Among the 19 criteria for new rural development, developing a rural traffic system is one of the hardest to achieve, because it is expensive. But Ea O commune in Dak Lak province’s Ea Kar district has found a way. In 3 years of implementing the national new rural development program, the commune has managed to build 2 bridges and 90 km of paved roads connecting local hamlets and communes, worth around 3.5 million USD. The key was getting 500 households in the commune to voluntarily contribute their land, money, and labor to build new roads. Nguyen Minh Chuyen, Chairman of Ea O commune’ People’s Committee, said that with local support, the commune may complete the national rural development program by 2015. He said: "In order to encourage local support for the program, it’s important to acknowledge their contributions in appropriate ways. For example, we went to every household to ask for a contribution, stated the contributions clearly in a report, and after the work was completed, we honored their donations in public."

Similarly, the communes of Quang Dien, Ea Tul, and Ea Nuol have succeeded in mobilizing local contributions to their new rural development. Hundreds of households in these communes voluntarily moved their houses, donated their land, money and contributed their labor to build welfare facilities and make roads. Nguyen Loc, a resident of Krong Ana district’s Quang Dien commune, donated 600 square meters of his fields to make roads and encouraged his neighbors to follow suit. Loc said: "My decision was supported by everyone in my family because we understand that we ourselves will ultimately benefit from this program. Once the roads are completed, it will be easier for us to travel and this will also increase local land prices."

The national rural development program has also seen improvements in communes with an ethnic minority. Senior lieutenant-colonel Nguyen Minh Manh is the political commissar of Brigade 198, which has provided assistance to 3 communes in Dak Lak province in implementing the national rural development program. Manh attributes the program’s success in ethnic minority areas to efforts by the local authorities to make local people aware of the program and provide them with clear instructions on the state’s rural development guidelines and policies. Another important factor in the program’s success, he added, is that cadres and soldiers get close to the people and stand ready to support them at any time.Manh said: "We take part in any works by the local people, from supporting their daily chores to building roads, dredging irrigation canals, and so on… And this has created close bonds between the soldiers and the local people, making it easier for us to complete the new rural development program, and carry out unanticipated tasks."

Local people in Dak Lak province have donated land, money and labor worth around 35.3 million USD to the national rural development program over the past 3 years. About one-fifth of the communes have satisfied 15 of the program’s 19 criteria. The province expects more than 30 communes to meet all 19 criteria by 2015, thanks to mobilizing voluntary contributions to the program.