The "Comradeship and Solidarity" housing construction movement - Spreading humanitarian values.

Having lived through the brutal years of war, veterans understand better than anyone the profound value of camaraderie and brotherhood. In peacetime, with the responsibility and sentiment of former soldiers, the Ninh Binh Provincial Veterans Association continues to spread this humanitarian spirit through concrete and practical actions. Among these, the "Comradeship House" construction movement is identified as a duty, an expression of affection, and a responsibility of the Association towards members in difficult circumstances, aiming to spread camaraderie, contribute to social welfare, and realize the goal of "leaving no one behind."

Báo Ninh Bình•16/12/2025

The new house of veteran Bui Xuan Viet, in Quang Tien village (Hien Khanh commune), was built thanks to the "Comradeship and Solidarity" movement.

As one of nearly 300 members of the Ninh Binh Provincial Veterans Association who received support for building new houses or repairing existing ones last year, veteran Bui Xuan Viet (Quang Tien village, Hien Khanh commune) always feels happy and joyful to live in his new, spacious, and sturdy house, after years of worry in his old, dilapidated, and leaky house.

Enlisting in 1976, Mr. Bui Xuan Viet was a worker at the Z113 Factory, directly participating in combat to protect the northern border; subsequently, he served successively at the 168th Artillery Brigade, Military Region 2, and the 314th Division. In 1982, he was discharged from the army. Returning to his hometown, bearing the lingering effects of war, he was a 61% disabled veteran, with limited health, only able to perform security work; the family's economy mainly depended on one acre of rice field, while he and his wife had to care for their elderly parents and raise five children.

The three-room house with a tiled roof and brick walls, built in 1971, has seriously deteriorated over the years. The roof tiles are misaligned and leak in many places; the walls are peeling, cracked, and in some sections are weak, posing a safety risk. Whenever there is heavy rain and strong winds, rainwater floods the house, forcing the whole family to stay awake all night, running around placing basins, tubs, and pots to catch the water, while simultaneously trying to protect their belongings and worrying that the house might collapse at any moment.

In May 2025, understanding the difficult circumstances of the member, the Veterans Association at all levels directly visited and encouraged the family to rebuild their house. Initially, Mr. Viet was hesitant and worried due to his limited financial resources and insufficient matching funds; his children all had their own families and were struggling financially, and he feared that building a new house would become a burden for them. However, after repeated encouragement and support from the Veterans Association, along with the agreement and encouragement of his children, he decided to rebuild the house. The new house is solidly built with an area of nearly 100 m², a tiled roof, tiled floors, and fully equipped living and auxiliary facilities, ensuring convenience for daily life; the total construction cost was over 600 million VND, of which the Provincial Veterans Association contributed 50 million VND.

Mr. Bui Xuan Viet emotionally shared: “Without the timely care, encouragement, and support of the Veterans Association, my family would hardly have been able to think about rebuilding our house. This house not only helps us stabilize our lives, but also represents the deep affection of our comrades, giving me more faith and motivation in my old age.”

Comrade Bui Phuc Thom, Vice Chairman of the Veterans Association of Hien Khanh commune, said: In recent years, the Veterans Associations at all levels in the commune have always closely followed the local political tasks, promoting patriotic emulation movements, focusing on caring for the lives of members, especially those in difficult circumstances. The "Comradeship House" construction movement has been identified as one of the key tasks, implemented openly, transparently, and targeting the right beneficiaries, fostering a spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance among members. Through mobilizing resources from higher levels, the joint efforts of cadres, members, and their families, many members have been able to stabilize their housing, work with peace of mind, contributing to strengthening members' trust in the Association and spreading humanitarian values in the community.

Over the past period, the "Comradeship House" construction movement has been implemented comprehensively and widely throughout Ninh Binh province by all levels of the Veterans Association, closely linked to the "Eliminating Temporary and Dilapidated Houses" emulation movement until the end of 2025. To effectively implement the movement to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses, the Ninh Binh Provincial Veterans Association has directed its branches to strengthen propaganda and disseminate the policies and guidelines of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Committee, and directives of the Veterans Association at all levels through conferences, forums, and mass media. This has raised awareness, created consensus, and harnessed the combined strength of the entire Association system. Based on this, the Associations at all levels have implemented many solutions, from reviewing and classifying beneficiaries, determining priorities, to proactively securing funding, organizing construction, and handing over houses to members.

The Provincial Veterans Association regularly inspects and supervises, while closely coordinating with Party committees, government agencies, the Fatherland Front, mass organizations, businesses, philanthropists, veterans' clubs, former soldiers engaged in production and business, and the families and clans of association members to mobilize financial, material, and labor resources.

At the same time, during the past term, the Provincial Veterans Association has encouraged its officials and members to actively build "Comradeship Funds" and "Veteran's Solidarity Funds"; and responded to the "2,000 VND House" movement launched by the Provincial People's Committee...

The family of war invalid Cao Huu Giap (village 4, Tran Thuong commune) received support to build a new house under the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses for people who have rendered meritorious services to the revolution.

In addition, the construction, supervision, and handover of housing to members are clearly assigned responsibilities, implemented transparently and strictly, ensuring that the housing reaches the right recipients and meets the objectives, contributing to the completion of the task of eliminating temporary and dilapidated housing for veterans and former soldiers in the area.

Through fundraising and social mobilization, the Veterans' Association at all levels has supported the construction and repair of 278 dilapidated houses for its members, with a total budget of 10.799 billion VND (87 new houses worth 5.220 billion VND; 191 houses repaired and upgraded with 5.579 billion VND); of which the Veterans' Association directly supported the demolition of 192 temporary and dilapidated houses, proposed to the local authorities to demolish 48 houses, and mobilized businesses and entrepreneurs to support the construction of 38 houses.

Besides financial resources, cadres and members also voluntarily contributed more than 16,000 man-days of labor, over 600 tons of cement, 80,000 bricks, 6 tons of iron, 300 ^cubic meters of sand and construction stone, etc., thereby clearly demonstrating the determination, responsibility, and camaraderie of the soldiers of Uncle Ho in caring for and stabilizing the lives of disadvantaged members.

With strong determination, systematic approaches from all levels of the Veterans Association, and the coordinated efforts of the entire political system, Ninh Binh province has now eliminated 100% of temporary and dilapidated houses for its veteran members. This affirms the core role, responsibility, and profound compassion of the Veterans Association in caring for the lives of its members, contributing to ensuring social security and effectively achieving the goal of "leaving no one behind."

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