The shape of the old bridge
In early November this year, we traveled nearly 300 km from Hanoi to return to Nam Duong village, Sinh Long commune, Na Hang district, Tuyen Quang province in a joyful mood to "meet" again the bridge that was completed 4 years ago. Nam Duong stream, in the language of the Dao people here, means "stream of love", the water meanders through large rocks, the green grass and trees rustle beautifully like a dream. Since 4 years ago, the stream has become even more poetic with the bright pink bridge crossing it.
Up to now, the pink signboard of the Fund for Vietnamese Stature at the bridgehead has worn out due to the rain and sun, but the content is still clear: "Bridge for Vietnamese Stature 3 - Sponsored by the Fund for Vietnamese Stature and TH Group - Tien Phong newspaper, Tuyen Quang Provincial Youth Union, Na Hang District Youth Union and local youth union members".
For Vietnamese Stature Bridge 3 was inaugurated on November 17, 2020 after 4 months of construction, sponsored by the For Vietnamese Stature Fund in coordination with Tien Phong newspaper, Tuyen Quang Provincial Youth Union, Na Hang District Youth Union and local youth union members. During the construction of the bridge, local people and youth union members contributed available materials and labor days, so the project cost was reduced by 1/3. The close participation of local people also made the construction supervision strict and the bridge quality was guaranteed.
Compared to before, the two ends of the bridge now have two more solar-powered lamp posts; along the road leading to both ends of the bridge, young people have also planted rows of purple flowers. Ban Van Vinh, a member of the Youth Union, said: "These lamp posts and flowers were made by the Youth Union under the program of lighting up the countryside roads to enhance the beauty of the bridge." Vinh said that since the bridge was built, then the lamp posts, rows of purple flowers and a few big trees at the bridgehead, on hot sunny days and early evenings, many people often come out to sit and enjoy the cool breeze.
We went to the house of Mr. Ban Van Su, the Head of Nam Duong village, 200 meters from the bridge. Mr. Su used to live here, but for a long time, he had to move to the commune center to live because the road across the stream was too dangerous and difficult. When the Vi Tam Voc Viet 3 bridge was inaugurated and the road was convenient, Mr. Su returned to his old house to live.
Children go to school every day, commerce changes suddenly
What we expected when building this bridge was to help children go to school, people travel easily, trade goods increase, and life become more prosperous. And that is what happened.
Mr. Su said that in the past, just a little rain would cause the water to rise high and that day, the children had to be carried to school by their parents, and the elderly and sick had to struggle to get to the hospital. Now everything is different. The terrible rain of Typhoon Yagi in early September 2024 only slightly flooded the road at both ends of the bridge, but the water did not reach the bridge beams; children still went to school as usual.
In terms of production and business, there have been breakthrough changes. Mr. Su calculated that before, villagers could sell a cubic meter of tallow wood for 1.7 million VND because traders had to park their cars far away and then pull them out little by little. Now, cars can cross the bridge and come to the village to pick up their goods, and the price of tallow wood has increased to more than 2 million VND per cubic meter. Traders also come to the village to buy rice, corn, pigs, and chickens at prices 10-20% higher than before.
“The bridge is wonderful for the village. We would like to thank the Fund for Vietnamese Stature and the units that participated in building the bridge,” said Mr. Su.
Mr. Hoang Van U, a Dao ethnic, another villager, said that in addition to selling goods at high prices, people also buy things to bring back to the village at a cheaper price than before. Each fiber cement sheet used to cost 60-65 thousand VND when it reached the village; now that the bridge is built and the roads are convenient, the owner of the building materials store can deliver it to the village, and the price is only 40-45 thousand VND/sheet. A family that built a house after the bridge was completed saved more than ten million VND in transportation costs. Mr. U's family has two children who are going to school, and thanks to the bridge, the economy is better, so he is also worried about sending his children to school properly. His child is about to graduate from high school, so he will send her to college.
Vice Chairman of Sinh Long Commune, Mr. Hoang Van Hao, commented that the most valuable thing about the bridge is its load capacity. “The Vi Tam Voc Viet 3 Bridge has a load capacity of over 10 tons, worth over 500 million VND, allowing trucks to pass, creating a breakthrough. Trucks passing, transporting large goods, convenient trade, a prosperous economy, everything has changed positively, including the children's education.”
As of 2024, the For Vietnamese Stature Fund has donated 138 billion VND to build public works, including bridges, roads, schools, medical stations and charity houses. For the toilet category alone, by 2030, the Fund will complete the construction of 1,000 toilets worth 61.58 billion VND. Along with the Nam Duong bridge that we revisited in this article, the Fund has also built many other bridges, such as the For Vietnamese Stature bridges in Thanh Loc (Trung Thanh commune, Co Do district, Can Tho city); Khuoi Luon bridge (Bac Quang, Ha Giang); Na Khoe bridge (Quang Lam commune, Bao Lam district, Cao Bang) ...
The Vietnam Stature Foundation (VSF) is a non-profit social fund that contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supports the community in the field of health protection and care for people, especially prioritizing children in difficult circumstances; sponsors and builds programs to develop intelligence, talent, and education, contributing to the development of stature, physical strength, and intelligence for Vietnamese people.
VSF's core values include: For a Vietnamese stature, Connecting the community, Arousing and nurturing humanity.
Over the past 10 years, persistently pursuing the mission of “For Vietnamese stature”, a series of practical programs have gradually realized the desire to contribute to improving the stature, physical strength and intelligence of Vietnamese people; protecting children, preventing violence. The Fund has also directly implemented or called for the implementation of thousands of volunteer programs, emergency relief due to natural disasters and epidemics, and accompanied hundreds of social security programs.
