On the morning of April 22, 2024, the Veterans’ Association of National Economics University (NEU), in coordination with the local Party committee and authorities of Thanh Xuong Commune, Dien Bien District, held a ceremony to present a home to association member Luong Van Anh of Pa Cau Village, Thanh Xuong Commune, who faces exceptional hardship.

The NEU Veterans’ Association and representatives of local leadership pose for a commemorative photograph with veteran Luong Van Anh.

Attending the ceremony on behalf of the local leadership were Nguyen Van Sy, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thanh Xuong Commune; Quang Xuan Thuy, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Xuong Commune People’s Committee; Nguyen Manh Quan, former Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training and Vice Chairman of the Dien Bien Provincial Association for Promoting Education; Ha Quang Toai, Chairman of the Dien Bien District Veterans’ Association; and Quang Van Le, Secretary of the Party cell. Representing NEU were Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Chairman of the Veterans’ Association, and Dr. Tran Quang Yen, Vice Dean of the School of Information Technology and Digital Economics. Officials and residents of Pa Cau Village also attended.

Veteran Luong Van Anh, an ethnic Thai man born in 1944, enlisted in 1967. He served as a soldier in the 35th Regiment, 3rd Division, and took part in campaigns at the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang and Nam Bac in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (1968–1975). After completing his service and returning to his hometown, he actively engaged in work and production. Now elderly and frail, Anh has for many years lived with his 40-year-old daughter, who has a congenital disability, in a deteriorating house that he lacks the means to renovate or repair. He currently tends the grave of his younger brother, fallen soldier Luong Van Mong.

Following a review and as part of its program of activities promoting comradeship, the NEU Veterans’ Association worked with the Dien Bien Provincial Association for Promoting Education and the Dien Bien District Veterans’ Association to establish contact with and select veteran Luong Van Anh’s family for support in cash and in kind. This included VND 50 million in cash, one television and one clock for Anh’s family. The association also mobilized organizations in Pa Cau Village to provide additional labor to renovate and repair the house.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Chairman of the NEU Veterans’ Association, presents cash and in-kind support to veteran Luong Van Anh.

At the ceremony to present a home to Anh’s family, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Chairman of the Veterans’ Association, conveyed warm regards from NEU’s leadership on behalf of the association. He also introduced the University and its Veterans’ Association.

He noted that the NEU Veterans’ Association has two veterans who participated in the resistance war against the French. Among them was the late educator Trinh Kim Binh, who fought on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield.

Speaking with emotion at the ceremony, Luong Van Anh thanked NEU’s leaders at all levels for their care and the University’s Veterans’ Association for traveling such a long distance. Within a very short period of one month, the association had developed a funding proposal, prepared a repair plan and come in person to present the support on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Victory, making the gift even more meaningful. Luong Van Anh was delighted and encouraged that the donation would help him renovate and preserve the stilt house left by his parents, in keeping with the culture and traditions of the Thai ethnic community.

On behalf of the local authorities, Nguyen Van Sy, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thanh Xuong Commune, pledged to use the funding for its intended purpose and to mobilize organizations in Pa Cau Village to provide additional labor to renovate and repair the house on schedule, with completion before May 7, 2024.

Supporting home repairs and the construction of new homes for veterans’ association members facing exceptional hardship is one of the compassionate activities that express gratitude and the bonds of comradeship among Uncle Ho’s soldiers, both in wartime and in peacetime. It is hoped that, in the coming period, the care of NEU’s leadership and the modest contributions of association members will help expand these programs of gratitude, enabling veteran members facing exceptional hardship to feel less self-conscious about their circumstances and move forward in life.

Some photographs from the trip:

Article and photos: Veterans’ Association and Department of Communications

This is an automated translation. If you notice any errors, please contact the Department of Communications, National Economics University at phongtruyenthong@neu.edu.vn.