Soldiers from Battalion 1 help villagers in Nam Vi commune, Muong Nhe district, Dien Bien province repair roads. (Photo: VNA)Dien Bien (VNA) - Itwas early in the morning when Nam Vi commune was still engulfed in fog,when villagers woke up and gathered to say goodbye to soldiers from Battalion1, Regiment 741, the provincial Military Command.
The soldiers had helped locals to repairroads, build houses and bridges, even work on the farms over thepast month, and had become close friends. Now it was difficultfor the villagers to say goodbye.
A month ago, soldiers from Battalion 1,Regiment 741, were assigned to protect the border in Dien Bien’s Muong Nhedistrict, and give a new look to the poor area.
Nam Vi commune in Muong Nhe district is anextremely disadvantaged area with a high ratio of poor households. Accessto the village is limited due to poor-quality roads.
It also borders China and Laos, makingsecurity complicated. The soldiers were dispatched there to make achange.
They moved between every remote area of thevillage to safeguard local security.
The soldiers, local authorities and youngpeople also helped the villagers build a 10m wooden bridge acrossa stream, and cleaned up residential areas.
In Huoi Lum village, the soldiers repairednearly 5km of roads and fixed classrooms, whilebuilding wooden houses for five families as well as cultivating morethan 5,000sq.m of rice and 1,000sq.m of vegetables.
In their free time, the soldiers took part inlocal entertainment activities.
This also provided a chance to talk andshare. Battalion 1 and local authorities shared Party andState policies and laws to the villagers, raising their awarenessof national security.
Major Tran Kim Anh, deputy head of Battalion1, said: “We would not have been able to accomplish our tasks without the helpof local authorities and the ethnic minority community.”
Lo Van Xuan, Chairman of the Nam Vi Commune’sPeople’s Committee, said in only a short time, the soldiers had left animpression on the villagers. They not only completed the task of protectingborder security, but also joined community activities with villagers,consolidating trust in the armed forces./.
VNA
