Nong Van Bao is tidying up his new house.

Nong Van Bao and his descendants in Tan Lien commune, Cao Loc district, are cheerfully preparing to move in to their new house as Tet draws near. Bao still doesn’t believe that he is about to have a new spacious and sturdy house after years of living in meager conditions. Listed as a poor household, Bao’s family struggled to earn enough for food every day so he had never dreamed of building a house on his own. Thanks to support in the form of cash and manpower from the local affiliate of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and other organizations, Bao now has a 55-square-meter house.

Bao said: “I have lived in a dilapidated house since my parents were still alive. I wasn’t able to afford to build a house. I would never have had a new one without this support. I’m so grateful. I will try to escape poverty with crop planting.”

A concrete house is built for Vi Van Dan ahead of Tet.

Vi Van Dan in Quang Lac commune, Lang Son city, couldn’t hide his excitement as he moved in a new 70-square-meter house. With sponsorship from the local government and organizations, the charitable house was given to Dan last July to replace his dilapidated house which could have collapsed unpredictably and needed makeshift shielding in winter. Now working away from home, Dan and his wife feel secure enough to let their elderly mother and children live in the charitable house.

Dan told VOV: “We used to get wet whenever it rained as our old house had many leaks. I’m very happy to have this new house. I have a debt, but, from now I will work harder to pay it back.”

The charitable houses have helped vulnerable people stabilize their lives and escape poverty, according to Nguyen Van Chung, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front branch in Lang Son province. He said: “We called for donations to the Fund for the Poor at the beginning of last year. The fund has contributed to the local poverty reduction effort. Our motto is ‘no one left behind’.”

Hundreds of disadvantaged households in Lang Son are about to celebrate Tet in new charitable houses, which demonstrates Vietnam’s tradition of solidarity.