Mr. Lê Doãn Tuyết, known as a reliable village head in Yen Tho village (Ho Do commune, Loc Ha district, the central province of Ha Tinh) for nearly ten years, was always anxious about how to deserve the villagers’ love and trust. Together with tireless efforts to well perform his role and responsibility, a campaign named “Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example” has opened up a new path for him to gradually solve his anxiety.
“This campaign is a great spiritual motivation to me. To live up to Uncle Ho’s thoughts, in my position (as village-head and Chairman of the Xuan Tinh parish’s Pastoral Council), I always try to improve my virtues and devote myself to social and religious affairs, and take the lead in obeying policies and guidelines of the Party and State. Only that villagers could be persuaded to well implement the authorities’ policies, making the homeland more beautiful and prosperous,” said he.
Yen Tho village has 1,180 people, 40 percent of whom are religious followers. Their lives have a lot of difficulties due to the ineffective traditional salt-making so, most of them have to earn their livings in neighboring areas. Although they are busy with working trips, the villagers always look forward to their homeland where close neighborliness has become a tradition and a cultural identity. The warm sentiment and solidarity between religious and non-religious inhabitants are thanks to the devoted village-head. In addition to educating himself and his family to live as examples in all fields and in harmony with other villagers, he also reminds his family members to regard neighbors’ business as theirs. His thorough understanding, prompt encouragement and sharing towards households with special difficulties have made the neighborliness closer, creating the internal strength that helps Yen Tho village lead the commune in obeying the authorities’ policies and guidelines, especially in the new-styled rural building movement.
Like all villagers here, he grew up with the traditional salt-making and witnessed difficulties of the craft. Although many families abandoned the salt fields, he could not turn his back on his forefather’s career. Along with his family, he was determined to maintain the 1440-sq.m salt field and change some uncultivated areas into fields growing vegetables or raising cattle and poultry. His diligence plus a scientific planning have brought a more well-off life to his family. His attachment to the native land has had a great impact on villagers, encouraging several people who left the village for their living come back and work on the salt fields and making earlier exhausted soils covered with green vegetables.
A new spring comes, bringing simple joys to the village head when the activities of the newly-established village have just been put in order. The electric system lightening the village roads has been completed as a result of his success in seeking more aid sources. Like every year, together with encouraging parishioners to hang up the national flag to welcome the New Year, he is busy with the role as an advisor for the parish priest and the Pastoral Council to help sub-parishes collect donation from inside and outside the village in order to prepare Tet gifts the poor from households. He confided, “Last year, 40 million VND was raised to buy Tet gifts for poor families in our commune, regardless of their religions. Despite the difficult economic situation, this year I still hope there will be more funds to support the villagers on the occasion of the traditional Tet festival.”
Bùi Thị Thúy
