K'Luan's journey to serve the people

Every day, K’Luan (Hamlet 4, Ta Lai commune) rides his motorbike around the ethnic village in the early morning and late afternoon to observe and remind children of school age who are absent from class. When he spots such cases, he visits their homes to understand the reasons and encourages them to return to school. In the evenings, he takes a walk along the concrete roads in the village. Because he knows most of the households, he can easily notice if any school-age children are hanging out on the streets instead of staying home to study. In such cases, he gently reminds them, and if the behavior is repeated, he will contact the parents directly to coordinate education and corrective measures.

K’Luan, Head of the Fatherland Front Working Committee of Hamlet 4, Ta Lai commune, visits Ka To while her solid house is being completed with construction funding supported by the State. Photo: Van Truyen

This endeavor is one of K’Luan’s daily activities in his role as Head of the Fatherland Front Working Committee of Hamlet 4, a position he has dedicated himself to for many years.

Helping students go to school

Every year, before the new school year begins and before the end of the first semester and the school year, K’Luan is busy contacting friends from various places to raise funds to buy notebooks and new textbooks, as well as to “refresh” donated old textbooks to send to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and to students in the community who achieve good academic results.

K'Luan shared that Hamlet 4 is home to 487 households, including 370 families from the Ma and S'tieng ethnic groups. While living conditions have improved compared to the past, many challenges remain. Therefore, the local government regularly encourages parents to pay greater attention to their children's education and mobilizes resources from various sources to support students. In recent years, numerous State policies prioritizing education for ethnic minority communities have been implemented, creating more favorable conditions for children to attend school.

At the 1st Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Dong Nai province for the 2025–2030 term, K’Luan was one of 346 official delegates representing various segments of the province’s population. According to K’Luan, participating in such a major provincial event is both an honor and a responsibility. Therefore, in addition to contributing to the programs set out by the congress,  K’Luan also connected with other delegates to share the beauty of the community’s culture and call for everyone to pay attention to the ethnic minority people in Ta Lai.

However, according to K'Luan, some members of the community are still reluctant to pursue long-term education, believing it is sufficient for their children to "just know how to read and write" so they can start working early to help support the family. For this reason, he always considers promoting and encouraging a love of learning to be the most essential part of his work.

In his role as Head of the Fatherland Front Working Committee of Hamlet 4, and as a trusted figure in the community, K'Luan regularly informs families about State education policies for ethnic minority groups. He helps each household understand their children's right to attend school and the long-term benefits of education for the younger generation. In addition, he encourages both parents and students with small gifts, as well as through personal conversations and explanations, helping them recognize that access to education today is much more accessible, and that with determination, the path to school and a brighter future is always within reach.

However, dropout cases still occasionally occur. Recently, when K'Luan discovered that two elementary students were absent from school, he went directly to their homes to find out the reason. Since both parents were away working as hired laborers, he asked the neighbors and then talked to the children themselves, learning that they had simply skipped class to play. After gently advising them to return to school, he visited their parents that evening to remind them to pay closer attention to their children’s education. He also gave the two students new school supplies.

In recent years, the number of times K’Luan has had to visit homes to persuade or remind children to return to class has gradually decreased. He shared, “I hope that I’ll no longer have to visit the homes of children who drop out of school. I wish every child would study diligently, so that the sight of children sitting at their desks and the sound of lessons in the evening become a familiar part of village life. Only by going to school can they hope to find better jobs in the future, especially for children in ethnic villages who still face many hardships.”

K’Can, a respected member of the ethnic minority community in Hamlet 4, Ta Lai commune, remarked that: thanks to K’Luan’s positive influence, along with other reasons, S’tieng and Ma children have become more and more diligent in their studies.

Working with government to build solid homes for the people

In addition to accompanying children on their educational path, in his role as Head of the Fatherland Front Working Committee of Hamlet 4, K’Luan has also carried out numerous activities to support the community. One of his most notable activities is that whenever a family receives State funding to build a solid house, he joins a group of young volunteers to move soil, level the ground, and assist with any work requested by the construction workers.

During this process, his group provided their own meals, not wanting to trouble the homeowner, thereby helping to reduce expenses so the family could soon have their dream house. At the same time, he also mobilized friends to contribute bags of cement and loads of sand to help the family complete the construction. On the day the house was handed over, the Hamlet Committee prepared small housewarming gifts, creating a warm and heartfelt atmosphere within the community.

Ka To (Hamlet 4, Ta Lai commune) said her family, facing difficult circumstances, received financial support from the State to build a permanent house. During the construction process, K'Luan helped mobilize additional building materials for her family and, along with other young people in the village, assisted with the work until it was completed.

For families with elderly members who need hospital treatment but face difficulties, K’Luan calls on friends and relatives to contribute and assist in transporting patients to receive timely medical care.

K’Luan shared: “The Front is the center of unity, a 'common home' for all social classes, ethnic groups, religions, and people from all walks of life. In my role, I strive to foster a spirit of solidarity within the community through small, practical deeds that every individual and family can do to help one another. In this way, we contribute to preserving the bonds of friendship and the cultural beauty of the community in Hamlet 4.

By Van Truyen – Translated by Thu Hien, Minho