In Ho Chi Minh City, each repaired home is not simply a change in the urban appearance, but also a turning point that changes a destiny. The philosophy of "not leaving anyone behind" is being vividly concretized by practical actions, through the consensus of care of the government and social resources. That is proof of the unremitting efforts to ensure that every family has a place to settle down, creating a solid foundation for people to feel secure in working and stabilizing their lives.
Old age happiness in the new house of the old woman selling cakes
Responding to the movement "Joining hands to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses" launched by the Prime Minister, Ben Thanh ward authorities, departments, branches, unions and philanthropists have coordinated to carry out house repair projects for Ms. Nguyen Thi La's household. At the age of 79, Ms. La still has not forgotten the days living in a dilapidated, degraded house right in the city center.
She recounted that the most difficult thing is when it rains, the house leaks everywhere, causing her to struggle to carry buckets and basins to collect water: "The old staircase is clumsy, I'm always afraid of falling when walking, and the roof is rotten, sometimes soil and rocks just fall onto the floor." With the meager income from selling retail cakes, repairing the house herself is too luxurious for her. Understanding that situation, the locality has combined with the contributions of relatives in the family to support her in repairing her residence with a total cost of about 68 million VND.
Recalling the time the house started construction around February 2026, Mrs. La still could not hide her emotion. She said that when she heard the news that the government and individuals came to support, she was so happy that she shed tears: "A few days before that, the brothers and sisters also brought gifts, fans, water kettles as gifts, very precious!". Now, living in a new clean house, the spirit of the 79-year-old woman has become much more excited. She confided: "Even in my dreams, I didn't think I would enjoy such great old age joy.
Efforts to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses from the grassroots front
Assessing the meaning of the program "removing temporary and dilapidated houses", Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung - Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ben Thanh ward affirmed that this is a humane policy, showing the close attention of leaders at all levels. According to Ms. Nhung, although it is a central ward, old, dilapidated wooden houses still exist in residential areas and pose many risks. Therefore, the locality always strives to help people have more solid roofs against the harsh changes of the weather.
Ms. Nhung emphasized: "This is a very humane activity of the Party and State for households in difficult circumstances across the country in general and Ben Thanh ward in particular.
Regarding the implementation results, Ms. Nhung said that from July 1, 2025 to now, the ward has supported the repair of 3 houses. In particular, towards celebrating the National Day September 2, the ward will continue to implement another house worth about 145 million VND for a difficult household in the area. Faced with financial challenges, Ms. Nhung shared: "The ward must take advantage of mobilizing more external resources to quickly repair, helping households have a more solid place to live in the upcoming rainy season.
Every time she goes to hand over new houses, seeing the smiles of the people, Ms. Nhung becomes more confident in her work. She realizes that after being settled, households all have the will to rise up: "After being repaired and preventing leaks, households also have the will to rise up in life, no longer facing many difficulties as before when their houses were still dilapidated".
Responding to the launch from the Central Government, the emulation movement "Eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses" in the City in 2025, the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has deployed the Front system at all levels to early complete the goal with 323/323 houses, reaching a rate of 100%, with a total budget of more than 23.3 billion VND.
In addition, the spirit of mutual affection also spread strongly to neighboring provinces and cities. In Binh Duong province (previously), the mobilization work collected 49.788 billion VND, implementing the construction and repair of 216 houses. In particular, in 2025, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and national reunification, the Front system and socio-political organizations at all levels actively mobilized to support the construction and repair of 899 more houses with a total cost of more than 44.8 billion VND.
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City budget has also spent 334.265 billion VND to support funding for the implementation of the policy of eliminating temporary and dilapidated houses for some provinces.
