Rebuilding roofs, building trust - Part 2: From the plains to the mountains, thousands of houses are built

Eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses is no longer a simple welfare policy but a call to action across the country. It is a mission of the entire society, in which no contribution is small, if it originates from the spirit of compatriots.

"Great construction site" on the S-shaped strip of land

Over the past few months, throughout Can Tho City, the images of soldiers, policemen, veterans, women and youth union members holding trowels and shovels, busily building and repairing houses have become familiar. Each completed house brings joy and hope to thousands of households.

In the new house that still smells of paint, Mrs. Tran Thi Sal (Xeo Me hamlet, Vinh Phuoc ward) was moved: It's not because of the smell of paint in the new house, but honestly, I was so happy that I couldn't sleep for several nights. For a long time, just worrying about food was already hard enough, let alone dreaming of a new house. It's all thanks to the government and local authorities' care that I have such a spacious house.

According to statistics, Can Tho City needs to support up to 11,462 houses, with a budget of more than 570 billion VND. After just over 6 months, more than 58,000 working days have been contributed by the armed forces, union members, and members of socio- political organizations. In addition to their efforts, the forces also mobilized construction materials worth nearly 20 billion VND - bricks and bags of cement that contribute to building solid, humane homes.

Ms. Ho Thi Cam Dao, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Can Tho City, informed: The program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses in the city has built happy homes for thousands of families. Each house built is not only sturdy against storms but also a shelter of humanity and the beginning of a bright future.

In Ca Mau Cape, the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses is not only a social security policy but also an effective driving force for poverty reduction. In addition to the central and local budgets, the province has mobilized cadres, party members, civil servants and public employees to contribute at least 1 day's salary; people, police force, army, union members and youth contribute their efforts and labor in the spirit of "everyone contributes what they have". Not only stopping at the support level of 60 million VND/new house, 30 million VND/repaired house according to general regulations, the province also adds 5 million VND/household from socialized sources to build standard toilets.

We returned to Lac Duong commune, Lam Dong province, amid the joy of the people as the temporary houses had just been demolished. Lac Duong commune is the largest in the province, with over 80% of the population being K'Ho ethnic people.

Mr. Lieng Jrang Ha Bai (village 3, Lac Duong commune) took us to visit his new house that still smelled of paint. His family of 5 lives in a wooden house built in 2012 by his parents. It is hot in the dry season, and the house leaks all the time in the rainy season, soaking the floor. The dream of having a decent house is only a dream. Luckily, thanks to the State's support of 67.5 million VND and a loan of 50 million VND from the Policy Bank, Mr. Ha Bai and his wife have built a new home.

In the last days of July, the red dirt road leading to village 4, Quang Phu commune (Dak Lak province) is filled with the laughter of the people, officials and construction workers. On the old land where there used to be dilapidated, rickety roofs, there are now new, spacious and sturdy houses.

This is the result of the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses implemented by Dak Lak Provincial Police. Ms. H'Nghat (born in 1984, residing in Quang Phu commune) choked up when entering the new house. The area is nearly ^40m2 , with a full living room, kitchen and bedroom, replacing the old house with corrugated iron roof and built with wood, which was hot and stuffy in the dry season and leaked everywhere in the rainy season.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Le Minh Ngoc, Deputy Chief of Quang Phu Commune Police, the entire commune has 43 disadvantaged households receiving housing support. In the first phase, 28 houses were completed and handed over to the people; in the second phase, 15 houses were built, of which 2 were completed, 13 were under construction, and are expected to be completed in August 2025. "Despite unfavorable weather, prolonged rain, and increased material prices, the unit still tried to complete the project on schedule," said Mr. Ngoc.

These days, Ms. Y Chuc's family (Bo Y commune, Quang Ngai province) is living in complete happiness when they are reunited in their cozy new house. The smile is always on the face of this simple woman, because after many years of hard work, they now have a spacious and solid place to live in the middle of the border area. Life is associated with worries, she never dared to think that she would have a real home. Understanding that situation, in 2025, Company 732 (Army Corps 15) supported her in building a new spacious house.

In Ta Lang village (Hai Van ward, Da Nang city), the family of Phan Van Da, a Co Tu ethnic, is busy completing the final stages of their new home. Previously, he lived with his wife and two children in a dilapidated corrugated iron house. His wife was seriously ill, and the whole family relied on an unstable income from the forest. In early 2025, he was supported with 30 million VND, but he hesitated because the amount was too small compared to the construction needs. But when he explained his situation, the support was increased to 80 million VND, plus a loan of 100 million VND from the Veterans Association's Loan Group. "It's right to call it a risk. But if we don't do it, we will always live in a temporary house," Da shared.

Officers and soldiers of Quang Nham Border Guard Station (Hue City Border Guard) built a new house to help Mr. Ho Van Hinh's family in Can Te village, A Luoi 3 commune, Hue City. Photo: VAN THANG

In the A Luoi border area (Hue City), the storm has just ended, and soldiers of the Quang Nham Border Guard Station are busy finishing the roof of Mr. Ho Van Hinh's house. "Thanks to the help of the soldiers and the locals, my father and I are about to have a new house. We no longer have to worry about shelter from the rain and wind," Mr. Hinh said emotionally...

In Phu Loc commune (Hue city), Vinh Hien border guards are repairing a house for Mr. Tran Thao, so there are no construction workers at the construction site. Lieutenant Colonel Ho Van Hoi, the post's political commissar, said: "There was a young soldier whose plaster had not yet dried when a piece of it came off, making the people worried. But after a few days of getting used to it, it's not certain. Soldiers, no matter how difficult it is, they can learn and do it." Colonel Dang Ngoc Hieu, Political Commissar of Hue City Border Guard, shared: When people lack workers and manpower, the soldiers are the ones to replace them. We all do it with responsibility and affection.

Right policy, right action

Not only is it a story of humanity, the temporary housing elimination program is also a vivid demonstration of action thinking and the capacity to organize and implement policies from the central to local levels. Good models, flexible and drastic ways of doing things have created a widespread and effective impact in all difficult areas.

In Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses has been implemented to nearly 39,000 poor households and policy families. Each locality has a creative approach, mobilizing all social resources, creating bright colors for the humane program of the Party and State.

In Binh Dinh province (before the merger), the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses was implemented at lightning speed, completing 4,411 houses in just 136 days. On the day the program ended, Minister of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Dao Ngoc Dung and leaders of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission came to inspect and highly appreciate the province's efforts.

In fact, Binh Dinh has done 4 real things: telling the truth, doing the truth, being effective and supporting real people. On average, 32 houses are completed every day. In addition to the support level from the Central Government, the province has also mobilized more social resources to increase the support level to 40 million VND and 80 million VND/house. When the disbursement procedures were still stuck, the province advanced the budget and socialized to implement, eliminating over 2,000 houses. The spirit of daring to think, daring to do, daring to take responsibility of the province has aroused the people's trust in our Party and State.

In Hue City, overcoming many difficulties in terms of funding and weather, the locality has basically completed the target one month ahead of schedule. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Permanent Vice Chairman of Hue City People's Committee, shared: “From 2021 to now, we have built and repaired nearly 6,800 houses with a total cost of nearly 351 billion VND. In 2024 alone, nearly 1,500 houses were supported; in the first 6 months of 2025, 498/503 houses were completed. The program is not without challenges, especially since the support level only meets 50-60% of the actual costs, especially in remote areas.”

From the plains to the highlands, from the Central Highlands to the Central Coast, new houses are bringing warmth to tens of thousands of lives that once lived in hardship and insecurity. They are not only a roof, a place to live, but also a symbol of connection, trust and responsibility between the government and the people. The program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses not only changes the face of the countryside but also inspires hope, giving people the motivation to rise up and live better every day.

Colonel Nguyen Xuan Son, Deputy Political Commissar of Gia Lai Provincial Military Command, recalled: From the difficulties in Canh Lien commune, the unit established a forward command post here to support the Ba Na people in removing temporary houses, determined to complete 156 houses on schedule, ensuring quality.

After 3 months of clinging to the mountains and forests, the forward command post contributed 2,030 working days, transported 1,000 tons of materials via more than 250 vehicles, and overcame 20,000km of dangerous mountain passes to bring supplies to the highlands. When the houses with Ba Na architecture were solidly built, the brothers were very happy. When they left, many people saw them off, giving them wild vegetables, squash, chickens, and upland sticky rice...

​​ NGOC OAI - TUAN QUANG - TAN THAI - DOAN KIEN - NGUYEN TIEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/xay-lai-mai-nha-boi-dap-niem-tin-bai-2-tu-dong-bang-den-mien-nui-van-nha-duoc-dung-post808247.html