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| Joy of sharing love |
Devoted to the neighboring people
In the early morning of the weekend, the mountain wind carried an incessant drizzle. Amidst the chilly air, a convoy of vehicles wound its way through narrow, winding, and rugged roads, scattered with rocks and stones, and muddy “eel-like” tracks, heading toward the Border Guard Control Station in Hong Thai (A Luoi), near Se Sap Village, Ka Lum District, Sekong Province, in neighboring Laos.
It was a convoy from the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of A Luoi District, Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of the district, border officers, and benefactors. They were transporting three tons of rice, five quintals of salt, and essential supplies. 'No matter how bad the weather got, we could not "turn back" because the people of the neighboring village were eagerly waiting,' said Mrs. Le Thi Mai Loan, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of A Luoi District.
The light rain slowly tapered off, and the sun began to glisten on the forest leaves, but that did little to make the mud any less sticky. They reached a rather steep slope, and at the top was a sharp bend like an elbow, with many large rocks scattered across the muddy ground. The truck, loaded with food and necessities, slid back, swayed, and tilted, almost toppling over. The team gathered, bent their backs, and pushed with all their might.
Shouts of “One, two, three, push!” echoed repeatedly. With each shout, the truck inched forward bit by bit while the border guards swiftly wedged tree logs under the wheels to keep it from sliding back. Thirty minutes passed, then forty, then an hour, yet no one paid attention to the time until the truck finally made it through the muddy stretch. Their clothes were drenched in sweat and smeared with mud, yet their faces beamed with joy, knowing that every grain of rice and every pinch of salt, filled with love, remained intact for the people of Se Sap.
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| Conversation with Se Sap’s villagers |
By the time the convoy reached the Hong Thai Border Control Station, the sun had already “climbed” over the hilltops. Motorbikes were neatly lined up by the roadside and woven baskets were gathered on the lush green grass. The people of Se Sap were waiting. Joy burst forth in firm handshakes. Without hesitation, everyone rushed to help the villagers secure the supplies onto their motorbikes. Bun Thoong, the village chief of Se Sap, his sun-darkened face glowing with a bright smile, spoke emotionally in Vietnamese: “Thank you, our friends from A Luoi, for your wholehearted support for the people of Se Sap! Thank you, Vietnam!”
The convoy of “iron horses” loaded with rice and salt set off for Se Sap. Women, with heavy baskets on their backs, ascended the slopes under the blazing sun, their radiant smiles radiating an unexpected sense of peace.
Building trust
The roads to the villages across the border, such as Se Sap and Ka Lo (Ka Lum District, Sekong Province) and Co Tai (Sa Mouay District, Salavan Province) in neighboring Laos, are rugged and challenging. Yet for years, they have been known as the "roads of love."
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| Traversing steep passes to transport salt, rice... to villagers |
Sweat soaked the ground, softening the gravel so that nearly 700 packages of essential goods and 5 tons of rice, worth nearly VND 400 million, could be promptly delivered. The effort was carried out by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of A Luoi District, in coordination with the Executive Board of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of the district and local border guard posts, to support the villages of Se Sap, Ka Lo, and Co Tai during a time of hardship in trade and transport due to COVID-19 social distancing in 2020. That same year, the district’s Fatherland Front, border guard forces, and other units also presented 250 relief packages, worth over VND 200 million, to residents of Se Sap Village.
In the years that followed, until now, thousands of essential relief packages and tens of tons of rice and salt have been delivered promptly to the villages despite harsh weather conditions. Mr. Ho Đam Giang, Deputy Secretary of the A Luoi District Party Committee cum Chairman of the District People's Committee, shared that the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of A Luoi District has effectively coordinated with local border guard stations and the Executive Board of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of the district, connecting units, organizations, and benefactors from across the country to join hands in a great circle of compassion. Not only has this outpouring of love been extended to the people of A Luoi, but it has also crossed borders to reach the people of neighboring Lao villages, steadily strengthening the trust in the hearts of our Lao friends.
Ms. Le Thi Mai Loan, Vice Chairwoman of Fatherland Front Committee of A Luoi District, one of the key figures in mobilizing support and spreading love, shared that the authentic images from our visits to the neighboring villages serve as the most persuasive evidence, the key to unlocking empathy and understanding. Many benefactors and volunteer groups have joined us in these efforts. More preciously, since then, they have proactively reached out to us, eager to extend love to the Lao people.
Rice, salt, necessities, essential items, and medicine were delivered to the people of neighboring villages after storms, floods, and natural disasters. To convey love promptly, the border guard is the core force in these arduous journeys.
During the flood season, when the roads turned muddy and impassable for cars, officers and soldiers had to transport food supplies to border checkpoints, gates, or boundary markers by motorbike. Chains would snap, uniforms would be caked in mud, but the rice sacks, wrapped in multiple layers of plastic, remained dry. That image left a lasting impression on our Lao friends.
Recalling the emotional embrace and tears of a Se Sap woman during a gift-giving visit to a neighboring Lao village, Ms. Le Thi Mai Loan spoke in a quiet voice: “I told them that the A Luoi authorities and the district’s Fatherland Front Committee are always deeply concerned not only with supporting residents in A Luoi, but also with finding every possible way to help the Lao villages along the border escape poverty and pursue economic and social development.” Chairman of the A Luoi District People’s Committee also said that this is a political duty that helps promote people-to-people diplomacy. Nurturing love means preserving and strengthening the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos.
With the fundamental support over the past decades from the Provincial People's Committee (now Hue City), the Lao border villages in the provinces of Sekong and Salavan have received assistance in constructing sturdy houses, schools, and bridges that “connect the joyful shores” while fostering socioeconomic development.
Each year, A Luoi District collaborates with border guards to support Laotian villagers with effective livelihood models in agriculture and animal husbandry. Over the past five years alone, the Fatherland Front Committees at various levels have partnered with organizations to implement significant programs for Laotian communities, with a total value of VND 4 billion.
Each journey alongside the border guards to Ka Lo and Se Sap villages, where residents generously offer bananas, guavas, pineapples, and sugarcane from their gardens and fields, deepens my reflection on the strong, peaceful, stable and developing borderland, safeguarded and nurtured through an immeasurable journey of love.