The "young leaders" in Cat Thinh

The concrete roads leading to the highland villages of Cat Thinh commune today have opened up a new look, facilitating transportation and bringing a more vibrant and fresh pace of life. Contributing to this change are the young cadres in the villages – the Party branch secretaries and village heads – who, despite their young age, possess a strong desire to transform the face of this land.

In Khe Ken village – one of the six highland villages of Cat Thinh commune, inhabited entirely by the Mong ethnic group – Village Head Vu A Cho is trusted and regarded by the villagers as someone who "walks the talk." In all community work, from community movements to challenging tasks, he is always the first to arrive, ready to take the lead and work hard without hesitation.

Mr. Vu A Cho, the head of Khe Ken village, always keeps a notebook with detailed records of all the village's communal activities.

In his household, Mr. Cho always keeps a small notebook meticulously recording every task in the village: from lists of households participating in concreting roads, donating land for road construction, installing water pipes for domestic use, to lists of poor and near-poor households, beneficiaries of policies, and gifts from each program and project… Everything is recorded clearly and transparently.

Mr. Cho shared: "To gain people's trust and encourage them to follow, we must set an example, lead the way, and do things first. In terms of contributing money, labor, or land, we must contribute more and do more so that the people will listen and support us."

It was this pioneering and exemplary spirit, along with perseverance and skillful propaganda and mobilization, that helped the people of Khe Ken agree to donate more land to expand the village cultural center according to standards; concrete 1.1 km of road with a roadbed width of 2.5 - 3 m; and complete the installation of a clean water supply system to 100% of households.

Mr. Cho and the local people cleaned the newly paved road.

Khe Kẹn currently has 92 households, of which 81 are Catholic and Protestant. Mr. Chơ clearly stated that for the village to develop sustainably, the people must strictly adhere to the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws; resolutely refuse to listen to or follow any strange religion; and focus on building a new life and developing the economy .

Leveraging his personal credibility and deep understanding of the local customs and traditions, he persistently went "door to door," integrating his message into village meetings, community activities, and traditional festivals. Instead of giving abstract theories, he chose a relatable and easy-to-understand approach, drawing on everyday life examples, clearly analyzing the negative consequences of following unconventional religions, and skillfully disseminating the Party and State's policies and guidelines to gain the people's consensus and voluntary implementation.

Thanks to this, the people of Khe Ken village can confidently engage in production and actively develop their economy. The entire village currently has over 100 hectares of cinnamon and bodhi trees, and 40 hectares of bamboo shoots; income from bamboo shoots alone reaches at least 30 million VND per household per year. The multidimensional poverty rate in the village has decreased to 20 households (8 poor households, 12 near-poor households), accounting for 21.7%.

The Party Secretary of Khe Kẹn village regularly keeps abreast of the living conditions of the villagers.

In Pin Pe village, the mark of a "young leader" is also clearly evident. That is Giang A Tua - the first young Party branch secretary of Pin Pe village.

Mr. Tua said: "As a young Party branch secretary, I always proactively read and study the Party's guidelines and resolutions, and the State's policies and laws. When implementing tasks, I regularly consult with village elders and respected individuals, and leverage the experience of previous Party branch secretaries to ensure that implementation is more practical and effective."

Before making any decisions related to the village, Mr. Tủa always organizes a village meeting, gathers community opinions, listens to the advice of village elders, heads of hamlets, and influential people; all information is made public and transparent. The Party branch also clearly defines that resolutions must stem from the lives and practical needs of the people; assigning Party members to set an example by taking the lead, directly responsible for and supporting each household. Issues and conflicts arising within the community are assessed and lessons learned on a monthly basis.

Party Secretary Giàng A Tủa and village head Pín Pé directly inspected the progress of the program to eliminate dilapidated houses in the area.

Party Secretary Giàng A Tủa shared his experience in caring for cardamom plants.

Over the years, the Party cell of Pín Pé village has guided and directed the people to shift strongly from fragmented production to production linkages, expanding the area for planting cinnamon, bodhi trees, cardamom, and tea. Forests continue to be the main livelihood of the people, but are exploited in a sustainable way, both planting and protecting. Mr. Giàng A Giống happily shared: “This is the second year my family has harvested cardamom. Last season we earned 30 million dong, this season nearly 50 million dong. Thanks to the guidance and encouragement from the comrades in the Party cell and the village!”

In 2025 alone, the Pín Pé village Party branch, in coordination with the Party Committee and the government of Cát Thịnh commune, provided 38 breeding buffaloes to 19 poor and near-poor households; and mobilized the people to actively protect 485 hectares of forest. As a result, each household received an average of about 3 million VND per year from forest environmental service fees. The village also established a common fund to invest in essential infrastructure projects.

The Party cell of the six highland villages in Cat Thinh commune has intensified its efforts in disseminating information and mobilizing the people to actively participate in road construction.

In 2025, the people of Pín Pé collectively built a concrete bridge across the stream worth 500 million VND; and contributed nearly 100 million VND to construct the courtyard, foundation, and access road to the village's cultural center.

The experiences in Khe Ken and Pin Pe show that the emergence of "young leaders" not only brings new ways of thinking and doing things but also ignites a spirit of solidarity within the community. In the six highland villages of Cat Thinh commune, many movements such as building rural roads, environmental sanitation, and building cultural villages are initiated and directly led by young people.

In the digital age, young Party branch secretaries and village heads proactively utilize social media to quickly disseminate information, mobilize resources promptly, and receive public feedback to build consensus. At the same time, they are also pioneering the implementation of economic development models, creating a positive ripple effect in the community.

Commenting on the young cadres in the locality, Comrade Ha Thi Thuy - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Cat Thinh commune - affirmed: Currently, all six highland villages of the commune have Party branch secretaries or village heads who are young people under 40 years old. They are qualified, exemplary, understand and implement the Party's principles well. They are all dynamic, daring to think and act, quick to adapt to new things; they know how to select and flexibly apply Party directives and resolutions to discuss and develop appropriate and practical thematic resolutions for their Party branches. At the same time, with the advantage of youth, they are easily approachable to the people, especially young people, thereby inspiring a spirit of innovation and self-reliance in each village.

From these specific stories, it can be affirmed that when young people are given trust and responsibility, they will have more motivation to dedicate themselves, contribute, and spread the spirit of responsibility, helping to strengthen the people's trust in the Party; thereby determined to fulfill the tasks entrusted by the Party and the people, gradually leading the highland villages of Cat Thinh to strong and sustainable development.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/nhung-thu-linh-tre-o-cat-thinh-post892563.html