Summer volunteer imprints

Under the 500kV power line

For many years, the people of Hang Da village (Xuan Quang commune, Lao Cai province) have been familiar with the situation of Tran Thi Ben’s family, whose husband is a soldier infected with Agent Orange/dioxin, and 2 out of 3 children are affected by the consequences. After many years of hard work, Ben and her children have a spacious and solid house located under the safety corridor of the 500kV Lao Cai-Vinh Yen power grid, which is being urgently constructed.

Understanding the above situation, Youth Union officials and members and youth of Xuan Quang commune have proactively visited and encouraged Ben’s family to move out of the dangerous area.

According to Secretary of the Youth Union of Xuan Quang commune Vu Van Long, the locality currently has about 10 households within the area of land clearance for the project. The commune’s delegation, together with the functional forces, supported the people in relocating their residences, ancillary works, and barns.

Participating in a tree-cutting and clearing session on the high hills covered with industrial trees, Ha Thi Ngoan, a student in Lang Bong village (Xuan Quang commune), said: Site clearance in hot weather mixed with showers is not easy, but I am very happy to work with my friends to help the people.

Director of the Lao Cai-Vinh Yen 500kV Transmission Line Project Management Board Do Quang Khai said: since the start of construction, the project has faced many difficulties, especially due to the constantly changing weather, which has caused great obstacles in digging, casting foundations, and erecting poles. Youth union members and volunteers have made a very important contribution not only in promoting the meaning and role of the project, but also as a valuable resource to speed up the site clearance progress, providing effective support for wire pulling.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Students’ Association Nguyen Minh Triet said: To ensure the effectiveness of this peak emulation period, the Youth Union Central Committee has clearly grasped the requirements of “four on-site” for volunteer teams: On-site command board, on-site force, on-site machinery and human resources, and on-site logistics. The Youth Union has directed the Student Associations of academies, universities and colleges to strengthen the volunteer team in 2025 to 31 communes with projects.

Friendly public administration, close to the people

From early morning, the Public Administration Service Centre of Bat Xat commune (Lao Cai) was bustling with people coming and going. Nguyen Xuan Quang, nearly 70 years old (residing in group 1, old Bat Xat town) said: “I am poor and illiterate, each time I do the procedures, it takes 2-3 days, sometimes a whole week. But now, with the enthusiastic support of commune officials and youth volunteers, all procedures are processed within half an hour.

Politely welcoming the elderly at the door of the Centre, quickly operating the phone to support ethnic minorities, female volunteer Ho Minh Truc (Giay ethnic group) said: “Before participating in the work, I and the young people all attended related training courses. There is a lot of work, but I am very happy because I feel useful.”

According to Secretary of the Youth Union of Bat Xat commune Vu Van Giang, during the day, the volunteers take turns supporting people to carry out procedures at the Centre in the new commune and some reception points in the old communes, and in the evening, they take turns going to people’s homes to guide them to get acquainted with technology, operate on smartphones...

Similarly, volunteers from Xuan Quang and Phong Hai communes (Lao Cai) are also actively deploying many teams to support the operation of two-tier local governments.

Secretary of the Youth Union of Xuan Quang commune Vu Van Long said: After the arrangement, the local government has arranged two points to carry out administrative procedures for the convenience of the people. At each point, there are always at least three members and young volunteers on duty to support the people.

Meanwhile, female youth leader of Phong Hai commune Tran Kim Thoa shared that the commune’s youth are currently operating two parallel teams with 20 volunteers at two Public Administration Service Centres, although the two points are more than 13km apart with many difficult sections of travel.

Many people, after receiving the QR code to access and submit documents at the National Public Service Portal, suspected... of being scammed. After being clearly explained by the volunteers, they proceeded with the necessary procedures. In addition, many people do not have smartphones, bank accounts or do not carry cash. Volunteers patiently explain and guide people to pay money in appropriate ways.