Leaving the mountains to escape poverty.

Leaving Hong Thai, I kept thinking about the story of young people leaving the mountains and crossing the forests to seek a better life in foreign lands. This is also a welcome sign of the shift in awareness, effort, and determination of the younger generation to change their lives, a result of the implementation of ethnic policies and national target programs of the State for ethnic minorities and mountainous regions.

The family of Ms. Dinh Thi En, from Na Puc village, has a more prosperous life thanks to working abroad.

The key to escaping poverty

Hong Thai commune, located nearly 90km from the provincial center, is home to a large ethnic minority population, with the Dao, Mong, and Tay ethnic groups accounting for over 70%. Due to harsh natural conditions and limited arable land, the lives of the people here are always fraught with difficulties.

However, in recent years, thanks to investment resources from ethnic minority policy programs and projects, the lives of the people have improved significantly. People have received support in building sturdy houses, being allocated land for production, receiving quality seedlings and livestock, and accessing preferential loan sources. In particular, the policy supporting overseas labor export has become a key to helping people, especially young people, escape poverty.

Mrs. Dinh Thi En, from Na Puc village, still cannot forget the moment her son, Vuong Van Thang, born in 1998, left for overseas employment. Mrs. En confided: "Our family's economy depended solely on a few acres of rice paddies; we didn't even have the money to repair our dilapidated house. We struggled to find a way out of poverty until a local official showed us how to go abroad for work and guided us through the application process for preferential loans from the policy bank. In 2022, my son went to work in Taiwan. Now, our family has paid off all our debts and escaped poverty. With the money my son sent home, I was able to build a new, spacious house, and I no longer worry about the rain and wind."

Like Mr. Thang, born and raised in a purely agricultural family with extremely difficult economic conditions, the entire family of four depended on a few acres of rice fields for sustenance. Unwilling to accept poverty and hardship, Mr. Ly Van Sang, a Mong ethnic minority from Hong Ba village, traveled far and wide, trying various jobs to make a living. In early 2020, after attending a labor export consultation conference in the commune, Mr. Sang borrowed capital from the Social Policy Bank to participate in labor export programs.

Sang said: "Initially, I was very worried and apprehensive about deciding to go to a foreign country for work. But with the encouragement of family and friends, and the help of the local government, I made up my mind to go. My main job in Japan is planting and caring for vegetables for a family."

Thanks to his diligence and hard work, after 14 months of working abroad, he earned over 500 million VND. After deducting expenses, he had 300 million VND left to bring home. Using the experience he gained in Japan and taking advantage of the local soil and climate, he invested in growing vegetables and cold-climate fruit trees, combined with livestock farming to develop his economy.

Support for labor export

Vi Van Tuan, Secretary of the Hong Thai Commune Youth Union, is known among young people as a "young leader." Since 2023, Tuan has connected with Tradimexco Vietnam Joint Stock Company to support many Youth Union members and young people in participating in overseas labor programs. Tuan shared that over the past two years, the Commune Youth Union has guided and supported more than 15 people to work abroad in Taiwan, Japan, and other countries. Many Youth Union members and young people have now established stable livelihoods, paid off their debts, and escaped poverty.

The spacious new house of Mr. Hau A Thanh, born in 1995, from Na Pin village, was built with money earned from working abroad. In 2022, upon learning about the local program supporting young people going abroad for work, he applied and was selected. After a period of language study, he was sent to work in Japan for a period of 3 years. With an average income of about 20-25 million VND/month, he saved up money to send back to his family to build a sturdy house. The remaining money, upon his return to Vietnam in October, he will invest in developing livestock farming in his local area.

Comrade Le Van Tu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Thai commune, said: Recognizing that overseas labor export is the shortest path to rapid and sustainable poverty reduction in the locality, in recent years, Hong Thai commune has intensified propaganda to inform people about the State's policies for those participating in overseas labor export. Currently, more than 50 people from the commune are working abroad in Taiwan, Japan, and other countries. The costs of overseas labor export come from preferential loans for poor and near-poor households; and capital support from national target programs for sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas. To ensure people feel secure about going abroad for work, the commune government regularly collaborates with and seeks out reputable recruitment companies to minimize costs for the people. Although they only do unskilled labor, statistics show that each person earns a salary of 20 million VND or more per month. Compared to local income, that's a "dream" figure, and most workers have a mindset of saving, sending money back to renovate their homes and buy more agricultural land to stabilize their lives upon returning home.

It is clear that overseas labor export is a sound approach, contributing positively to improving the lives of the people and thus successfully implementing poverty reduction efforts in Hong Thai commune in particular and Tuyen Quang province in general.

Text and photos: Ly Thu

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/xa-hoi/202507/roi-nuide-thoat-ngheo-a7f149b/