The first things people notice about Thien are his bright eyes, gentle smile, and warm voice. He says he has been on a mission in A Luoi district, Thua Thien - Hue province, for 8 years. During this time, he has worked closely with people in A Ngo and Son Thuy commune to protect the local forest. Graduating from the Hue Agro-Forestry University in 2004, Thien volunteered to go to A Luoi, a poor mountainous district mostly inhabited by ethnic minority people. The area is one of Vietnam’s most severely deforested sites. Initially, Thien was assigned to manage 3,000 ha of forest. At that time, the local people considered forest protection the rangers’ task and they didn’t cooperate. Thien thought about how best to protect the forest, husband its resources, and improve the livelihood of local residents. He initiated a forest protection campaign that used members of the Youth Union as communicators to encourage local people not to illegally exploit agro-products. He suggested some measures to help improve people’s living conditions. "Based on the afforestation program of Thua Thien-Hue’s provincial People’s Committee, I wrote specific plans for households and groups of households. To date, 9,000 ha of forest have been assigned to 120 groups of households to manage. The people benefit from the program and they take responsibility for the forest they are managing," Thien says.

In 2011, Thien and his colleagues implemented a project to increase bio-diversity and boost incomes. Tran Loc, Chairman of Son Thuy Commune’s People’s Committee, says the program has increased people’s sense of responsibility for forest protection. "Thien has done well since he came here. He has consulted with local officials to work out coordinated plans to guard the forest and arrest illegal gold miners. Local officials and rangers jointly patrol the forest and people are no longer cutting trees illegally."

Thien has won the trust and affection of the local villagers. They have realized the value of the forest and have volunteered to protect it as a vital source of income for their families. Le Nhan Duc is Head of the A Luoi Forest Ranger Management Unit. "Thien has an inquiring mind. He has applied specialized soft wares in forest management. He always shares information with his colleagues. He is a reliable ally of local people."