Starting Point
Ms. Dong Thi Thanh Hoa was born in 1955. After more than 30 years of teaching, Ms. Hoa retired in 2011. Initially, she joined the movement of the residential area as the Head of the Women's Association. In 2013, she was elected as the Head of the Residential Group and Head of the Mediation Team of Me Linh Residential Group 2, Ward 9, Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province. She has held her last position for more than 10 years and successfully mediated 100% of cases. She received a Certificate of Merit from the Minister of Justice for her outstanding achievements in implementing the Law on Mediation at the grassroots level.
Peace Journey
She shared that since she started working in mediation, she has kept a diary of community issue resolutions and established a network of trusted contacts, allowing people to call the local mediator whenever they face difficulties or problems. She recalled that her first mediation case was a conflict between two neighbouring families over a common path. One household often brought coffee beans out to dry, leading to arguments. In solving it, she met with each member to understand the point of view of both families.
She suggested that when a house lacks a yard, drying harvested coffee at home can cause trouble for others. She emphasised that tolerance and understanding among people must come first. After three months of persistent mobilisation and reconciliation, the two families finally ended the conflict.
Furthermore, based on her experience, resolving disputes and conflicts requires her to be exemplary and dedicated to her work. She also believes that her mediation work is successful because she is supported by the understanding of her husband and children. She then stated that the secret of her successful mediation lies in her willingness to embrace the conflicting parties. She considers them as family members and offers advice as if they were her own family, not as a team leader. Moreover, when addressing issues, she speaks privately, whispers, and analyses the emotional and logical sides, rather than rigidly imposing views or rules.
Success stories
In organising and implementing tasks, Ms. Hoa consistently strives to learn, seek opinions from the Party Committee and Party cells, and promote democracy among the people. She always collaborates with the residential group to successfully achieve the political, economic, socio-cultural, national defence, and security objectives, as well as the emulation movements and campaigns initiated by the locality and organisations. From 2012 to 2024, as the head of the mediation team, she received and successfully mediated 12 cases. The successful mediation rate of these 12 cases was 100%, with no need for further reconciliation. In her personal life, she and her family always strictly adhere to the Party's guidelines and policies, as well as the State's laws and regulations of the localities and residential groups. As a result, from 2018 to 2024, their family has consistently been recognised as a typical cultural family, and in 2019, they were commended as a cultural family for three consecutive years.