Mr. Song A Mang, a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune

Mr. Song A Mang, a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district,
Son La province. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

The majestic villa located on the top of Gio in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district (Son La) belongs to Mr. Mang's family. He is a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune and he is also the first Mong person in the commune to build a big house. Next to it is the largest cassava processing factory in the Bac Yen highlands (Son La) and currently there are dozens of workers working for him. Mr. Mang is also busy checking production, from the flour factory to the vermicelli factory. All day long, he goes back and forth like a shuttle, never resting his hands and feet. He not only enriches himself but also helps the whole highland area here have jobs and income.

Mr. Mang was born and raised in Cao A village in a large family. Like many other Mong families in the highlands of Bac Yen, his family was also poor. All his life, he worked hard on the fields to earn a living. 20 years ago, to reach Lang Cheu, he had to cross dozens of kilometers of forest roads. Difficult transportation limited the lives of the Mong people to the Ta Xua mountain range towering in the sky.

The stately house on the top of Gio belongs to Mr. Song A Mang's family, a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune.
Bac Yen district (Son La). Photo: Nguyen Vinh

At that time, Mr. Mang's family grew corn and cassia... Every time the harvest season came, the Mong people diligently and patiently carried their agricultural products to the main road to sell to traders. The selling price of corn and cassia was cheap. "My family was the same. Only a strong person could carry three trips from the village to the main road. We had to sweat and cry to earn a few pennies. Moreover, because the roads were difficult to travel, the prices of agricultural products were forced down by traders," Mr. Mang shared.

Promote the role of prestigious people

The trail from the village and the production area to the main road is 5km long. The people only travel by barefoot. The agricultural products are brought back to the village or sold on the shoulders of the people. Mr. Mang also experienced those hardships, but he had a bigger thought: Why don't we widen the road for cars to go back to the village to free the people's shoulders.

The 5km long road connects the center of Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district (Son La) to the village and production area of ​​Cao A village.
Photo: Nguyen Vinh

That idea had been in Mr. Mang's mind for many years. In village meetings, he discussed the road construction with the villagers. At that time, many people did not agree with Mr. Mang's way of doing things. The villagers thought that building a 4m wide road across the mountain slopes would take a lot of effort. Human power could not do it. Moreover, when building a wide road, it would pass through the fields of many households. Some households openly opposed it and refused to donate their land. Faced with a mountain of difficulties, Mr. Mang was still determined to build the road. With a large road leading to the production area, the villagers' lives would be improved. People would not have to work day and night carrying things up the mountain like they do now.

After many times of propaganda and persuasion, Mr. Mang gradually received their support. To build a big road, it was impossible to use human power but had to hire an excavator. "At that time, people's lives were still very poor. Food and clothing were still lacking in every way. Now, asking people to pay for an excavator to build a road is as difficult as carrying rocks to the sky," Mr. Mang recalled. At that time, Mr. Mang's family's life was a little better than other families. He raised many goats, buffaloes, cows... and produced a lot of food. He volunteered to sell agricultural products and buffaloes to hire an excavator to open a road to the production area of ​​Cao A village.

Mr. Mang's good deeds have gradually attracted the support of the villagers. Mr. Song A Su, in the village, also boldly contributed 35 million VND to help Mr. Mang open the road. Many other households such as Song A Chu, Song A Trong, Song A Tenh volunteered to go to the construction site to cook rice and serve the road construction team.

Every year, Mr. Song A Mang, a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district, Son La province, buys more than 1,000 tons of cassava from the villagers for processing. Photo: Nguyen Vinh

The day Mr. Mang hired an excavator to open the road, all the villagers were happy. After listening to his propaganda and persuasion, they agreed to donate their land to build the road. Every day, Mr. Mang and some prestigious elders in the village stayed in the fields for a whole month to measure, map out the route, supervise and support the work to make the road bring the most benefits. Mr. Song A Trang, Head of Cao A village, shared: "Thanks to hiring an excavator, opening the road to the village and to the production area has become easier. Mr. Mang's work not only demonstrates a high sense of responsibility towards the villagers but also contributes to improving the lives and opening up opportunities for economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction for the villagers."

Wherever the excavator went, a large, wide road leading to the production area of ​​Cao A village was opened. After nearly a month of renting the excavator, the road was completed. On the first day of driving on the new, large, wide road, Mr. Mang and the Mong people here were very happy. From now on, their shoulders and legs were freed. With a wide road, cars could go straight to the village and the fields to buy agricultural products. The people could sell at a higher price and save a lot of effort. Now, the people believed what Mr. Mang had propagandized before, the car road would open the door to help them eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

Vermicelli products of Lang Cheu Agricultural and Commercial Service Cooperative established by Mr. Song A Mang.
Photo: Thuan Viet

Elected by the people as a prestigious person since 2015, Mr. Song A Mang, Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district (Son La) considers it an honor and a great responsibility to contribute to the development of the locality. Not only does he propagate and mobilize people in the village to comply with the Party's guidelines and the State's policies and laws, he is also a pioneer in economic development, helping people change their thinking and working methods in production to improve work efficiency, increase income, and improve their lives.

Mr. Mang is also a pioneer in converting crop structure and developing production in Cao A village. In addition to corn, he also grows arrowroot, hawthorn, etc. In addition, Mr. Mang also actively encourages villagers to follow suit and has brought high economic efficiency. Up to now, Cao A village has grown 75 hectares of terraced rice, 15 hectares of arrowroot, and more than 30 hectares of hawthorn. Mr. Mang also boldly opened a factory to process arrowroot powder to sell products to the people.

Mr. Song A Mang, a prestigious person in Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, Bac Yen district, Son La province, has created jobs for nearly 15 local workers with a salary of 6-12 million/person/month. Photo: Thuan Viet

Evaluating Mr. A Mang's way of doing things, Mr. Nguyen Dang Thuc, Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Bac Yen district (Son La) said: "Mr. Mang was a prestigious person in the village more than ten years ago. His practical actions have opened up opportunities to escape poverty and get rich for the Mong people in the highlands of Bac Yen district. Mr. Mang is not only a shining example of responsibility but has also contributed to changing the face of the village in the journey to build a prosperous and happy life."

With his contributions, Mr. Mang has received many certificates of merit from the province to the district to the commune. In 2020, he was honored to be selected as an Excellent Farmer. In 2023, he was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Prime Minister: Prestigious person of Cao A village, Lang Cheu commune, who has made achievements in ethnic work and implemented ethnic policies of the Party and State. Contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland.

According to: trangtraiviet.danviet.vn