Just before the Lunar New Year (Tết) holiday of 2025, residents of Háng Lia hamlet in Keo Lôm commune, Điện Biên Đông district, were overjoyed as national grid electricity reached their village. With power, meals can be cooked using electric appliances, children can study at night, and the elderly can listen to the radio or watch television, ushering in a new chapter for the hamlet.

The Háng Lia electricity project, with a total investment of VND 8.6 billion, was funded by Hồ Chí Minh City. The completed project now provides electricity for 102 households, benefiting nearly 600 people.

According to Vàng A Chống, Head of Háng Lia hamlet, the community is 100% Mông ethnic and was once a hotbed for drug issues, with 36% of households having addicts at one point. Thanks to the support of the Party and the State, and local efforts, the situation has improved. However, remoteness, difficult roads, and lack of electricity had kept the community in hardship. “Now that the power is here,” he said, “hope has returned to the people. It motivates us to work harder to overcome poverty.”

Háng Lia is just one of 13 hamlets across 7 communes, including Chiềng Sơ, Tìa Dình, Phì Nhừ, Mường Luân, Pu Nhi, Xa Dung, and Keo Lôm, that received national grid electricity in 2024, thanks to VND 50 billion in support from Hồ Chí Minh City. These were the last hamlets in Điện Biên Đông without electricity.

Mùa A Vảng, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Điện Biên, emphasized that this support is a precious gift for the people of Điện Biên Đông. With it, they have ended the era of electricity deprivation in the district, making Điện Biên Đông the first district in the province to eliminate all electricity “blind spots.”

For Hồ Chí Minh City, supporting Điện Biên is not just an act of kindness but a shared responsibility. Over the years, the city has launched numerous initiatives, including: VND 35 billion for construction at the historic E2 Hill site; 200 gratitude houses worth VND 10 billion; 70 computers for schools in Điện Biên, Tuần Giáo, and Điện Biên Phủ city; free medical check-ups and health consultations for residents of Phì Nhừ commune, Điện Biên Đông.

Ten years ago, during the 60th anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ Victory, Hồ Chí Minh City contributed VND 30 billion to build the Mường Ảng district General Hospital - vastly improving local healthcare services and reducing referrals to higher-level hospitals.

In turn, Điện Biên has also expressed deep gratitude. During the COVID-19 crisis in 2021, when Hồ Chí Minh City became an epicenter, Điện Biên deployed three medical teams totaling nearly 80 doctors and nurses to assist. Over nearly three months, these medical workers cared for thousands of COVID-19 patients, including many in critical condition, helping to curb infections and reduce fatalities.

In late 2024, a traditional stilt house of Điện Biên ethnic groups was inaugurated in Võ Nguyên Giáp Park, An Khánh ward, Thủ Đức city. This cultural space symbolizes the enduring bond between Điện Biên Đông and Thủ Đức, and more broadly between Điện Biên Province and Hồ Chí Minh City. At the ceremony, Thủ Đức city leaders emphasized that the stilt house would stand as a lasting symbol of unity and a welcoming space for Điện Biên’s people visiting the South.

These many heartfelt contributions and reciprocal gestures form an unbreakable thread of solidarity. The long-standing tradition of mutual support will continue to grow through practical, meaningful actions, becoming the red thread that binds the two localities as they journey toward a shared, prosperous future.