoa hamlet, Tay Hoa commune (Trang Bom district) from his father. Currently, Mr. Dung is the youngest respected figure among ethnic minorities in the province at only 27 years old. Although he has only held this position for half a year, Mr. Dung has quickly adapted to the work.

Besides demonstrating their youthful energy by being recognized as skilled farmers in the ethnic minority community, Dung and his wife also leverage their network of friends to seek social resources and organize charitable activities. Thanks to this, the young couple supports disadvantaged ethnic minority communities and poor households in the locality with many gifts such as food, supplies, and books for children.

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