I met a man, a man sitting on a wheelchair with austere, hollowed and haunted eyes. I met him in the meeting-hall of the wheelchair distribution ceremony of Thieu Hoa district. He was Quan Nhu Tan, a 55 years old man, hailing from Thieu Hoa district, living with his wife and 2 children.
Five years ago while he was working on the farm, he had a devastating accident, leading to irreparable and crippling damage to his spine and spinal chord. He was left without the use of his legs, rendering him unable to undertake the labor-intensive farming that was the lifeblood of him and his family.
“Sitting all day like this makes me feel despondent and impotent - I am supposed to be the backbone of my family” he said, “Sometimes, I think that we should borrow money from people or save money to buy a wheelchair then I can help myself! I could find a job and help my wife and children. But I don’t think this would ever have been possible, as my family is very poor and my 2 children have to go to school.”
To Mr Tan his desires seemed unable to be realized but today he is a very happy man. His kind-hearted sponsors, who come from countries far from Vietnam, have provided him with the wheelchair he has dreamt of.
“I think that God heard my prayers.”
Looking into his eyes, I believed that the wheelchair truly could take away those frown lines and make them into the creases of a grateful smile.
Written by Thuy Hong, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath
Five years ago while he was working on the farm, he had a devastating accident, leading to irreparable and crippling damage to his spine and spinal chord. He was left without the use of his legs, rendering him unable to undertake the labor-intensive farming that was the lifeblood of him and his family.
“Sitting all day like this makes me feel despondent and impotent - I am supposed to be the backbone of my family” he said, “Sometimes, I think that we should borrow money from people or save money to buy a wheelchair then I can help myself! I could find a job and help my wife and children. But I don’t think this would ever have been possible, as my family is very poor and my 2 children have to go to school.”
To Mr Tan his desires seemed unable to be realized but today he is a very happy man. His kind-hearted sponsors, who come from countries far from Vietnam, have provided him with the wheelchair he has dreamt of.
“I think that God heard my prayers.”
Looking into his eyes, I believed that the wheelchair truly could take away those frown lines and make them into the creases of a grateful smile.
Written by Thuy Hong, Edited by Jodie-Lee Trembath
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