All of the roads connecting the hamlets and villages in Thuy Van commune have been paved. Vehicles, including mowers and tractors, can now travel easily over these roads. The local people are happy with the better infrastructure. As 65 year-old Nguyen Thi Mua puts it: "It’s more convenient for us to travel now. In the past, it was extremely difficult for us to walk on dirt roads, especially after a rain. I hope I can live a bit longer to enjoy this more comfortable life. Most of the local people, including old people like me, responded enthusiastically to the local administration’s appeal to contribute money and labor to the new rural development program."
Another farmer, Nguyen Thi Thu said that after the program and its benefits were clearly explained, they fully supported it. Thu said: "We understand that we are the ultimate beneficiaries of the national program on new rural development. With the materials provided by the government, we are always ready to contribute our labor to make new roads as this improves our living conditions and business activities as well."

Applying new technologies and modern machines, and rezoning fields is considered an important yet difficult part of new rural development because of ingrained farming habits. But after the benefits of such activities were explained, the local farmers were willing to change. A total of 340 ha of farm land has been rezoned, making it much easier for the farmers to grow their crops. Dao Viet Bo, the chairman of Thuy Van commune’s People’s Committee, said:

"The local staff did their best to explain the new rural development program and persuade the local people to take part. In 2011, we managed to persuade every local household to contribute land, money and labor to field-rezoning activities, worth around 1 million USD. By last December, we had mobilized nearly 5 million USD for the new rural development program, mostly contributed from the local state budget and by the local residents. Without the people, we would not have gained such achievements."

Placing the people, their concerns and benefits at the center of the program, Thuy Van commune has long acknowledged the importance of boosting productivity while reducing labor by applying new modern technologies and incentives. Dao Viet Bo again: "We now have 100% paved roads, schools and healthcare centers of national standard quality. In 2013, we upgraded the local irrigation system and the infrastructure with materials and labor mostly contributed by the people."

Thuy Van commune attributes its success to the local authorities’ efforts to ensure democracy, openness, and transparency in management while mobilizing local contributions to the program.