On a hot sunny afternoon in Dak Ko Ning commune, Kong Chro district, Gia Lai province, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thue - a female grassroots radio officer of the commune entered the communal house of the village with a friendly smile. She came to propagate a new policy of the State, with the hope that the villagers would grasp the information promptly.
She did not expect that, just a few minutes later, she would face the angry eyes of the village elder and the threat mixed with reproach: "If the cadres do not eat rice, I will pour it all down the stream!". That moment of panic has become an unforgettable memory in the career of the female grassroots propagandist, an arduous journey but also full of love and passion.
Learn Bana to write the 5am news
Ms. Thue started working in Dak Ko Ning commune in 2011, when she had just graduated with a bachelor's degree in tourism management. At first, she did not imagine that she would be attached to the work of a cultural and social official in a remote land like Dak Ko Ning. But fate brought her to the profession when the commune recruited and she found her qualifications suitable.
" My main duty is to be a social and cultural official of the commune, in charge of areas such as information and communication, health, education, culture, sports, tourism, family, mass movements... ", she shared.
Every working day of Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thue starts at 4:30 am. She wakes up, operates the commune radio station, prepares and broadcasts news for the people.
" The commune radio station has two broadcast programs: from 5:00 to 6:30 a.m. and from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. In between those two time periods, I continue my administrative work at the office, " she said.
With 80% of the population being Ba Na ethnic people, grassroots communication work in Dak Ko Ning commune requires flexibility and a deep understanding of local customs and culture.
Due to the specific life associated with farming, Dak Ko Ning people often wake up very early. If they want to meet people directly to discuss work, grassroots communication staff must go early in the morning or late in the evening.
That is also the reason why Dak Ko Ning commune's radio news must be broadcast at 5pm or early in the morning.
" If we only write news in Kinh, it will be difficult for people to understand. Therefore, civil servants here must know Ba Na to communicate with people. I have to add news in Ba Na, sometimes I write it myself or ask for it from the district radio station ," she explained.
To do that, Ms. Kim Thue had to take an extra Ba Na language class offered by the district for a year. However, when writing the newsletter, when encountering difficult words, she had to proactively seek out village elders, village chiefs or grassroots youth and women's workers to ask for further support.
Not only drafting and broadcasting news bulletins to best propagate the policies and guidelines of the Party and State, Ms. Thue also regularly travels to remote villages, sometimes having to stay overnight to meet the people early in the morning.
" The road from the district to the commune is very difficult, having to cross 9 streams. If it rains, the water will just stand there and cannot be crossed. But because of work, I have to try ," she shared with an optimistic smile.
Understanding people's psychology and customs is the key to good grassroots communication.
After 13 years of working, Ms. Kim Thue has many memories during her long journey of working in grassroots information. One of them is the unforgettable memory of the first days of receiving the assignment in Dak Ko Ning commune.
After the propaganda session at the communal house, the village elder invited her to stay for dinner. Because she did not understand the customs, she politely declined, thinking that she did not want to bother the villagers and was afraid of wasting money.
Unexpectedly, the village elder got angry and said loudly: “ The cadres came to the village. The villagers loved and respected them so much that they invited them to eat. If the cadres refused, they would throw themselves into the stream. If they didn't stay to eat, they wouldn't have to come down tomorrow and wouldn't have to meet them again .” Hearing the village elder say that, the female announcer was shocked, because she had never dealt with a situation like that before.
" Only when the village elder explained did I understand that refusing to eat rice was disrespectful and could hurt the hospitality of the villagers. From then on, I realized that I needed to learn more about their customs and practices to do my job well, " she confided.
Realizing the importance of understanding local psychology and culture, Ms. Thue began to spend more time learning and interacting with the locals, learning about taboos and festival customs, and regularly chatting with village elders.
She understands that only when she understands and respects people's customs will they be more open-minded, ready to listen and receive information.
Thanks to her understanding and closeness, Ms. Kim Thue has helped the people of Dak Ko Ning commune access a lot of useful information. " When people listen to the radio and know how to apply science and technology, they buy milling machines, reducing heavy work. Seeing that positive change, I feel that all my efforts are worth it, " she said with pride.
However, the work is not always smooth. As a woman, Ms. Thue encountered many difficulties in handling the technical problems of the radio station. " When the speaker is broken, I cannot climb up to fix it myself but have to ask this person or that person, or invite officials from the district or other places to come down and fix it. "
In addition to working regular office hours, grassroots radio staff must also ensure the operation of the radio station in two time slots, morning and afternoon, but currently there is no additional allowance for this part-time job.
The wish of Ms. Thue and other grassroots radio staff is that the State and relevant departments pay more attention to the lives of grassroots propagandists and have a mechanism to provide allowances for those directly managing radio stations.
Despite the difficulties, what keeps Ms. Kim Thue committed to her job is the joy of seeing people understand and properly implement the policies of the Party and State.
With their tireless efforts, grassroots propagandists like Ms. Kim Thue not only help people grasp information promptly, but also contribute to changing their lives in a more positive direction.
Lesson 2: A cadre with 45 years of experience in grassroots radio work
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/phut-hoang-hon-cua-nu-phat-thanh-vien-khi-gia-lang-doa-do-com-xuong-suoi-2324995.html
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