Warm meals connect love

Understanding the hardships of her colleagues who have to struggle to find a place to eat and rest every noon, the female Party Secretary of Ham Thanh commune, Lam Dong province, came up with the idea and organized a collective kitchen for officials and civil servants working in this mountainous commune.

The communal kitchen not only provides nutritious meals, but is also a place to connect love.

Kitchen of Consensus

Ham Thanh commune has an operating apparatus of nearly 100 cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers mobilized and arranged from 4 old communes: My Thanh, Ham Can, Ham Thanh, Muong Man; along with a number of cadres from departments and branches of the province and Ham Thuan Nam district (old). Nearly 50% of these have to work far from home, leaving in the morning and returning in the afternoon.

Let's prepare lunch together

Secretary of the Party Committee of Ham Thanh Commune, To Thi Xuan Thuy, shared: When the merger was just completed, the organizational apparatus still had many things to arrange to soon operate stably.

"From the first days I arrived in the commune, I witnessed the situation where if the cadres did not bring their own lunch, they had to run 5 km from the Party headquarters to the commune administrative center at noon to find a restaurant. Some people ate quickly at the restaurant, took a break in a hammock at a coffee shop, some brought their lunch to their office, and others had to eat instant noodles," Ms. Thuy recalled.

Everyone understands that there are still many difficulties ahead in this process of change. However, in the eyes of most people, there is still a shining light of perseverance, dedication, and a quiet sense of responsibility.

Each person will be in charge of one task after work to prepare lunch.

Many of our brothers live in My Thanh, more than 20 km from their workplace, so they have to bring their own lunch or buy lunch boxes. At noon, they stop by a restaurant to eat most of the cold rice, then take a nap before returning to work. It's so pitiful to see that," said Secretary of the Party Committee of Ham Thanh Commune, To Thi Xuan Thuy.

During a dinner at home, the woman holding the most important position in the commune suddenly thought: If this situation continues, it will not be good. Because, the brothers need to eat properly to have the strength and spirit to stick with it and do their job well.

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That thought kept urging me to do something, no matter how small, to make my brothers feel secure at work.

Secretary of Ham Thanh Commune Party Committee To Thi Xuan Thuy

The next morning, when she arrived at the office, Ms. Xuan Thuy immediately checked the facilities at the office building of the Commune Military Command (old) - where the kitchen still existed.

She discussed with Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Binh, Chief of the Commune Party Committee Office, to survey the thoughts and aspirations of the cadres and civil servants. If everyone agreed, a communal kitchen would be set up, identifying this as something that needed to be done immediately to stabilize the lives of the people.

Dried fish salad looks eye-catching and attractive

After the survey, Ms. Ngoc Binh reported: "The brothers highly agreed if there was a communal kitchen." Immediately, the Party Secretary of the commune mobilized everyone to clean and tidy up the kitchen and dining area to make it clean and airy.

Since then, the lunch kitchen was established and has been maintained for more than 2 months now. Notably, 100% of cadres and civil servants of the Party Committee, People's Council, Fatherland Front Committee and socio-political organizations who work away from home have lunch at the kitchen.

When it was his turn to be on kitchen duty, the Party Secretary of the commune also went into the kitchen to cook for the brothers.

When the Party Secretary of the commune became the "head chef"

Lunch is organized in a disciplined manner. The staff and civil servants are clearly assigned tasks and take turns: one goes to the market, one cooks, and after eating, they take turns washing the dishes according to schedule.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, a Rai ethnic, used to work at the My Thanh Commune Front (old), now has to travel 23 km to work every day.

He said: Sometimes the Secretary also arranges work, goes to the market himself, cooks for everyone, and treats them like family.

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I feel happy and motivated. The kitchen for lunch is simple but the atmosphere is cozy and warm. Sometimes work is stressful, but during meals we have the opportunity to encourage and share with each other.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Deputy Chief of Office of Ham Thanh Commune Party Committee

A hot meal with full nutrition

Since the lunch kitchen was established, officials and civil servants have been happier because they get to change their menus regularly: hot rice, hot soup, braised fish, boiled vegetables, fried eggs, etc. The meals are simple but everyone finds them delicious.

It's been a long time since we had a cozy and "sumptuous" communal meal like a "banquet", not because of the elaborate dishes, but because of the closeness and sharing between brothers.

The kitchen is also a place to welcome familiar guests when they come to Ham Thanh.

Nowadays, lunch in the communal kitchen is not just about eating and drinking but also becomes a time to bond with the team, forming a unique office culture.

In that comfortable atmosphere, many new ideas for work are born, many practical problems are also resolved right at the dinner table.

Sometimes it was the Raglay Front cadre teaching the Front Chairman to learn the local language to facilitate mass mobilization; sometimes it was very practical exchanges on how to quickly handle administrative procedures.

The kitchen therefore not only "keeps the fire" of camaraderie but also becomes a place to nurture responsibility and creativity at work.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Ham Thanh Commune, To Thi Xuan Thuy, the initiator of the office lunch kitchen for commune civil servants

“The best thing is that everyone voluntarily divides the work among themselves: some go to the market, some cook, some wash dishes. Even the Commune Secretary is no exception, not only "making decisions" but also directly rolling up his sleeves to do the work. One day, right after finishing work, Ms. Thuy went down to the kitchen to cook for everyone,” Ms. Binh said.

In remote Ham Thanh, food sources are also difficult, so many times Ms. Thuy herself has to "subsidize" to make the group's meals more complete.

The lunch at the collective kitchen gathered about 20 cadres and civil servants of the Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee and the Front of socio-political organizations, including 6 ethnic minority cadres (5 people from the old My Thanh commune).

The biggest difficulty now is that the Party Committee office is located at the old Ham Can commune headquarters, where there is no market, only a few grocery stores, so food is scarce, expensive, and there is no refrigerator to preserve it. Most of the food for the kitchen is purchased directly by the commune Secretary himself from markets in Phan Thiet.

Lunch at the collective kitchen in Ham Thanh commune

Over the past two months, the establishment of a communal kitchen may be just a small matter among the many urgent tasks of the locality, but it is a start from practical things, starting with specific people.

"I don't think I can do anything big for you guys, this is just a small thing. But because I love you guys, I want everyone to connect and encourage each other during meals, together creating a friendly and humane working environment. And that is the solid foundation to build a united and effective local government apparatus," said Secretary of the Party Committee of Ham Thanh Commune, To Thi Xuan Thuy.

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I am happy to have contributed a small part so that those who are silently contributing to the locality can have a simple thing like a delicious lunch. From there, we have more motivation and encourage each other to strive to complete the task.

Secretary of Ham Thanh Commune Party Committee To Thi Xuan Thuy

Ham Thanh Commune Administrative Service Center

Ham Thanh today still faces many difficulties, but amidst the chaos, the communal kitchen is like a small flame that lights up trust and solidarity. Every lunch not only has delicious rice and sweet soup, but also the love of the leader and the quiet sharing of each cadre and civil servant.

That simple kitchen fire, when preserved together, has become a symbol of humanity and a fulcrum for the collective to overcome difficulties, moving towards a united and steadfast grassroots government.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/am-tinh-nhung-bua-an-gan-ket-yeu-thuong-393555.html