New houses in the Hmong village.

As the year draws to a close, the road leading to the Hmong villages in Trung Ly border commune remains winding and steep, with mountain mist shrouding the high hillsides. However, the familiar heavy feeling of those old uphill journeys seems to have faded. Along the villages, amidst the vast mountains and forests, houses with green and red corrugated iron roofs gradually appear, heralding new beginnings.

Ms. Loc Thi Thu in Tao village next to her newly built house. Photo: Dinh Giang

Due to the complex terrain, difficult transportation, and limited economic conditions, the lives of the Hmong people in Trung Ly villages have been tied to makeshift houses made of bamboo, reeds, and mud walls for many years. These houses may be manageable during the dry season, but during the rainy and stormy seasons, they become a source of worry and anxiety.

For the people in this remote highland region, a sturdy house is not just a place to shelter from the sun and rain, but also a condition for settling down and daring to think about long-term plans for the future. However, when even providing for daily sustenance is a struggle, the dream of a solid house seems too far-fetched. Only when Directive No. 22 of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee on the campaign to support the construction of houses for poor households, policy beneficiary households, and households with particularly difficult circumstances in the years 2024-2025 was implemented did hope truly knock on the doors of each family and village.

Going back to the Apple Village, visiting the house of Ms. Loc Thi Thu (48 years old), still smelling of fresh paint, reveals the full humanitarian value of the program for her family. Ms. Thu moved into her new house more than a month ago, but even now she is still amazed and can hardly believe it's true: "Sometimes I think I'm dreaming, I can't believe that one day my children and I no longer have to worry about the rain and sun."

Mrs. Thu's circumstances are very difficult. Her husband passed away early, leaving her to raise two young children alone in a makeshift shack built on land inherited from her grandparents. The old house was low, dark, and damp. Every rainy season, water leaked everywhere, and the low-lying ground made the house constantly wet and cold. On some nights with heavy rain, she didn't dare sleep, sitting guard over the roof, hoping her children could sleep peacefully without being soaked. Speaking to us, Mrs. Thu broke down in tears: "The local government and border guards helped me dig the foundation and build the house. Neighbors helped whitewash the walls and put up the fence. Now that we have a new house, my children and I no longer live in constant fear every rainy season."

Not only Mrs. Thu's family, but along the Mong villages in Trung Ly border commune, new houses built under Directive 22 are gradually replacing the thatched and mud-walled houses. Each completed house is not simply a construction project, but the culmination of collective efforts, from government support and local authorities to the labor of border guards, organizations, and neighbors.

During the implementation process, support went beyond just funding. Commune officials and border guards directly visited the villages, working alongside the villagers to select suitable locations for building houses, digging foundations, and guiding them on how to construct houses appropriate to the sloping terrain, thus avoiding landslides. From building houses according to old customs, many Hmong households have gradually changed their mindset, considering the construction of sturdy houses in safe locations as the foundation for a long-term, sustainable life on their homeland.

Mr. Tran Van Thang, Chairman of the People's Committee of Trung Ly commune, said that Directive 22 is considered an important "lever" for the locality to achieve the goal of eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses associated with the criteria of sustainable poverty reduction. For many households, providing food is already difficult, so even though they long for a sturdy house, they dare not even think about it. With new houses, people can live in peace, thereby creating motivation to develop production and gradually rise out of poverty. Statistics for the entire commune show that in the 2024-2025 period, 284 households received housing support, including 252 households building new houses and 32 households repairing existing ones, with a total budget of over 20.4 billion VND. To date, 100% of the households have completed construction or repairs and received disbursements, putting their houses into use.

At the end of the year, traveling through the Hmong villages in Trung Ly, it's easy to notice the changes in the smallest details. The hearths in the new houses are warmer, no longer drafty. Laughter and chatter fill the air during family meals. Many families are starting to plan raising more cows and expanding their corn and cassava fields for the new season. I suddenly thought that in this border region of the country, when the worry about housing is removed, the people will feel even more secure in staying on their land and in their villages. The new houses springing up amidst the vast forests not only bring the warmth of spring but also become silent, enduring "soft markers," contributing to maintaining peace in this remote border area.

Dinh Giang

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-ngoi-nha-moi-o-ban-nguoi-mong-274913.htm