The movement “Veterans helping each other reduce poverty and excel in economic development” has promoted the spirit of self-reliance, self-strengthening, and bold entrepreneurship among former soldiers during peacetime.

Among those continuing a new battle on the economic front is Lê Thị Dung, Chairwoman of the Quà Điện Biên Cooperative. As a disabled veteran, she chose not an idle retirement, but embarked on building a production and business model with the desire to generate livelihoods while elevating the value of local agricultural commodities. Established in 2019, Quà Điện Biên Cooperative initially brought together nearly 20 workers. Through cooperative activities, camaraderie has been converted into pragmatic deeds, such as signing purchasing and product off-take contracts for veteran member households and ethnic minority communities in remote, highland reaches, as well as sharing experiences and advising young veterans embarking on startups.

Products such as Tám thơm aromatic rice, kitchen-hung dried buffalo meat, and Tủa Chùa Shan Tuyết tea receive rigorous quality and food safety control, accompanied by sales outlets and broader marketing. According to Dung, helping comrades and local villagers requires the cooperative itself to stand on solid ground first. Alongside product development, the cooperative focuses on modernizing management, applying digital technologies in operations, digitizing sales through QR codes, training young personnel, and sharpening commercial competencies across online and direct retail channels. These endeavors have delivered tangible results: during the 2021 - 2026 period, Quà Điện Biên Cooperative was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the provincial People’s Committee and received the Mai An Tiêm Award from the Việt Nam Cooperative Alliance.

For Senior Colonel Lò Văn Him, residing in Thanh Trường hamlet (formerly Hamlet C1), Thanh Nưa commune, self-reliance has been demonstrated through an unbroken continuum of dedication following his discharge from military service. In 2005, after decades in uniform, Him retired. Returning to his native village, the former soldier carried the same sense of responsibility, discipline, and exemplary conduct into local community affairs. Serving as Vice Chairman of the Veterans’ Association of former Điện Biên district from 2007 to 2010, he mobilized members to uphold the traditions of “Uncle Hồ’s Soldiers,” proactively developing household economies and joining hands in building new-style rural areas.

From 2010 to 2025, serving as Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet C1, he continued leading by example to mobilize the community. Staying close to the grassroots, matching words with actions, he disseminated Party guidelines and State policies and laws, engaging citizens in emulation movements and the cultivation of cultural life within the residential cluster. A cadre’s prestige, in his view, is forged through practical deeds and enduring devotion to the collective.

To Him, self-reliance must originate within oneself. Recognizing that improving family welfare and contributing to poverty reduction precludes dependency or complacency, he established an integrated garden-pond-barn farm model across more than 7,000m2. Annually, the enterprise generates approximately VND 100 million in net profit. Drawing from production experience, he guides technical practices and shares operational methods with fellow villagers. Him believes that a soldier in wartime as well as in peace must help others overcome adversity, uniting for shared progress.

Studying and following Uncle Hồ among former soldiers does not reside in grandiose rhetoric, but is gauged by how they choose to live and work after hanging up their uniforms: rising economically, aiding comrades, mobilizing the people, and contributing to the wider community. These practical methods are generating a broader movement throughout the echelons of the Provincial Veterans’ Association. Across the province, there are currently 29 small and medium-sized enterprises owned by veterans, employing 610 workers; 5 cooperatives employing 125 workers; 25 commercial farms employing 230 workers; 390 household smallholdings employing 1,780 workers; and 1,012 service businesses providing jobs for 2,932 laborers.

Efficacy is demonstrated through poverty reduction and social welfare outcomes. To date, the entire Association records only 1,741 impoverished veteran households, accounting for 9%; 1,695 near-poor households, representing 8.8%; and 9,305 well-off and affluent households, making up 48.01%. Since 2021, Association chapters across all tiers have dismantled 286 dilapidated and makeshift houses with total funding of VND 14.3 billion. In rural construction during the 2021 - 2025 period, veterans province-wide donated 92,500m2 of land, contributed 6,500 working days, and raised around VND 3.5 billion to construct, repair, and upgrade 340km of rural roads, 1,130km of in-field irrigation canals, and 2,500 bridges and culverts.

According to Major General Lưu Trọng Lư, Chairman of the provincial Veterans’ Association, the core imperative in studying and following Uncle Hồ is to start from concrete, feasible deeds tailored to the conditions of each member and locality. For veterans, that means preserving the qualities of “Uncle Hồ’s soldiers,” refusing to resign oneself to hardship, taking initiative in productive labor, developing household livelihoods, and maintaining accountability toward comrades and the wider community. When every member strives to advance independently while standing ready to assist others, learning from Uncle Hồ transcends mere awareness to become an active driving force propelling grassroots movements forward.

From past battlefields to the economic frontlines of today, former soldiers continue finding ways to contribute under new circumstances. Following Uncle Hồ, to them, means transforming teachings into actions; rising through self-reliance while helping comrades and neighbors progress together.