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
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
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