From 2003 to 2007, the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front proposed, and received approval from the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, to mobilise material support for officers and soldiers stationed in Truong Sa. In 2009, the “For Beloved Truong Sa – For the Nation’s Frontline” Fund was established, and in 2014 it was renamed the “For the Homeland’s Seas and Islands – For the Nation’s Frontline” Fund.
Since then, the fund has consistently enjoyed the support and cooperation of people from all walks of life, as well as agencies, units, businesses, and religious organisations. Each year, through diverse methods, the Fund’s Management Council mobilises donations to assist officers, soldiers, and residents in the nation’s border and island areas. Based on the resources raised, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front of Ho Chi Minh City has organised numerous practical activities to support officers, soldiers, and the public.
According to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front of Ho Chi Minh City, from 2009 to 2024, the Fatherland Front system at all levels mobilised more than 552 billion VND (21 million USD), organised over 300 delegations to border and island areas, and carried out hundreds of community projects.
These included 105 “Homes for the Poor in Border Areas”, 19 “Fresh Water for the Border” projects, 50 billion VND (1.9 million USD) for the “For a Green Truong Sa” programme, and 11 live television programmes on HTV titled “Towards the Nation’s Borders and Islands”. In 2024, a city delegation visited Truong Sa, the DKI rigs, and the southwest sea, presenting facilities and gifts worth more than 41 billion VND (1.56 million USD) to support forces stationed on remote islands.
The Viet Nam Fatherland Front system in the city’s localities has effectively implemented military rear-support policies, while also organising competitions and festivals focused on the homeland’s seas and islands. Such meaningful activities have inspired compassion and noble acts within the community, joining hands to improve the material and spiritual well-being of officers and soldiers safeguarding border security and defending the sacred sovereignty of the seas and islands.
A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Confederation of Labour stated that trade unions at all levels have organised 14,964 communication sessions and film screenings on sea and island sovereignty, attracting 593,733 officials, public servants, and workers.
Many meaningful and practical programmes have been held, such as the “Family Anchor” exchange, the “Border Song” event, the knitted scarf competition themed “Warming the Hearts of Island Soldiers”, the “Spring in the Islands” programme, the “Working Hour for Beloved Truong Sa” campaign, and the “Affection for Hoang Sa – Truong Sa” initiative.
From 2009 to 2024, the City Confederation of Labour contributed nearly 40 billion VND (1.52 million USD) to the “For the Homeland’s Seas and Islands – For the Nation’s Frontline” Programme. In recent years, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in the city has developed numerous effective activities to raise awareness among young people about border, sea, and island matters. These include rich and diverse programmes such as “Borders, Seas, and Islands in My Heart”, “City Students for the Nation’s Borders and Islands”, and the “Affection for Borders and Islands” campaign.
At the same time, the city’s youth have undertaken many projects and mobilised social resources to support socio-economic development in border, sea, and island areas; improved material and spiritual welfare, provided healthcare, supported children of military families on border and island duty; encouraged youth participation in military service; and fostered cooperation and twinning between the City Youth Union and local youth unions in border, sea, and island regions.
Looking ahead, the city will strive to diversify methods, enrich content, and innovate in networking to ensure that the “For the Homeland’s Seas and Islands – For the Nation’s Frontline” Fund operates with ever-greater efficiency, strong political significance, security and defence value, and deep civil-military solidarity—becoming a new driving force connected to other patriotic emulation movements of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front.
Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee and Chairman of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front of Ho Chi Minh City, shared: “The ‘For the Homeland’s Seas and Islands – For the Nation’s Frontline’ Fund is an initiative and a highlight in mobilisation work. The city always works ‘for the whole country, together with the whole country’. The participation of the entire society creates an important driving force for the Viet Nam Fatherland Front of Ho Chi Minh City to fulfil its role and mission. Every figure, every project, every contribution from organisations and individuals is living proof of the heartfelt affection of the people of the city named after Uncle Ho for the homeland’s seas and islands.”
