(VOV) – Two years after the new rural development program was launched, Xuan Hung commune in Dong Nai province has fulfilled 5 out of the 9 criteria for new rural areas. Joint efforts by the public and local authorities are the key to improving life in each hamlet of Xuan Hung commune. VOV’s Jasi reports:

Many new houses springing up in the village of Cham. (Photo: Hải Đình - Như Trang - baodongnai.com.vn)

Most Cham ethnic people in Xuan Hung commune live in Hamlet 4 which has nearly 400 households and 2,000 people. In the past, during the rainy season, even major roads there were submerged, making it hard for local people to travel. In the past 9 months, 4.5 km of roads in Xuan Hung commune have been upgraded. In Hamlet 4 alone, 2.4 km of roads have been put into operation at a total cost of 150,000 USD, one third of which was contributed by locals. Noru Din who heads Hamlet 4 says ‘We’re very excited as the village roads are now clean and not muddy any more in the rainy season. Our children can go to school easily and the locals find it convenient for traveling and transporting goods.’

With the assistance of soldiers stationed in the area, the youth union, and people’s organizations, Cham people in the hamlet have built irrigation canals and a water system. This year, the local administration has helped 70 poor households build toilets. Mari Yam, a local resident, expresses the feeling: ‘We’re glad to receive the Party and government’s help to pave roads and build electricity and water systems. Toilets built with funding from the state are now operational.’

 Despite the achievements, involvement by the private sector in building roads has been limited. Nguyen Viet Hoang, Vice Chairman of the Xuan Hung People’s Committee, has this to say ‘We are continuing to call on local residents to donate to rural road construction. The locals have contributed their labor, but because living conditions there are so difficult, it’s hard for them to contribute much money. So the mobilization of money is still limited.’

In three years the people of Xuan Hung commune have received a lot of money from the state to construct essential infrastructure and implement production and capital support policies, thereby increasing their incomes and stabilizing their lives. But local production is still on a small scale without advanced technologies. Nguyen Thi Cat Tien, Vice Chairwoman of Xuan Loc District in Dong Nai province, notes ‘We’ll focus on the construction of infrastructure, including rural roads, and boost participation and contributions by local people. Secondly, we’ll develop a power system with top priority given to electricity for daily activities and then electricity for rice cultivation which will reduce input costs for farmers. We’ll persuade provincial leaders to build reservoirs so we can reserve water resources for irrigation. In particular, local people have joined effort to build a temporary dam to store up water for the Winter- Spring crop.’

Xuan Hung commune has set a goal of becoming a new rural village by 2014.

Jasi