The Journey to Eliminate Temporary Housing: Improving Livelihoods, Creating the Future - Part 1: The Desire for a Home

Removing temporary and dilapidated houses is not only about building “3-hard” roofs, but also a vivid demonstration of a people-oriented regime, where the right to live safely, develop and be happy of each citizen is always placed at the center. More than 334,000 shelters have been built across the country in a short time, thanks to the participation of the entire political system with the spirit of “the whole leaves cover the torn leaves” and the people’s desire to escape poverty. This is a profound expression of the superior social security policy and, more broadly, the core humanistic values ​​of the Vietnamese socialist regime, a regime that leaves no one behind.

From makeshift, dilapidated, and rickety houses in remote mountainous areas or poor neighborhoods on coastal beaches, many difficult lives have been given wings of hope thanks to the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses. The "3-hard" houses are not only a place to shelter from the rain and sun, but also become the starting point for a new journey of life, the starting point of all social security values, the place to maintain faith and open up a different future for an entire generation.

Home, the beginning of all social security values

On the journey of change of the country, people's lives have been improved significantly and clearly. However, due to many historical factors, in many remote areas, there are still thousands of makeshift, dilapidated roofs that do not ensure safety during the rainy and stormy season. For many poor households, a solid house is not only to protect them from the rain and sun, but also to anchor their hope, the starting point for a future that can be different.

The new house was built next to the old house of Mr. Chu Van Dao, La Bo hamlet, Trang Xa commune, Thai Nguyen province.

With that noble humanitarian meaning, on October 5, 2024, the Government coordinated with the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front to officially launch the 450-day and night peak emulation program with the theme "Warm home for my people". The program aims to support each poor household to have a house that meets the "3 hard" standards: hard roof, hard floor, hard wall. However, it was not until October 5, 2024 that this meaningful program was implemented, but before that, hundreds of thousands of poor households had received financial support from Party committees, authorities, and organizations from the central to local levels to build new houses.

Not simply building new houses, this goal also deeply demonstrates the humanity in the policy of the Party and State, aiming to care for the disadvantaged, families who do not have the conditions to rise up. As Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once emphasized: "With hundreds of thousands of spacious houses built, hundreds of thousands of families can live in warm homes of love, millions of lives have a bright future".

In Cao Bang province, one of the leading localities in social security work, thousands of new houses have been built for people with meritorious services, poor and near-poor households, and families with special difficulties.

In Lung Phay hamlet, Hoa An commune (Cao Bang), the family of Mr. Luu Hong Su, a Mong ethnic, used to live in a house built on the side of a mountain, with a tilted tiled roof and rotten bamboo walls. The family of 5, including him and his wife, two young children and an orphan, lived temporarily in the bitter cold of the highlands. In 2022, Mr. Su's family received 50 million VND in support from the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development, distributed through the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Cao Bang province. Mr. Su decided to borrow an additional 120 million VND, selling 2 buffaloes - the family's largest asset - to build a new, solid house. With a flat brick floor and a sturdy corrugated iron roof, the new house became a symbol of determination, a support for Mr. Su's family to overcome poverty.

The winding dirt road led us to Mr. Chu Van Dao's house in La Bo hamlet, Trang Xa commune, Thai Nguyen province. Mr. Dao lives alone in the middle of the forest, is mentally unstable, and is afraid of contact with strangers. He has lived his whole life by picking bamboo shoots and chopping firewood. "He is not afraid of anything. We are the only ones who are afraid for him. If the storm knocks down his hut, where will he run to?" - Comrade Ly Hoang Nguyen, Chairman of Trang Xa Commune People's Committee shared.

Thanks to the support of 30 million VND and the help of the people, a new house was built right next to Mr. Dao's old hut. Because Mr. Dao refused to leave that familiar place. On the inauguration day of the new house, the red brick floor, the shiny corrugated iron roof, Mr. Dao's eyes quietly looking out at the porch moved everyone. "He didn't say anything, just sat there, looking at the sky. But that look was enough to see that all the effort was worth it" - Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh, Mr. Dao's sister-in-law emotionally said.

More than 334,000 shelters and humanitarian journeys

The stories of Mr. Su's family and Mr. Dao's family are just 2 of more than 334,000 households receiving financial support to build and repair houses through the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses. After more than a year of implementation, with 450 peak days, the program was completed 5 years and 4 months earlier than the target set in Resolution No. 42-NQ/TW of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing to innovate and improve the quality of social policies, meeting the requirements of the cause of building and defending the Fatherland in the new period and Directive No. 42/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister on accelerating the implementation of eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide. A total of 334,234 houses have been completed with a total resource of nearly 50,000 billion VND; of which more than 24,700 billion VND was mobilized from the budget and socialization. Many localities have proactively increased the level of financial support to help people build houses, such as Tuyen Quang, Thanh Hoa (80 million VND/household), old Ha Nam (120 million VND/household); about 60% of households have contributed additional capital to improve the quality of the project.

The children's study corner is neatly arranged in the new house in Hoa An commune, Cao Bang province.

In this campaign, the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers once again shined. According to Colonel Do Xuan Bo, Head of the Mass Mobilization Department, Mass Mobilization Department, General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People's Army: From 2019 to now, the Ministry of National Defense has mobilized more than 2,100 billion VND to build and repair 35,249 houses; in 2025 alone, more than 18,000 houses will be completed with a cost of nearly 1,000 billion VND. More than 140,000 officers and soldiers participated, contributing more than 414,000 working days. Many military enterprises also responded very positively, not only supporting cash but also selling construction materials at original prices and free shipping...

The Ministry of Public Security also mobilized 27,400 officers and soldiers with more than 534,000 working days, contributing materials and funding of more than 790 billion VND. The banking sector supported about 1,800 billion VND; the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front mobilized more than 125 billion VND from the "For the Poor" Fund...

It is not just a number but a profound expression of the spirit of national solidarity, the tradition of "mutual love", the good humanitarian nature of our regime. A beginning, but not the end, new roofs have sprung up, but the journey to build the future for households still has many issues that need attention. The question is: How can those warm homes truly become the starting point for a life out of poverty and not falling back into poverty? That is the content that will continue to be clarified in the long journey ahead: From "settling down" to "making a career"; from a roof to a sustainable livelihood.

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Source: https://baosonla.vn/phong-su/hanh-trinh-xoa-nha-tam-nang-cao-sinh-ke-kien-tao-tuong-lai-bai-1-uoc-mong-an-cu-G2m5y8rHg.html