Story of Mrs. Tran Thi Binh

29 years old, Thieu Duong, Thieu Hoa, Thanh Hoa 135

Hundreds of people with disabilities surrounded me at the Thanh Hoa wheelchair distribution ceremony, each with their own specific needs. I made my way to the corner of the hall, where I met a gentle young woman: Mrs Tran Thi Binh. Her eyes were dark and lively, making me wonder what emotion was contained behind their veil.

Mrs. Binh was born in 1979. Her twin sister died at birth and Mrs.Binh was left paralyzed. Her father passed away in 2006 after a long battle with toxic chemical poisoning; a consequence of his soldiering in Cambodia. It was believed that these poisons were passed onto his children, leaving Mrs Binh in her current position.

It was with joy that Mrs. Binh revealed that she has an 18 month old son. As I asked about his father she just smiled sadly with a shake of head. The ungrateful husband could not stand a life of poverty with a disabled wife and had left, with no promise of return.

“Sometimes I feel so much self pity, and so disadvantaged that I just want to burst into tears!” Mrs Binh told me. “However I have to try to fight and overcome my difficulties because I must stand on my own feet to bring up my son.”

Mrs Binh’s most fervent inner wish is to gain stable employment so that she can bring up her son and support him through school like other normal children. Needless to say, her son is her future; the most significant aspect in her life.

The wheelchair will help her to hold her son and carry him around the house more easily, feed him and do other errands if possible. She said that this was the first time she had ever received such a valued gift and she would keep it forever.

I am so pleased for her that this gift will allow her to bring up her son, and I only hope that her son will grow into a young man deserving of his mother’s sacrifices. If he is anything like his mother, I am sure that he will.

Interviewed and written by Mai Nga, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath

Story of Nguyen Thi Thanh

50 years old, Yen Chau, Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa

When I attend the wheelchair distribution ceremonies in remote areas like Thanh Hoa there are a lot of situations that move me profoundly. I understand more clearly that the majority of our people are still poor and underdeveloped and that they have to struggle all their life just to earn their daily bread. Therefore the humanitarian donations of kind-hearted people, in conjunction with the important contributions from the government, are becoming more and more significant and invaluable.

One of the situations that I encountered on this occasion was that of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh who lives at Yen Chau village, Tinh Gia district. She is 50 years old and has never married. Ms.Thanh is paralyzed in both legs from a birth defect and still lives with her 72 year-old mother. In spite of her advanced years, Ms. Thanh is unable to do anything for herself, even her personal hygiene and self-caring. All the responsibility is borne on the shoulders of her mother who is getting older and weaker. Ms. Thanh has 3 brothers but they toil all year long over the salt fields just to earn enough for a daily meal, thus they cannot support her. Her mother is too old and weak to do farming work so the two women grow peanuts on the barren ground outside their dwelling to earn the little money they have to get by. One peanut crop gives them 200.000VND (approximately $12USD) every 4 months. They receive no government assistance. Hearing their stories, I could not imagine how they have survived on such little income, and said as much. Ms Thanh gave me a small smile: “We are not the only ones. You only need to look around you – we’re all in the same boat.” I felt such sympathy for her and all the other poor people who toil all day with the farm work to manage enough food to survive.

Hopefully the wheelchair will make her life easier. But situations like these help me to understand just how important these contributions are to people like Ms.Thanh and her mother. And it makes me hope, more fervently than ever, that the assistance will continue, and increase, in years to come.

Interviewed and written by Mai Nga, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath

Story of Nguyen Thi Dung

The innocent yet confused child sat snuggled in her comfort of her new companion- the wheelchair of her very own. Her uncertainty was obvious as she fiddled with the handles of the new gadget. It was hard to believe that the child facing me was 14-year-old adolescent, Nguyen Thi Dung. Since birth, she suffered from quadriplegia and is unable to express herself nor move around on her own.

Sitting patiently next to her was an aged middle-aged woman, who wore a sad expression. She shared her challenges taking care of her disabled child, “When she was a little gal, I could still manage and carry her around the house. But now, she has grown bigger and is too heavy for me to carry her. I can’t even lift her off the bed on my own, so I have no choice but leave her in the home all the time.”

Sensing her daughter’s apprehension at the Wheelchair Donation Ceremony, she explained, “It has been a long time since Dung has stepped out of the house and she is not used to seeing so many people.

Dung lives with her parents and her grandmother at sector 7, village 3, Quang Khe commune, Thanh Hoa, Vietnam. Her loving grandmother turns 80 this year and is deeply grateful for the brand-new wheelchair. Since the very first mention of the wheelchair gift to her granddaughter, the old lady has been talking it and reminding the family repeatedly to thank the donors for this invaluable gift. “With the new wheelchair, I would be able to bring her out for evening strolls with the grandmother,” said Dung’s mother.

Dung was still seated in her new wheelchair, looking at us intently as we spoke. Looking into her eyes, I knew she understood.

This wheelchair would definitely create a positive impact in this young lady’s life and lighten the burden on her family. I turned to look at Dung’s mother and saw renewed hope and joy in her once helpless eyes.

Written by Thuy Linh, edited by Dorothy Ng

Story of Le Duc Manh

24 years old, Trung Chinh, Nong Cong, Thanh Hoa

A young man needs a dream, but Manh’s dream was taken away from him. It has been more than a year since the terrible accident that took away the use of Manh’s legs, and . in the blink of an eye Manh was reduced from a strong, hard working, healthy young boy to being a burden on his family. Tired, confused and depressed, in the months after the accident Manh seemed to lose all hope for the future and allowed himself to drift on the wings of destiny.

Manh is the eldest of 3 brothers. His parents are rice farmers with a minimal income. After graduating from high school, Manh passed the entrance exam to Mechanic’s Technical School at Ninh Binh province and was soon expected to graduate, at which time he could have left the contruction company and found a job with less dangerous conditions and better pay, to support his parents and his brothers. But now that door has been shut in his face.

The accident happened while Manh was driving an excavator for a forestry construction company. It had been a normal day, when suddenly there was a landslide, and the huge machine upturned and fell across his body. Manh was promptly rescued from death but he forever lost the use of his left leg. The other leg was fractured. A full year later, he is still receiving medical treatment and has not yet completely recovered. For the most part he has to stay inside the narrow space of the family’s small house, giving up the desires and wishes of his youth. It is a bleak, unsatisfying life. In addition to his own personal grief, he bears the guilt of being a burden on his family; he cannot take care of his personal needs, and many a night he has lain awake worrying because of the money his parents had to spend on his medical treatment.

The way before him may be long and difficult but thanks to this generous opportunity, it is not quite hopeless. Mạnh confided in me that he would take part in a computer course and eventually, open a maintenance and repairs shop. Now with this wheelchair, Manh is one very large step closer to making his new dream come true.

Manh’s ability to continue to dream, in spite of all he has been through, helps me understand that tomorrow can be brighter and happier no matter how horrible or desperate the present is. It all comes down to attitude. And a willingness to dream.

Interviewed and written by Mai Nga, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath

Story of Bach Thi Huong

Age: 13; Address: Cong Liem village, Nong Cong district, Thanh Hoa city

I have traveled to many places but to be honest, most of those places were urban, and filled with the sounds of laughter and bright conversation. Sure, there were some poor people but they were mixed in with the wealthy crowds, so their minority was often hidden from the careless eye. In Cong Liem village, nothing is hidden. My careless eyes were truly opened.

Life in the countryside is very poor. From year to year people only trade in rice and sweet potatoes. If the weather changes unexpectedly, it can ruin an entire crop – and destroy a farmer’s livelihood for the year.

When we joined this program, which distributes wheelchairs to crippled people, I arrived with a great faith that I could bring a little happiness to troubled families in areas like this. Mrs Bach Thi Thu, of Cong Liem village in the Nong Cong district, is a prime example. She has given birth to 3 babies, but the first baby died only minutes after he was born and the second baby died when she not even 2 years old. The third baby is now grown into a young girl – Ms Bach Thi Huong. But sadly, at the age of 13 Huong exhibits few signs of life.

Looking at the inanimate child held firmly in her mother’s arms, I felt my heart wring with pain. Huong often suffers from convulsive attacks so her mother must be watchful at all times. During the attacks, it’s very difficult to keep Huong still. The family sold much of their farm land to pay for Huong to be treated but unfortunately, this did not have a particularly positive result. “Our last faith was lost,” said Mrs Thu. “The smiles had been stolen from our faces.”

When we gave them the wheelchair, tears welled up their eyes.


Cong Liem village is so isolated that few people hear the tragic stories of the people who mete out a meager existence here. Support, when it comes, usually comes from the neighbouring villages, rather than the authorities. Still, it is enough to encourage the farmer’s spirits. Mrs. Thu shared with me her hope that Huong like other similarly disadvantaged people, would receive increasing support and assistance from the local authorities and the kind hearted elsewhere. It made me wonder how many others like Huong don’t have access to even the most basic of treatments; and how long it would be before they received the assistance they need.

Interviewed and written by Mai Nga, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath