At 5:00 a.m., Pham Dai Quang, Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Son Tay district, picked me up from Quang Ngai city to go to the mountainous district of Son Tay. The journey of nearly 100 kilometers that morning was filled with stories about work, the development of the district and of course the "very current" story, the work of cadres. Pham Dai Quang, who has worked in Son Tay for 22 years, is an example. From a contract employee, to deputy and then Head of the Investment Project Management Board of the district and now Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Quang seems to understand every step of the development of his district. "I consider Son Tay my second hometown. Back then (in 2001), I had just graduated from school, and an acquaintance asked to work as a contract employee. I left early in the morning and only arrived at the district center at noon. Seeing the gloomy mountains and forests, I was a bit hesitant, and sometimes I wanted to go back to the lowlands. But then my family encouraged me, and at that time I thought I was still young, so I "hesitated" to try my hand and stayed until now", Dai Quang recalled.
Road to Son Tay mountainous district.
Perhaps, in the early years of the district's establishment, young cadres who came here all had the same thought. But after nearly 30 years of the district's establishment, the story has changed. Even me, in 1999, at that time I was also a contract reporter for a magazine in Ho Chi Minh City, hearing that Son Tay district was the most remote district of Quang Ngai province, I also spent 2 days to write an article and travel around this mountainous district. I still remember that in that same year, President Tran Duc Luong visited and worked in Son Tay district and one of the President's instructions was to build a team of young cadres who dare to think, dare to do, and have the capacity. That will be the core human resource, the "red seeds" for Son Tay to develop. And perhaps until now, that instruction still holds true.
Vo Minh Xuan, one of the cadres who has been with Son Tay district for more than 10 years under Project 8738, also shared with me about starting a career in Son Tay. When receiving the decision to work in Son Tay, my husband and I were teased by some friends, saying, “You are cadres 2-6.” At that time, I didn’t understand anything, but after I got there, I learned that cadres 2-6 means you leave on Monday and return on Friday. “Both my husband and I studied at the Open University of Ho Chi Minh City. I studied Business Administration, my wife studied banking. We also tried our hand in Ho Chi Minh City, but when we heard that Quang Ngai had the Dung Quat Economic Zone, the number 1 oil refinery in Vietnam, we eagerly packed our bags and returned to our hometown to start a career. Dung Quat in 2011 had not yet developed much, and the investing enterprises were still small. So, when we heard that the province was attracting regular university graduates to serve mountainous and island districts (Project 8738), we volunteered to go right away and as you know, work kept us away, and in the blink of an eye, it has been nearly 11 years since we last worked in this land and my children have gone to school here, so there is no need to send them back to the lowlands anymore", Vo Minh Xuan confided.
Vo Minh Xuan (far right) and agricultural extension officers of Son Lien commune visit the livestock model of the people.
During my recent business trip to Son Tay, I had the opportunity to meet a cadre from Nghe An named Pham Thi Tram, Head of the Son Lien Commune Agricultural and Service Cooperative. Through research, I learned that Tram and her husband (currently Vice Chairman of the Son Lien Commune People's Council) met and fell in love with each other during their college days. After graduating, the couple went to Son Tay district to start a business. The beginning of this young couple was as difficult as that of new college graduates "learning" to work. However, once they began to adapt to the work, the climate, and the soil here, they immediately started their business by growing green-skinned grapefruit and coconuts. It was from there that Tram was trusted to hold the position of Head of the Son Lien Agricultural and Service Cooperative with the task of connecting output for local agricultural products, supplying agricultural materials, plant varieties, livestock, collecting waste, and constructing and repairing small projects. Currently, the Cooperative is purchasing and consuming products produced by local farmers and natural products: Upland rice, Bamboo shoots, Chili peppers... In addition, the Cooperative members have planted 5 hectares of guava, 17 hectares of green-skinned grapefruit and 3 hybrid wild boar farms.
Pham Thi Tram said: “The cooperative currently has 45 members with 7 livestock production models, giving each member an average monthly income of 2-4 million VND/month depending on the season. Overall, the people's lives have improved a lot, and their living standards have been significantly improved. Currently, the cooperative has also expanded the production of agricultural products and opened a sales and display agency in Quang Ngai city to promote and enhance the value of agricultural products of Son Lien commune in particular and Son Tay district in general,” Pham Thi Tram confided.
Pham Thi Tram (standing in the middle) visits the model of providing breeds and consuming cow products provided to people by the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Son Tay district.
Mr. Bach Ngoc Them - Vice Chairman of Son Tay District People's Committee, who was also a young cadre promoted to Son Tay district for nearly ten years, shared: "In 2023, the province assigned Son Tay district a target of reducing 4.8% of poor households, but the district will strive to reduce 5.6%. Implementing the National Target Program on Poverty Reduction, in the past time, Son Tay district has focused on synchronous solutions to effectively implement the poverty reduction program and mountainous ethnic groups. In the past time, the district focused on livelihood programs for people, expanding projects that the district had previously piloted effectively such as guava and green-skinned grapefruit models. Regarding livestock, they raise Ky pigs and bamboo rats. Although it is not the end of the year, the assessment indicators are not accurate. However, through a preliminary survey, up to this point, the poverty rate in Son Tay district has decreased by 7%".
Talking about the strategy of training young cadres to serve the long-term development of the district, especially local ethnic minority cadres, Mr. Bach Ngoc Them said: “To promote the role and capacity of commune-level cadres who are ethnic minorities, Son Tay District Party Committee has Project 08, the district will focus on training young cadres, especially female cadres. By 2025, 100% of commune-level cadres will have a university degree or higher. Especially, leaders and managers must go through intermediate political theory training courses. Currently, the district has reviewed and planned key commune-level cadres who are ethnic minorities for the next term to train and foster them.”
Mr. Bach Ngoc Them - Vice Chairman of Son Tay District People's Committee.
The young cadres in this article are just a few of hundreds of young cadres who are working and contributing their efforts every day to the poverty reduction effort in the mountainous districts of Quang Ngai province in general and Son Tay district in particular. Although there are still certain difficulties and shortages. However, with the passion and enthusiasm of youth from the early days, they have overcome the challenges, persevered and completed their work well.
I still remember what Phan Hung Son, Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs of Son Tay district, said when he took me to Son Long commune: "Everything will get used to it. If you keep going, you will get used to the road and the stream. At first, you weren't used to it, but after 20 years, sometimes you get too used to it and don't want to leave anymore."
Phan Hung Son (right) visits the bamboo rat farming model of Mr. Nguyen Cuong in Son Long commune.
Phan Hung Son is also known as the pioneer in building a grapefruit and guava growing model when he was assigned to be the Chairman of Son Lien Commune, and as many people commented, this is one of the most effective poverty reduction models in Son Tay District at the moment. And so, each young cadre in Son Tay District has also made his own mark on this beloved land.
Source link
Comment (0)