Quang Binh (VNS/VNA) - The lives of ethnic minority people in the central province of Quang Binh’sMinh Hoa District have changed thanks to the care of soldiers over thepast 10 years.

Inearly May, a bustling atmosphere filled Ruc Village as harvest seasonbegan. Every person has their own duty. Elderly people use sickles to cut therice while youths carry rice to the field edge. Border guards help residentswith the threshing machine and then pack rice into bags which are driven homeon motorbikes.

Nguyen TrungChinh, a political officer at Ca Xeng Border Post, said that after seeing localresidents faced difficulties in daily life, they were determinedto help them.

“Wetcultivation is one of the models that has really changed the perception of thepeople.”

Ca XengBorder Post under Quang Binh Border Guards supervises two disadvantagedcommunes of Thuong Hoa and Hoa Son with a total population of 2,522.

Of these, 40percent are ethnic minorities, mostly Chut, Ruc and Sach ethnic minority groups.

Due tolimited education and outdated customs, the living standards of localresidents are low.

Cao XuanLong, head of Mo O O O village in Thuong Hoa Commune said in the past,ethnic minority people in the region relied on the forest and State assistance.

They didn’tknow how to cultivate wet rice, but now they can do it with support from borderguards.

Bringing wetrice to Ruc ethnic people was a "revolution" which helped peopleapproach new production methods to improve their lives, he said.

Now, theycan feed themselves and no longer depend on the Government’s monthly ricesupport.  

“Localresidents have access to the electricity grid, paved roads, community housesand a playground for fun.

“Borderguards encouraged disadvantaged students not to drop out of school by donatingschool equipment and money for them,” he said.

Since 2010,soldiers from Ca Xeng Border Post have travelled through the forest, seekingwater and plants to improve the lives of Ruc people.

The projectof planting wet rice at the foot of Ruc Lan mountain has been trialled for thefirst time.

To implementthe project, border guard soldiers had to do all the tasks from mobilisingpeople to instructing them on how to prepare rice breeds, sow and then harvest,according to Chinh. 

Nearly 10haof forest which was once abandoned has been replaced by grainy rice fields withan average rice yield of 4 tonnes per hectare. 

In addition,to ensure local residents have enough food, Ca Xeng Border Post hassupported children from poor families with schooling.

The post hasalso worked with local authorities on planting more trees to cover barrenhills and building concrete roads. Soldiers have offered health check-upsand provided free medicine for local residents.

“There weretimes we wanted to give up our duty due to extreme climate conditions, watershortages and the poor knowledge of people about wet rice,” recalled Chinh.

Soldiers hadto visit households, give them advice and gifts as encouragement.

But thesituation is now different as people know how to cultivate wet rice, he said,adding that they no longer swapped rice for wine like in the past.

Borderguards at the post have raised the awareness of local residents on COVID-19prevention by encouraging them to clean their houses, wash their hands, wearmasks and not take part in large gatherings.

Chinh saidthat in the future, border guards would study more models to contribute tochanging the lives of people./.