Generous heart, wide alley

“I told them, ‘You’re staying here for a few days, so you might not care much whether this alley is wide or narrow.’ But we’ve lived here our whole lives, for decades, and this is the first time we’ve seen such a well-maintained road. From the day we were born until our hair turns gray, we’ve never had a road like this. We’re so happy; it’s not something that comes easily,” Mrs. Danh Ngoc Mai said, her voice choked with emotion.

5 years of persistent campaigning

In the early days of 2026, alley 672 on Huynh Tan Phat Street (Tan My Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) was bustling with the sounds of concrete mixers and the cheerful chatter of residents preparing for Tet (Lunar New Year). Few knew that to achieve this joyful atmosphere, the local government and residents had to endure a five-year journey of persistent efforts to persuade people to donate land and build the road.

Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Hoa, Ms. Danh Ngoc Mai, and Mr. Pham Huu Phuong were delighted in the newly widened alleyway at 672 Huynh Tan Phat Street.

We spoke with Ms. Danh Ngoc Mai, Mr. Pham Huu Phuong, and Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Hoa, the neighborhood officials at the time, to hear their stories about road construction. Currently, Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Hoa is the Party Secretary of Neighborhood 13, while Ms. Mai and Mr. Phuong have retired from their positions in the neighborhood. Alley 672, about 250 meters long, has been a nightmare for over 140 households for many years. Located in the bustling center, the alley is only 1.5 meters wide in some places, forcing two motorbikes going in opposite directions to squeeze through. The walls of the houses on both sides of the alley are riddled with daily motorbike skid marks. Every 15th or 30th of the lunar month, when the tide rises, the water floods up to thigh-deep.

Born and raised in Alley 672, and having served as neighborhood leader for over 20 years, Mr. Pham Huu Phuong (now over 60 years old) sadly recalled: “The rising water was terrible. Parents carried their children to school on their shoulders to the main road and then took motorbike taxis. The most heartbreaking incident was when a young man had an accident; the ambulance had to stop at the entrance of the alley because it couldn't get in. By the time the doctor ran in, the man had already stopped breathing.” The pain deepened when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, turning Alley 672 into a “red zone” with over 300 F0 cases and 2 deaths. During the lockdown, the helpless siren of the ambulance outside the alley became a terrifying nightmare…

Faced with this harsh reality, the Party Committee of the ward was determined to widen this alley at all costs to ensure the well-being and safety of the residents. However, the biggest challenge remained the land price, as land along Huynh Tan Phat street was priced at hundreds of millions of dong per square meter. Persuading residents proved difficult; in the beginning, many households even suspected the government of "colluding" with the business, causing the outreach efforts to stall. Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Hoa shared about the difficult days: "There were several households located right at the narrowest point, but they wouldn't meet with the outreach team, wouldn't receive information, and wouldn't even look at the documents. There were times when we stood outside for hours and they still kept their doors locked. For five years, the working group changed three times, but we couldn't give up because if we couldn't widen the alley, the entire inner alley would be a dead end."

When residents refused to cooperate, neighborhood officials at the time, such as Ms. Hoa, Mr. Phuong, and Ms. Mai, relied on influential relatives and neighbors to help persuade them, adhering to the principle of never mentioning the word "coercion." Ms. Danh Ngoc Mai, who was working at the neighborhood women's association at the time, recounted: "Many women went out at night to persuade the homeowners because that's when they returned from work, night after night. Leaders from the old and new wards came down continuously. We persevered, and from being subtly chased away to finally having them open the door and let us into our homes, we were overjoyed. Achieving what we have today is beyond our wildest imagination." While still unable to persuade residents outside the alley, the task force continued to persuade people deep inside to donate land and raise funds to raise the ground level to prevent flooding; Mr. Pham Huu Phuong's family alone donated over 600 square meters of land.

Celebrate Tet with complete joy.

The sincerity finally touched their hearts. One household, who had previously resolutely refused, voluntarily donated over 1.3 meters of land. He himself exclaimed, "That's wonderful! If it weren't for the government's initiative to build the road and their persistent efforts, I would never have been able to build a new house on such a wide road in my lifetime."

Now, the once dilapidated 1.5-meter-wide alley has been transformed into a spacious 4-meter-wide road. The old walls have been replaced with sturdy new ones. Residents not only donated land but also contributed to raising the foundation, turning a "loss" into a long-term "gain." According to Ms. Ho Thi Ngoc Hoa, for a neighborhood official, the most important thing is to implement democracy at the grassroots level; all policies must be public, transparent, and clear so that people understand, trust, and participate. She said that the greatest contribution to this alley came from the people. "Inside the alley, residents voluntarily donated land and raised the foundation; outside, the government invested and organized the mobilization. From there, the state and the people joined hands to build the project with unity and solidarity," Ms. Hoa shared.

Standing in the middle of the newly renovated alley, Mrs. Hoa excitedly pointed and calculated with Mrs. Mai and Mr. Phuong: "Tomorrow we'll put up more speed limit signs here, we'll hang up decorative flags for Tet, can we put trash cans here? We need to remind those households drying clothes in front of their houses, which is unsightly. The alley is now neat and tidy, now we must gradually become more civilized. This Tet, we'll all do a thorough cleaning and decorate with flags and flowers to have the happiest Tet ever!" Mrs. Mai said enthusiastically.

Alley 672 is now wide, spacious, and well-maintained in anticipation of the new year. But what has been achieved is not just a few meters of road, but the consensus and trust built through persistent efforts and the voluntary donation of land by residents. Open hearts naturally lead to wider alleys. And from that small alley, a new way of life is emerging, warm, civilized, and enduring, just as the unity that created the road today has been.

THU HOAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/rong-long-rong-hem-post835819.html