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 donate a house to association member Luong Van Anh of Pa Cau Village, Thanh Xuong Commune, who faces exceptional hardship.

Representatives of the NEU Veterans’ Association and local leaders pose for a commemorative photo with veteran Luong Van Anh.

Representing the local leadership at the ceremony 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 born in 1944, enlisted in 1967. As a soldier in Regiment 35, Division 3, he participated in campaigns on the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang and in Nam Bac in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (1968–1975). After completing his service and returning to his hometown, he actively engaged in productive work. Now elderly and in poor health, Anh has lived for many years with his 40-year-old daughter, who has a congenital disability, in a deteriorating house that he cannot afford 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 supporting fellow veterans, 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 cash and in-kind assistance, including VND 50 million in cash, one television and one clock. They 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 assistance to veteran Luong Van Anh.

At the ceremony to donate the house to Anh’s family, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Chairman of the NEU Veterans’ Association, conveyed warm wishes 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 overcoming the long travel distance and, within a very short period of one month, developing a funding proposal, planning repairs and traveling to his home to present the assistance. Its presentation on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Victory made the gift even more meaningful. Luong Van Anh was delighted and encouraged that the assistance 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 the repair and construction of houses 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, support from NEU’s leadership, together with the modest contributions of association members, will help expand these programs honoring veterans so that veteran members facing exceptional hardship can feel less self-conscious about their circumstances and improve their lives.

Some images 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.