Mai's Travel Journal: Chapter 5 - Lao Cai

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

9 am

The coach from Lai Châu (Tam Đường) to Lào Cai started to move. I was lucky to be on a deserted bus, but the driver commiserated to himself, “It’s because today is the 1st of the lunar month”.

1 pm

The office of the Provincial Party at Lào Cai overlooked the town square, which was deserted and closed. I looked around for a while and discovered that on one side a door was slightly open. I happily opened the door and came in with loud greetings: “Please, is there anybody around?” Some guys from the Provincial Party came out and asked: “Are you Mai?” I was worried and felt that I was intruding so I explained my presence. They laughed and said: “The door was open a little bit for you, we had already worked out the time!” I felt less embarrassed.

The room was getting more crowded and noisy because more people were coming (they started work here at 2pm). I chatted with people about volunteerism, youth, and MDGs and also my thoughts on my second time visiting here.

I had discovered that the volunteering movement in Lao Cai did not come just from teenagers, but was also part of every school class and organization in Lao Cai. It’s something that is a form of mutual aid and assistance, that helps them to develop together, with leadership from the Lao Cai People’s Committee.

Ms. Nga, the executive member of the Provincial Party, talked to me about the model of fish farming done by young people from A Lù village, Bát Xát district, which was sponsored by the Provincial Party. She also told me about the three volunteer doctors at Bắc HàaDistrct. I was really riveted by this story. I saw in it the passion, enthusiasm and also the energy of youth. I was very excited to be meeting these young people from A Lu, Bat Xat also Bac Ha. So, I decided to spend one day at Bac Ha with her and the remaining two days in Bat Xat.

4 pm

With an introduction from the Provincial Party, I came to the Lao Cai day care centre, to rest with the children there.

4:30pm

I followed the road, at once both new and familiar, to the Judicial Office of Lào Cai, where my friends and I had stayed in 2002. I met Thoa - a person whom our whole group of Trung Lèng Hồ admired – her excitement, enthusiasm and multi-tasking seemed to expand over time. I watched her work, tried to learn something from her, and wished that one day I would be as passionate as her.

6 pm

Returned to the cafeteria at the day care centre, I took a portion to eat with the children and chat with them. They studied here, from different villages, ethnic backgrounds and with different abilities, but they shared, loved and helped each other. They were studying at the same time as improving their skills; their efforts were tremendous.

Wednesday 15 September 2004

6am

The children and I bought some sticky rice in front of the Children's House and we parted ways.

My plan for Bat Xat is slightly changed because the village is busy responding to soil erosion at the Sung Hoang hamlet, in Phin Ngan commune, Bat Xat district.

7am

The Provincial Union gave me a referral letter to Hop Thanh village instead.

Hop Thanh is quite a beautiful natural and favorable setting for rice growing, with 12 hamlets spread about. It's the dwelling place of ethnic Vietnamese, as well as Thai, Xapho, and Ray ethnic minorities.

Along the village's main road leading to the hamlets, I noticed kindergartens and primary schools at each hamlet. This is the collaborative effort of the whole village since 1996, beginning with just temporary houses, to separate elementary and secondary schools, and formalizing the kindergarten system. There were times when the commune's Board of Culture had to liaise with each hamlet and other departments to recruit secondary school drop-outs to return. Within in a week, the number of drop-outs had decreased from 51 to 21 individuals.

Mr. La Van Pao, chair of the Board of Culture explained: "that's because we found the true underlying reason for their dropping-out and encouraged each individual family to send their children back to school, mainly the parents."

The next impression I'd like to share with you about Hop Thanh is the "empty yards, empty houses" scene though not necessarily abandoned houses! The simple truth is that the adults had left to work on the fields while the children had gone to school. So, the houses are all locked up.

The whole neighborhood is quiet. The few households with seniors are also busy teaming up with the kindergarten teachers to look after the kids. The working atmosphere continues to unfold quietly, patiently but surely.

12pm

I had the fortune of sharing a family meal with Mr. So and Ms. Lan, of the Ray ethnic minority, in the Kip Tuoc hamlet. I really admired Ms. Lan's comment demanding gender equality: "You men just try to live without us women and see what happens!" A comment of half joke, half truth! Oh!

Today is also the first day since I started my journey that I've had my picture taken. It's a really good feeling. Nice!

2pm

I arrived at the residence of Mr. Nguyen Khac Hoc, an ethnic Vietnamese person. I was astounded by their industrious nature and total dedication to their pursuits. The cinnamon grove, planted when the land was barren, is now huge, and lush green. They went from raising chicken and pigs and goats to fish farming. Combined with forest planting, they grow mushrooms
and wood-ears. Utilizing the availability of the "dong" plant, they even make bean thread noodles.

Every single day, from 3 am till late at night, they toil in labour. While learning to wrap the bean thread noodles, I chatted with Mrs. Hoc. I learnt from her how to raise myself up from adversities and forget the difficulties: "the more difficult it is, the harder we work. The harder we work, the more we realize how fortunate we are." They both agreed, "only with hard work will we ever feel we are in control". She reiterated her point to me, "if anyone truly wants to work, and get rich, just come here and I'll show them how." So if you like, just come.

5pm.

Coming back to Lao Cai commune, I went to the Center of the Provincial Youth League, but Loi, who's residing there 24/24, had locked the doors and was nowhere to be found. I decided to return to the Children's house, intending to touch base with the League tomorrow and see who they would introduce me to.

From the gates of the Children's house, I was startled to see lights in my room, but then I re-assured myself that perhaps I had forgotten to switch them off. I quickly ran inside to open the door, but everything was so different that I thought I had gotten lost. Except for the light, there
was no one around.

I circled toward the cafeteria; so many people, but, they were all seniors. I was in a daze when Thuan tapped my shoulder and signaled me to join in the party for the former members of the "Volunteering Youth 13C" from Hai Phong.

Thursday, 16 September 2004

8:00am

I am going to Bac Ha with Ms. Nga, and I will stay there until Friday afternoon.

9:30am

Bac Ha is pictured with plenty of plum-trees: in front of me, at my back, on my left and right sides. Without exaggerating, it seemed to me that plum-trees were everywhere, in every corner of BacHa province.

I was lucky to be in touch with one of three volunteer physicians in Bac Ha. His name is Nguyen Van Son, and he works in the Tha Giang Pho village.

Son was born in 1977. His hometown is in Ngoc Sang, Que Vo, Bac Ninh. After graduating, Son applied for a job in the Bureau of Public Health, Ngoc Ha Shoe Factory. Son was eager to join the “Knowledge Exchange Program” soon after having discovered it. From his early days here, Son has had to face many difficulties, such as long distances, inadequate infrastructure, and so on. But the hardest is homesickness. Son said: “I’ll try to do whatever I can. If I think I can’t do the job, then I’ll never manage it”.

When Son first arrived here, he asked for permission to observe people to get more experience. Three days later, Son felt confident enough to start work. Every day, in the Bureau, Son examined for 7 to 10 residents. As well, together with other people, Son went to each commune, encouraging the residents here to have regular medical check-up. Sometimes Son has to walk up to 30 km. Now Son is studying the H’mong language to fulfil the requirements of the job.

2:30pm

I went with Son to Tha Giang Pho commune. The Tha Giang Pho secondary school has just been built. However, only four out of a total of nine classrooms have been equipped with chairs and tables. Teachers in this school had to go to every village to persuade families to send their kids to school. As a result, the percentage of primary-school leavers continuing their education is up from 63% in 2003 to 90.7% this year. Many teachers have admitted that: “It’s an unstable figure as it’s really hard to keep children at school. Firstly, this is because of economic constraints and the need for labor to support family; lastly, it’s the poor condition of the roads.” Teachers in Tha Giang Pho school had to put in money to build two cottages for the pupils to shelter in. Each cottage can accommodate 30 children. They live by themselves, having meals together. Some of the girls live in the classrooms (due to a lack of of tables and chairs). I talked to them sitting on a bamboo screen, which they use as a mat. I watched their efforts to get the last grain of rice from the pot. I understood that they were hungry, but I couldn’t do anything for them. I hated my own situation. I compared it with theirs and I felt ashamed. I smiled, talked to them to encourage them, but tears rolled down my face. I didn’t understand why it happened.

Arrived at Tha Giang Pho primary school, located just near the Commune’s Headquarters, and met primary school kids making their own beds. These little boys seemed to be immature, awkward and embarrassed at meeting with a stranger, but they are good at making beds.
I followed them to the well. I saw one small rice pot for four children. Day after day, they eat just rice and salt. I asked: “ Can you cook well-done rice?” They smiled. A lady standing beside the well answered for them: “They don’t know what well-done rice is. They just eat. Poor them!”

I felt embarrassed. I wished I could show them how to get “Thach Sanh” rice pot, or at least to borrow it from him.

To them, going to school is a great fortune and a luxury; continuing and graduating from high school is a gift from God. One child told me, “If I stay at home, I can survive by working in the field. But if I go to school, I can’t work, so I have nothing to eat”. I was thinking about EFD and I hoped it could be realized here.

At the weekend, all the children walk back to their homes, regardless of the location of their schools: secondary at the bottom of the mountain and primary at the top of the mountain. These kids are still going back and forth, in the hope of becoming literate, regardless of rain, sun, heat or cold. Every year, some children dropped out, giving up their race to become literate. For secondary school, the number is ten every year, the majority of them girls. I thought about them, about their sayings, their smiles and the awkward looks in their faces. I bet that they are badly in need of literacy skills.

Friday, 17 September 2004

8am
I set off towards Ban Pho, in Bac Ha, famous for its alcohol, embroidery and plum trees.

The plum trees in Ban Pho are similar to those in Bac Ha generally: at times, they’ve brought affluence and prosperity to the people here. Now, they’ve become part of the hardship and difficulty in finding an escape from the deprivation the people face.

I was taken aback when I heard it said that if you sent 30 kilograms of plums to the market, and sold them all, you would still only get around 20,000 dong, not enough for a family to eat for one day.

In the plum season, seeing plums all around the base of the trees is a shame, but there’s nothing at all you can do – the price has fallen to 300 dong a kilogram but no one comes to buy them. So a few families have cut down almost all the plum trees in their gardens. The fate of the trees was to prove as brief as the lives of those who tended them.

I tried to talk about solutions to the problems here, but the answers were difficult to find. From a plum festival to attract tourists, to processing dried plums and making other plum products, all have stumbled on problems in areas such as: experience, expenses and skills. These days, Bac Ha has a cooperative making plum jam and juice from the fresh plums, but the operation has been making a loss and will be shut down.

3pm
Got the bus to return to Lao Cai village.

7pm
It’s totally thrilling and exciting, waiting for the discussion session between the Hai Phong 13C volunteer Youth Union and the Lao Cai Provincial Party; the exchange between the two generations about the difficulties and experiences in developing the country.

Nearly forty years ago, the 13C volunteer Youth Union was established. It was their responsibility to build the Yen Bai – Pho Rang – Lao Cai road, now part of National Highway no.70, in 1965-1967. At that time, the men and women of today were just 18 or 20 years old; there were even some who added a few years to their age because they wanted to go and help build the road. Mr. Le said, “We were all so homesick, and were afraid of the animals in the forest. When we received letters from home, sometimes we’d cry, then laugh, spontaneously, full of enthusiasm for life. We went without everything, but shared everything together – from our food to our work”.

I’ve been able to see the life of the laborers on the roads of the Northwest. Through this, I can imagine and compare my experiences with those of other young men and women. I know I am so lucky, when I meet people like this on this journey. It’s not just volunteer spirit, but it’s the idea of rising above, of overcoming every difficulty, of supporting a whole generation to create hope in the form of a road that my friends and I can now use.

Chapter 5 - Lao Cai - Photo Gallery

Photos: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai
(select image to enlarge)

1. One of pre-schools at Hop Thanh villiage
2. Hoc’s garden and forest, Hop Thanh villiage
3. Hoc’s wife is binding mien

4. Going to mountain field, nobody at home, at Hop Thanh
5. Pupil living room at Tha Giang Pho secondary school
6. A corner of the pupil living room at Tha Giang Pho

7, 8. Going to mountain field, nobody at home, at Hop Thanh

9. Tending oxens and playing football at the same time
10. The field at Hop Thanh

11. Going to learn the sport lessons at Tha Giang Pho secondary school.