Cao Thị Ngọc Thanh presents gifts to a poor household in  Khánh Trung Commune. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu

Phan Sáu 

KHÁNH HÒA — As a vivacious young person, Cao Thị Ngọc Thanh – Party Secretary of Khánh Trung Commune in south central Khánh Hòa Province’s Khánh Vĩnh District, has spared no efforts to promote local youth union’s movements and contribute to local socio-economic development.

Since becoming Party Secretary of the commune last December, Thanh coordinated with local youth unions and relevant agencies to go to every household to guide people how to prevent the pandemic.

Many young ethnic minority people who joined the campaign felt embarrassed or did not know how to disseminate information and mobilise local people to implement COVID-19 prevention and control measures, Thanh was willing to work as a model for them to follow.

Thanh, 32, from Raglai ethnic minority group, also made more than 4,000 cloth face masks to present to students and people of Khánh Vĩnh District to prevent COVID-19. Thanks to her initiative, a movement to produce face masks to present others was developed and quickly expanded across the district.

Since she was a student, Thanh actively participated in many activities of her school’s Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union. However, she realised that activities for young people in this mountainous area were limited and failed to attract the youth. Her desire to promote activities for local youth union was developed when she was entrusted to work for the district’s HCM Communist Youth Union in 2017. After three years, the union outweighed many unions of other districts to rank the fourth among the most excellent unions of Khánh Hòa Province in 2020.

One of impressive movements initiated by Thanh for the local community was to exchange recyclable trash for gifts. This model has encouraged many people in Khánh Vĩnh District to sort waste and recycle plastics.  

With the hope of upholding the cultural value of ethnic minority people in Khánh Vĩnh District, Thanh has established a team performing ethnic art programmes highlighting cultural characteristics of different ethnic minority groups in the district with the participation of more than 150 members, including local artists, youth and students.

Moving from a member of local youth union to a Party member, Thanh has worked hard for socio-economic development of local people.

“I need to work harder at the new position. People are considered the root of all issues, so it is necessary to listen to the voice of people to make the Party closer to people,” she said.

She said many ethnic minority people still had the idea of depending on State assistance and support so they did not work hard enough to escape poverty. For those people, local authorities will hesitate to grant land for them to work.

“However, I think to help them escape poverty, I will study on how and which kinds of plants could be grown on that land before granting the land to them and carefully guide them to grow crops,” she said.

“We should give them the fishing rod, not the fish.”

She said she expected that the Party will have more policies to support ethnic minority people in the future and have resolutions to help raise their awareness of working hard to escape poverty, not only depending on Government assistance. Only doing that, the economy of mountainous areas could develop sustainably, she said.

Mấu Văm Phi, Party Secretary of Khánh Vĩnh District, said Thanh is an active young ethnic minority Party member and had strong passion for work. She has initiated many practical programmes, particularly poverty reduction projects.  

Being admitted to the Party for seven years, Thanh has devoted her knowledge and efforts for social activities, becoming an example for many others to follow. She has recently received certificates of merit from the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Chairman of the National Assembly Ethnic Committee for her contribution for the society and for ethnic minority community in Khánh Vĩnh District. — VNS