The facilities at Vo Thi Sau Kindergarten in Chieng Pha Commune, Thuan Chau District, have been significantly improved.

Supporting the development of ethnic minority communities.

As a particularly disadvantaged commune, Nong Lay has 5 villages and 784 households, mainly inhabited by the La Ha ethnic minority. Mr. Dao Duy Binh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nong Lay commune, said: "The lives of the people in the commune are still very difficult. Infrastructure has not been invested in comprehensively. Therefore, when allocated funds from the program, the commune prioritizes investment in road construction, cultural centers, and irrigation works to serve the daily lives and production activities of the people."

September 2014, Bo Ma village, Nong Lay commune,Thuan Chau districtAn irrigation canal system, 205 meters long, has been constructed in the village. The project is managed by the District Investment Project Management Board; the total investment is over 696 million VND and is scheduled for completion between 2024 and 2025. Mr. Lo Van Nam, Party Secretary and Head of Bo Ma village, shared: "The completed project ensures irrigation water for 3 hectares of rice fields for two harvests per year. In addition, in 2023, the village also received investment for the construction of a cultural center, contributing to improving the spiritual life of the people. The people are grateful for the attention of the Party and the State in investing in essential infrastructure, which helps people develop their economy."

Construction began in August 2024, and the Song village school branch of Chieng La Commune Kindergarten is now nearing completion. The project includes classrooms, teacher's staff quarters, and other auxiliary facilities; the total investment is over 1.4 billion VND, funded by the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. The investment in the classroom building contributes to improving the infrastructure for teaching and childcare, fulfilling the school criteria of the National Criteria for New Rural Development in the area.

Teacher Hoang Thi Huong shared: "The Song village school has 26 children, aged 3-5 years old. Before the school was built, we borrowed the village's cultural center to conduct classes. Now that the school has been invested in and is well-equipped, we are very happy."

In April 2024, the Hung Nhan village cultural center in Chieng Pha commune was completed and put into use. The project, managed by the District Investment and Construction Project Management Board, had a total investment of 1.8 billion VND; a construction scale of over 230 m2 and auxiliary facilities; and was implemented from 2023 to 2025. Ms. Hoang Thi Lan, Party Secretary and Head of Hung Nhan village, shared: During the construction process, the village's community investment supervision board assigned 5 members to regularly monitor the project. All procedures were publicly and transparently announced by the investor and contractor, so no violations occurred. In addition to the funding from the State, the villagers contributed labor worth nearly 40 million VND.

To date, 11 out of 19 projects have been completed and put into use. The programs and projects have gradually improved infrastructure; currently, 100% of communes in Thuan Chau district have roads leading to their centers; 98.8% of households have access to clean water; and 259 out of 336 villages and hamlets have cultural centers. This has facilitated trade, improved the material and spiritual lives of the people, and gradually narrowed the gap with developed regions.

Continue to prioritize investment in infrastructure in ethnic minority areas.

Mr. Lo Van Quy, Head of the Ethnic Affairs DepartmentThuan Chau districtAccording to reports, the district has the largest number of communes in the province, a large geographical area, including 21 out of 29 communes in Zone III, with 271 particularly disadvantaged villages; ethnic minorities account for over 94% of the district's population. The policy of investing in infrastructure development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is considered a crucial political task set forth by the Party and State in the socio-economic development strategy for ethnic minority and mountainous regions.

In addition to maximizing internal resources and leveraging support from the Government, central ministries and agencies, the province, and non-governmental organizations, the district has also done well in mobilizing resources from various economic sectors, organizations, individuals, and businesses to invest in improving infrastructure such as transportation, irrigation, healthcare, and education. Investment programs and projects are focused and targeted, fundamentally meeting essential needs for daily life and production, and improving the living standards of the people.

During the period 2019-2024, the district was allocated over 83.6 billion VND under the National Target Program to invest in the construction of 19 infrastructure projects, such as: roads; schools, canteens, boarding houses; cultural centers; irrigation works, etc. To ensure project implementation, the District People's Committee assigned specific tasks to relevant units to carry out investment procedures according to regulations. After selecting contractors, the investor required them to develop detailed plans for each item and the overall construction timeline; and to concentrate materials, machinery, and personnel to accelerate construction progress.

In addition, for some small-scale projects with uncomplicated technical requirements, the People's CommitteeThuan Chau districtThe People's Committees of the communes are assigned as the project owners. The community investment monitoring committees in the villages regularly supervise, monitor, and inspect the project owners' compliance with regulations, preventing actions that affect the interests of the community...

Mr. Phung Van Doanh, Deputy Director of the Investment and Construction Project Management Board of Thuan Chau District, said: "As the unit assigned by the District People's Committee to be the investor for many projects in the area, the Board has assigned tasks to each staff member. We coordinate with the People's Committees of communes and towns to clear land for projects, and assign technical staff to regularly monitor the quality and progress of projects, ensuring they are completed according to plan."

Leveraging state investment resources, Thuan Chau district prioritizes funding for the paving of roads leading to commune centers; inter-commune and inter-village roads; and connecting communes in particularly difficult areas. Capital is rationally allocated to invest in rural roads and roads to production areas, aiming to promote socio-economic development. Simultaneously, inspection teams are organized to monitor the situation, promptly address difficulties and obstacles, and resolve requests from localities during the implementation of programs and projects.

Mai Huong