From the numbers on each house
We arrived at Dom village on a beautiful sunny day. Along the road into the village, the national flag and the Party flag fluttered in the autumn sun. With just a phone call to the village head, Bui Thi Phuc, we found the right house without having to ask anyone for directions.
"Oh, you've come to the right place! We have house numbers and alley numbers, so you don't need to ask anyone, you don't need to 'find your way,' or be directed to turn left or right. My village is now as civilized as your city villages," the village headwoman said cheerfully.
A simple statement, yet it's enough to show how these small signs have begun to change a seemingly ingrained habit in mountain villages: to find a house, you first have to find someone to ask for directions.
For Mrs. Vi Thi Thoa, that change began with the deliveries her children and grandchildren sent home. Previously, whenever she received goods from afar, she had to go out to the road to pick them up. Her house was in the village, and she knew the roads well, but finding someone from afar with just a few directions wasn't easy. Now, things are different; there are house numbers and alley numbers, and goods are delivered right to her door.
It might seem like a small thing, but for families with children working far away, or for those who buy and sell via phone or online platforms, this convenience is present in their daily lives.
In Bản Đôm, traders quickly realized the value of house numbers. Ms. Vi Thị Tiên, a small business owner in the village, said that since the introduction of house and alley numbers, ordering and receiving goods has become much easier. Delivery drivers can find the correct address; and when customers need to return goods, it's easy to get them back to the right place.
For small business owners, a clear address not only saves time but also builds greater trust with customers. In a remote mountain village, house number signs have thus become a part of the new way of life, where buying and selling are gradually moving beyond the confines of village roads and alleys.
When each house has an address and each alley has a number, people from other places can find the right house more easily; tasks requiring the location of a household also reduce the need for asking for directions. In situations requiring speed, such as emergencies or fire prevention and control, a clear address is even more important. From a very ordinary need of daily life, house number signs have begun to participate in many different activities of the people of Dom village.
Perhaps that's why Village Head Bui Thi Phuc spoke about those signs with such enthusiasm: "Our village is becoming more civilized and orderly, and the villagers find it more convenient and feel happier."
A single sign doesn't create a new village. But many signs together in front of each house show a way of life in motion. The village of Dom, with its familiar roads, houses, and way of life, only now possesses a clearer, more orderly, and more civilized appearance within that familiarity.
From "new task" to "common task"
In many mountainous villages, the address of a house has long been identified by the name of the person, the village, the hamlet, or familiar landmarks. Few people are accustomed to standing in front of a house and looking for a number; the idea of each alley having a name and a sign is not yet commonplace. Therefore, the policy of placing house and alley number signs in Dom village was initially quite new, even unfamiliar to the villagers. But when officials explained the purpose, meaning, and practical benefits of the policy, the people gradually understood, agreed, and actively supported it.
Accordingly, on August 11th, during a meeting with key officials from 8 villages, the Standing Committee of the Hung Chan Commune Party Committee agreed to develop a model of effective mass mobilization: "Putting house numbers on in Dom village." The very next day, Front Committee officials and related forces went down to the village, checking each household and each alley.
On August 13th, a meeting of the Dom village residents was held. During the meeting, the house number signs were not discussed as something distant, but rather through stories very close to everyday life. Once the residents understood the purpose of placing the signs, and realized that each house would have a clear address and each alleyway would have a recognizable sign, they understood that this wasn't just the responsibility of officials, but something beneficial for their own families and their village.
The most important thing that happened at that community meeting wasn't a decision being passed, but how something unfamiliar gradually became familiar to the people. From being unaccustomed to having a number displayed in front of their houses, the villagers began discussing how to make the sign, where to place it, and how to implement it.
Once understanding was achieved, consensus came quite naturally. There was no need to do things for others; the villagers discussed, contributed, and implemented together. Village head Bui Thi Phuc recalled those days with a very simple statement: "After the meeting, we just implemented it, and the villagers responded very positively; everyone was enthusiastic."
The statement may seem insignificant, but behind it lies a significant shift in the community. A policy, once introduced, quickly translates into concrete action; people move from listening and understanding to actively participating.
And then, the pace accelerated. The initial goal was to complete it before National Day on September 2nd. But by August 28th, after 17 days of implementation, all 490 signs were completed, including 458 house numbers and 32 alley numbers. "Fast" here doesn't just mean speed in terms of time; it also means the speed at which something new entered daily life, transforming from an unfamiliar policy into something the people are working together to implement.
Those signs were not erected using a single source of funding. The total cost was over 63 million VND; the commune Party Committee contributed 10 million VND, the village fund 19.2 million VND, and the people contributed over 34 million VND – the direct contribution from the community accounted for more than half.
That figure shows that once people understand and agree, they not only nod in support of the policy but are also willing to contribute to turning it into tangible things that they can "see and hear" right in front of their own homes.
This didn't just start with putting up house numbers. In Dom village, the people are accustomed to communal activities. The village, formed by merging Dom 1, Dom 2, and Luong villages, has about 450 households with over 1,100 people; life mainly depends on agricultural production and forest products. The internal village roads have been concreted, and the roads lined with flags and flowers, along with the lighting system, are all thanks to the community's contributions. The Fatherland Front, various associations, and organizations, along with the people, have repeatedly contributed their efforts to these communal tasks.
Perhaps that's why, when something new emerges, the deciding factor isn't how new it is, but whether people see it as something worthwhile.
The signs in Dom village aren't just in front of the houses. The story of this initiative is starting to be talked about in other villages. The Party Secretary of Cuom Loc village, Van Lam, said: "Seeing Dom village putting up house and alley numbers, looking civilized and orderly, he and the villagers are very pleased..."
That simple act of "approval" can be seen as a signal of spreading influence, a concrete, visible action in Dom village that has made people elsewhere start thinking about their own village.
According to the plan, by November, all eight villages will have completed the installation of house and alley number signs. From Dom village, the story about the numbers in front of each house is spreading to other villages.
Sam Van Lan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Hung Chan commune, said: “The Party's will only truly come to life when it is transformed into concrete, practical actions and is supported and embraced by the people. People's trust is also strengthened when they see correct policies being implemented quickly, clearly, effectively, and for their own practical benefit.”
Source: https://baonghean.vn/nha-co-so-ngo-co-ten-o-xa-vung-cao-hung-chan-10352761.html
