Dongnai province takes good care of ethnic people

Chairperson of provincial People's Committe Vo Van Mot is conferring certificates of merit to individiuals with excellent achievements in religion and race ativities

At the ceremony, Mr. Dieu Bao, Assistant head of the provincial Committee for Religions and Races rehearsed the glorious tradition of Race Activity Agency over 60 years and reported its achievements in the past. In September 9 1946, the Government issued the Decree No. 359 to establish the Ethnic Group Office. Its functions and tasks are to research and deal with all things related to rights and obligations of ethnic groups as to reinforce the equity, solidarity and assistance of races in the country. Since then, the race activities over 60 years have made great contribution to enhance economy, society, culture and education for ethnic people. Dongnai province presently has 30 ethnic groups with 172,786 people, making up of 8% of the population of the whole province. 3 ethnic groups which live in Dongnai for long time are Cho Ro people, Ma people, STieng people.

In recent years, Dongnai has launched many programs to help 13,204 ethnic people to settle in fix areas, to build 10 bridges in mountainous and remote areas, 16 market buildings, 9 irrigation systems, 9 radio stations, 203 classrooms, 3,243 houses for poor ethnic peoples, and 562 kilometers of roads by money mobilized from all sources in the society. In addition, it has assisted 5,422 households with animal and plant breeds, has constructed 347 programs to pilot agricultural breeds, animal and fishery. As a result, Dongnai is first province in the country to eliminate extremely poor communes.

The province has used the fund allocated by the Government (the government supports each extremely poor commune with 400 million VND) and money raised by many measures such as integrated investment, charity mobilization, etc to equip basic facilities such as water and power supply, internal roads, schools and healthcare stations to rural and residential areas where the ethnic people live in. After 5 years implementing the Program 135, the government and the province has invested 760 billion VND to construct basic infrastructure for poor communes in the province. The province excellently achieved the two most important targets of the Program 135. Presently, all the communes in the province have elementary school and high school; 100% of the communes have healthcare centers which provide free health check-up services and treatment; 100% of poor ethnic people are granted health insurance card. 

The province has also paid much attention to education program. It has cooperated with related agencies and vocational schools to open vocational training courses for 1,032 minority teenagers. 171 of which have stable jobs. 125 minority students have been sponsored to study university and presently 62 of them graduated and had good jobs. In addition, the province has constructed 6 cultural houses and a lot of community studying centers for ethnic people to rehearse their traditional culture as well as to learn ways to do business. In addition, it is conducting researches to construct and equip more intangible culture for cultural houses.

Presently, Dongnai province is implementing the Program 134 to help ethnic people to get rid of “4 no’s”: no house, no residential land, no arable land, and no fresh water. 10 projects have been carried out to help 13 thousand minority household to settle their lives.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs. Huynh Thi Nga, Vice chairperson of People’s Committee, said that socioeconomic development of ethnic groups has increased but the rate is still low. Therefore, there are still 4,660 poor households in the province. Besides, superstitious customs have not been eliminated; many traditional cultures are on the verge of burying in oblivion, disputes in many aspects of lives and complaints happen regularly. Thus, she also instructed that to solve these issues needs thorough cares of authorities at all levels and authorities should launch more education programs to enhance the understanding of ethnic people as to eliminate superstitious customs, habits and cultures; should increase support activities to help ethnic people to get rid of poverty; should organize cultural exchange programs between different ethnic groups; should provide more free health check-up, treatment and medicine for ethnic people. She also urged village patriarch of ethnic groups should promote their roles in their communities.  

(Translated by THKC)