On February 15, 1965, President Ho Chi Minh visited Hong Thai commune (now Hong Du) - the leading flag of the irrigation movement in the whole North. (Documentary photo)

Always remember Uncle Ho’s words

Exactly 60 years have passed, but the image of Uncle Ho visiting Hong Thai commune is still intact in the memories of many people in the revolutionary countryside.

Proudly holding in his hand a photo of Uncle Ho talking to the people of Hong Thai commune, Mr. Nguyen Sy De (born in 1948) in An Rac village, Hong Du commune was moved because he never thought he would have the opportunity to meet Uncle Ho in his life.

At that time, when he was only 17 years old, hearing that a delegation from the Central Government was coming to visit, Mr. De was curious and wanted to go see for himself. “When I heard that Uncle Ho was visiting Hong Thai commune, I was very moved because I did not expect to see President Ho in person on my own homeland. Meeting Uncle Ho that year was a priceless gift for me and my homeland,” Mr. De emotionally recounted.

Mr. Nguyen Sy De in An Rac village, Hong Du commune recounts the memory of meeting Uncle Ho 60 years ago. (Photo: baohaiduong.vn)

Despite his advanced age, Mr. De still remembers in detail the memories of 60 years ago. At exactly 8:00 a.m. on February 15, 1965, the Central delegation arrived at An Rac village. The sea of people in the yard and on the street suddenly became silent, everyone's face was unusually excited. Everyone turned their eyes to the milk-colored car with a man in a mahogany shirt stepping out. Amidst the endless applause, Mr. De and everyone shouted in unison: Long live President Ho! Long live President Ho!

Standing on the podium, Uncle Ho spoke very simply. He asked: "Do you, the ladies and the people of Hong Thai, know how to name your commune?" Comrade Tran Duc Be, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, replied: Hong Thai is the name of a revolutionary soldier! Uncle Ho smiled and explained more about the sacrifice of the heroic martyr Pham Hong Thai.

Talking to the people of Hong Thai, Uncle Ho said: "Today, seeing the happy and prosperous scene of Hong Thai commune, surely no one would have guessed that before the revolution, it was a place of dry and rotten seasons, where the people were poor and hungry. Out of nearly 3,000 people, in 1945, 1,220 people died of hunger. That alone is enough to tell the story of the situation in this commune in the past."

Referring to the achievements of Hong Thai commune, Uncle Ho stated: "Since the successful land reform, especially since 1960, Hong Thai commune has changed completely, its material life has improved, its cultural life has also changed completely". Uncle Ho raised the question and affirmed: "Why are there such good achievements? Because the Party cell follows the Party's guidelines and policies and is trusted and enthusiastically followed by the people... In short, Hong Thai has made much progress because the people are enthusiastic and hard-working, and because the Party members are united and exemplary".

Uncle praised the Party Committee with 5 village Party cells with 117 Party members, of which 83 comrades were "4 good"; 120 Youth Union members, of which 90% were "4 good". After praising the achievements of the locality and citing exemplary Party members, Uncle advised: "However, the people and cadres of Hong Thai should not be complacent with the initial achievements but need to try harder". Uncle pointed out: "Make rice productivity stable and increase, promote animal husbandry, take better care of tree planting, consolidate and develop the Party and the Youth Union well".

Building Hong Du commune to develop

After 60 years of studying and following Uncle Ho's teachings, Hong Du commune has basically achieved the criteria of a model new rural area, becoming a bright spot in many fields of Ninh Giang district.

On December 1, 2019, Hong Du and Hong Thai communes were merged and named Hong Du. Following his instructions, Hong Du actively took the lead in the agricultural production movement, irrigation, land consolidation, and plot exchange associated with field improvement. The average production value of 1 hectare of cultivated land reached 182 million VND.

In 2024, the average income per capita will reach 79.5 million VND a year. The poverty rate will be 1.6%. The number of households achieving the title of cultural family will reach nearly 96%. Along with agricultural production, Hong Du focuses on developing industry and trade services, contributing to creating jobs for many workers. The whole commune has 238 business and service households, contributing to creating jobs for workers and increasing income for rural people...

Hong Du cadres and party members always remember Uncle Ho's advice from the historic conversation in 1965 on building solidarity within the Party and developing party members. Over the years, studying and following Uncle Ho has created positive changes in the awareness and work of cadres, party members and people of Hong Du. Party development work is focused on, in 2024, 13 party members were admitted. The commune party committee has continuously achieved clean and strong status for many years.

Comrade Nguyen Duc Trang, Party Secretary and Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Du Commune, said that after 60 years of implementing Uncle Ho's teachings, the appearance of Hong Du countryside - a revolutionary homeland - has been constantly renewed, and people's lives have been significantly improved. The Party Committee, government and people of Hong Du are determined to implement the goals set out in the Resolution of the Commune Party Congress for the 2020 - 2025 term, striving to achieve a model new rural commune./.

BTA