Growing up in the heart of the Safe Zone (ATK), I was nurtured with folk melodies, paternal love, maternal devotion and stories about the revolution and about Uncle Ho - the simple yet great elderly father of the nation. In the consciousness of every Thai Nguyen resident, Uncle Ho is not just a leader, but a flesh and blood part of us, a beloved one in the common Vietnamese home. Therefore, the visit to Uncle Ho's homeland - Sen village (Nam Dan district, Nghe An province) is not merely a geographical journey, but a return to spiritual roots, the origin of revolutionary spirit.

Children of Thai Nguyen homeland visiting and learning about the life, career and ideology of Ho Chi Minh through the photo exhibition about him at the Special National Historical Site of Sen village (Kim Lien, Nam Dan, Nghe An)

Sen Village - From legend to reality

Arriving in Sen village on an early summer day, my heart trembled as I walked through the village gate, where shaded fences stood and white lotus flowers bloomed in small ponds. The peace was striking. The simple thatched house with its straw roof faded by time still stands there - a living testament to the moral values in which he was born and immersed since childhood.

I slowly walked through each small room, looking at the plain wooden trunk, the bamboo bed and all the simple items that were once connected to Uncle Ho's family, then paused for a long time before the photo of Associate Doctor Nguyen Sinh Sac - his father. It seems time still lingers here; I could sense the warm teaching voice and the presence of a scholarly family - poor in material possessions but rich in patriotism. It was here that the first seeds were sown for a great character, an exceptional intellect - Ho Chi Minh.

Khuon Tat hut on Khau Ty hill, Diem Mac commune, Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen province - where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked during the resistance against French colonialism 1947-1954. (Photo: Documentary)

Thai Nguyen - Nghe An: Two heartbeats of the nation

As a child of Thai Nguyen, I cannot help but be moved when recognizing the connection, the sacred bond between my homeland and Uncle Ho's birthplace. If Nghe An is where he uttered his first cries, where his character was formed and took shape, then Thai Nguyen - the former ATK area - is where he lived, worked and made historic decisions that led to the great victory of our nation and where he elevated his character, providing shade for generations to come.

The two lands - one in the North, one in the Central region - seemingly distant, yet like two arms of one body, two beats of one heart. From Sen village to Khau Ty hill, from Nam Dan to Phu Dinh... every place bears Uncle Ho's footprints. Each step taken is like turning pages of history; I feel ever closer, not because of physical space, but because of a connection: nurturing the soul, patriotism and revolutionary ideals.

Amid the mountains and forests of Viet Bac ATK Dinh Hoa - Thai Nguyen during the years of resistance against French colonialism, Uncle Ho composed poetry reflecting his concern for the nation's fate: "The stream sounds like distant singing/ Moonlight through ancient trees, shadows through flowers/ The night scene as if painted, one not yet asleep/ Not asleep due to concerns for the country" (Photo: Documentary)

A profound lesson from simple things

President Ho Chi Minh once said: "To save the country and liberate the nation, there is no other way than the proletarian revolutionary path." But he also said: "Cadres are servants of the People." In Uncle Ho's greatness, I find boundless humility. He carried profound ideas, but never distanced himself from the People.

This is what gives Ho Chi Minh's ideology its enduring vitality. It is not rigid dogma, but a philosophy of life: Being close to the people, working for the people, living among the people. He ate cassava and corn with compatriots in war zones, washed his own clothes, swept courtyards, asked after young soldiers and listened to village elders... These seemingly simple things remain great lessons today for our country's cadres, party members and youth.

Vinh city center, Nghe An today

Today's nation - Reality from his dreams

Leaving Sen village, I returned to Thai Nguyen, which has now donned new attire. Wide roads, modern industrial zones, regional universities filled with joyful laughter and the people's increasingly prosperous lives. Like Thai Nguyen, Nghe An has now become a key socio-economic development center of the Central region. From the streets of Vinh city to villages along the Lam River, everywhere one sees the uniforms of students, workers, doctors, engineers - people who are continuing the ideal that "everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, everyone can receive education" that Uncle Ho always wished for.

The homeland transforms, the country continues to rise. From lands that were once difficult, from Thai Nguyen's tea country to today's Nghe region, they have become new growth poles, bright spots in the renovation process. This is the realization of the aspirations that President Ho initiated.

Thai Nguyen growing strong alongside the country

I write these lines on an afternoon in May, Uncle Ho's birthday, in the former revolutionary war zone. I think to myself: Thai Nguyen and Nghe An - these two lands are not only connected to Uncle Ho's life but are also bridges linking the glorious past with the bright present and radiant future.

And I firmly believe one thing: Although time may pass, stars may shift, the world may change, the values that President Ho Chi Minh left behind - love for homeland, compassion, devotion to the people and country - will forever remain a guiding light for the Vietnamese nation as it continues its journey.