Border guards visit the 'House of Goodness' launched by Mỹ Lý Border Guard Station in central Nghệ An Province in late 2020. Those in need and students of the disadvantaged communes of Mỹ Lý and Bắc Lý can connect to the internet in the computer room. Photos nhandan.vn

NGHỆ AN — Those in need have been provided with free food, clothes, textbooks and even computer classes, thanks to the staff at Mỹ Lý Border Guard Station who have even built a house to facilitate their charity work in border communes of Bắc Lý and Mỹ Lý in Nghệ An Province. 

The 'House of Goodness', as it is known, was built in Huồi Cáng 1 Village, Bắc Lý Commune late 2020, thanks to soldiers' savings and support from Thiên Minh Đức Group.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoàng Thế Tài from Mỹ Lý Border Guard Station said that border guards at the station were well aware of the difficulties that residents had to face.

With a population of about 10,400 people from five different ethnic groups, more than three-quarters of the people in the two communes live under the poverty line.

The "House of Goodness – take if you need and share if you have" was a model developed to help connect donators and the needy, Tài said.

Since the house was opened, border guards received donations, including more than five tonnes of clothes, 1,200 pairs of slippers, scandals and shoes, over 1,100 textbooks, two tonnes of rice, 1,250 boxes of instant noodles, 200 bottles of cooking oil and 300 boxes of candy.

All the donations were given to poor households and poor students in the two disadvantaged communes, Tài said.

Many textbooks and books are available at the House of Goodness.

Early this year, border guards continued to receive support from Thiên Minh Đức Group, VNPT Nghệ An and charity groups and individuals to equip ten internet connecting computers at the house.

"To increase access to information technology in disadvantaged border areas, the Command of Mỹ Lý Border Guard Station received assistance from organisations, businesses and donors to install a computer room at the house," Tài said, adding that the computers were for officials, people, teachers and students.

Soldiers were assigned to manage the computer zoom, and they also were teachers who taught local villagers and students how to use computers and the internet connection, Tài said.

This month, the border guard station coordinated with local authorities of the two communes to open applied informatics classes for commune officials, village management boards and students, Tài said.

Chairman of Bắc Lý Commune People's Committee Cụt Văn Long said that people in the area still led difficult lives, putting children at a disadvantage, especially during the summer holidays, they hardly had a place to play.

In response, the border guards now offered children a place to read books and access the internet, which helped them learn much and gain knowledge to better their lives, Long said.

Cụt Minh Thư, a ninth grader from the Khơ Mú ethnic group, said that she and her friends usually went to the computer room on the weekends.

"We are so thankful to the soldiers for the computers and internet," she said.

"I hope there will be more and more computer rooms so that villagers can access the internet, learn useful things and help our village develop further," Thư said.

Nguyễn Thị Đào, a teacher at Bắc Lý Primary School, said that under the new national general education programme, computers must not be separated from teaching and learning activities.

However, in disadvantaged mountainous areas like Bắc Lý, it was difficult for students to access computers, she said.

"The deployment of a computer room with a free internet connection by Mỹ Lý Border Guard Station has helped the school and students in teaching and accessing information technology," she said.

"It also offers students a great opportunity to interact with the outside world via the internet, help them practise what they had learned at school, and gradually improve their knowledge," Đào said.

Besides computer classes, students can also use donated books and schooling equipment, which border guard soldiers classify and arrange properly, for children's study and entertainment.

In their free time, the soldiers also offer free haircuts. 

Such acts have deepened the good relationship between soldiers and people in the mountainous border areas. VNS