“Only when I don’t think regarding drugs anymore can I call it successful. But if I stay at home, I’m not sure I won’t go back to drugs. It was when I stood in the middle of a fork in the road, my brothers were there. , an uncle in police uniform came to me.Some are plain cadres, some are leaders, now they are retired or working as leaders. I keep in mind the gratitude of my brothers and sisters, they gave me encouragement, advice, and direction.
Following the advice of my uncles, brothers, I came here (Hanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district – PV) to do business. Here the soil is fertile, the climate is mild, and most importantly, complete isolation from the outside, cut off from the dangers that might lead me to relapse. The brothers and uncles lent me money, gave me thousands of acacia seedlings for me to start a business. Everyone’s love and trust for me is so great that I don’t allow myself to fail,” Long said.
3 years following successfully detoxing, in 2014, Mr. Long and his wife crossed the mountain into the Khe Chua mountain area (Hanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district) to set up a business. Recalling the day she sent her children here with her husband, Phuong is still haunted. There was no way in, the couple followed a path that sometimes lost its way among the wild trees, sometimes they had to swing by branches to pass.
His hands were blistered, his feet were bloody, then mosquitoes, squeezing the forest, there was no place to eat or sleep… but she didn’t complain, because only in this “monkey cough, stork neck” place did he completely break up. Great to be tempted by drugs. With a shovel, the rows of acacia melaleuca gradually took root and turned green.
Looking at her husband working hard to plant and fertilize, taking care of a few hectares of acacia, his sunken eyes but full of faith, she knew he had found himself once more.
Seeing that this land is suitable for growing fruit trees, especially citrus trees, Mr. Long boldly hired more to plan an orange garden. Fortunately, he met Dr. Do Chung – Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and was guided and supported on the process of planting and caring for orange gardens in an organic way.
His original 3,500 orange garden is fertilized with fermented soybeans, pest control with biological products, watered with clean water from streams, orange yield is 1-1.4 quintals/tree. Particularly in this Lunar New Year crop, orange output is estimated at 50 tons of oranges, revenue is regarding 1.5 billion dong.
In addition to 6 regular workers with a salary of 6 million VND/month, in the Tet orange crop, he had to mobilize nearly 40 seasonal workers to collect, pack, transport to the place of consumption, with a salary of 250,000 VND/person. /day. Currently, Mr. Long is carrying out procedures to register a trademark and recognize oranges as a clean and safe product for producers and consumers (OCOP products) to improve the value of this citrus fruit.
Among the 6 regular workers, there are people who also have a history of being deeply involved in drugs like Mr. Long. “Having been through it, I understand, if someone supports and encourages them, especially gives them the opportunity to work and earn, the path to break with drugs is shorter, the opportunity to return to be a Kindness is also more open,” Mr. Long confided.
If Mr. Long hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have thought that the man hiding in the orangery was ever a heavy drug addict. Mr. Nguyen Van Ha (53 years old) – who has worked on the farm for more than 3 years, “has more skin and flesh” than before.
Packed in the forest, the times he struggled because he was “hungry” for medicine, the times he was upset like thousands of ants chiseling into his bones, how many times he tried to cross the forest to turn back, Mr. Ha always had Mr. Long beside him, little by little. little by little pulling him out of the quagmire he thought he might never get out of. Currently, Ha’s wife is also facilitated to work here with her husband with a salary of 6 million VND/month. “Without Uncle Long, there would be no me today,” Ha confided.
Walking in the middle of the orange garden when the yellow fruits are still in bloom, personally picking the oranges to “appreciate” its sweet taste before harvesting to deliver to customers on New Year’s Day, Mr. Long might not hide his joy. Zooming his eyes in all directions, looking at the results of nearly 10 years of sweat, boiling tears, the man who once “buried” 13 years of youth in drugs, contemplated: “Now say rich or successful I don’t think so, but I feel that I live well and live comfortably with the forest.Now, besides oranges, tangerines, a few hectares of acacia, it’s also time to harvest, jackfruit, pomelo and tea are also green. Of course, there are still many shortages. But I feel rich, rich in people’s affection, in what I have done for people in the same situation.”
Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh – Chairman of Thanh Duc Commune People’s Committee said: “Mr. Le Van Long is an example in his efforts to self-medicate, break with drugs to rebuild his life. Not only that, with his prestige and ability. Mr. Long has repeatedly participated in the reconciliation of collisions and conflicts between some social groups, contributing to stabilizing the security and order situation in the area.This is also an example of dare to think and dare to do. , being bold in building and developing the economy by the model of gardens and forests, creating jobs for workers, initially bringing good results”.
