Loving wheelchairs & push carts
Wars, diseases, road accidents have left Vietnam a tragic consequence: 7 million people with disabilities which is 7,8% of Vietnamese population (Source: The Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs). How are people with disabilities doing and what do they need to improve their lives? Following the Lawrence S. Ting Fund – a charity organization in Vietnam, we’re out to find an answer to that question.
DISABILITIES ACCOMPANIED BY POVERTY
Kiều, a farmer who was born after the war, never thought that she would be a victim of a historical war. Only when three children of hers were born with abnormal signs, she knew she has been infected with Dioxins.
“The first two have epilepsy, the third is disabled”.
The third child of Kiều – Nguyễn Thị Quế Trân has been disabled since birth. Although she is 12 now, her consciousness is not as good as that of a two-year-old. All her activities have to depend on other people’s support.
Although her two elder children have been taken care of by the grandparents, their life is still very difficult. She and her husband board at an acquaintance’s house. They run errands for people to earn a living.
We’re leaving Tây Ninh for Bạc Liêu, a coastal province in the Mekong Delta. In a country where road accidents have become a serious problem with an average of nearly 30 deaths and 50 injuries per day, Bac Lieu is no exception. Consequences become more severe as most of those who are injured from road accidents end up with disabilities and live their lives in difficulties.
Vuong Bao Toan was the breadwinner of a quite well-off family but he almost lost it all after a road accident.
The accident aftermath left him an injured body and caused his family to fall apart. His wife left him right after the accident, his and his daughter’s lives depend on his old mother. And now when the mother has grown older and older, the family burden weighs on his school-age daughter.
“Most disabled people I met are living very tough lives. Not only they do but the whole family do too. It needs at least one caregiver to take care of them”, said Mr. Phan Chánh Dưỡng, Director of Lawrence S. Ting Memorial Fund.
WHAT DO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES NEED?
To find out what they need, we should mention the most essential need: Need of motion.
To take care of Quế Trân, Kiều and her husband had to make a wheelchair from waste iron bars and wheels, it is difficult to move around but it brings joy to Quế Trân, and helps Kiều have time to work. Kieu said in tears “I know it’s not comfortable sitting in that self-made wheelchair but we can’t even afford food let alone a wheelchair”.
For Toan who is bedridden due to road accident, the dream of owning a wheelchair is burning not only inside of him but also inside of his little girl. “I wish for a wheelchair to take my dad around…”, said his girl.
As for this case of Tran Anh Dzũng (Song Loc, Chau Thanh County, Tra Vinh Province), a victim of polio at the age of 2, a wheelchair is his means to earn a living. He learned to repair electronic devices to earn a living for the family. A few years ago, when electronic equipment was scarce and often reused, his income was quite stable. But now when it is more common, not so many people need to repair their stuff, his life is getting more difficult.
So, to help make their lives better and easier, help them integrate into community, meeting their urgent needs is essential. A wheelchair or push cart not only helps people with disabilities overcome movement issues, but also gives them optimism in their battles with physical impairments.
It is necessary but not every disabled people can afford a wheelchair or a push cart. Since 2009, Lawrence S. Ting Fund has been in 63 provinces of Vietnam to grant 17,660 wheelchairs and push carts to people with disabilities to help make their lives bettter. This is a really great effort of Lawrence S. Ting Fund. However this silent effort cannot meet the demand for wheelchairs and push carts of 7 million people with disabilities in Vietnam. Therefore, we really look for your support to help people with disabilities, said Mr. Phan Chánh Dưỡng.
LOVING WHEELCHAIRS AND PUSH CARTS
To help people with disabilities in Vietnam have a better life, to bring the dream of wheelchairs closer to them, let’s join hands with Lawrence S. Ting Fund in this wheelchair program.
Sponsorship for a wheelchair: VND 1,400,000
Sponsorship for a push cart: VND 2,300,000
Please contact:
- Huỳnh Văn Hiền Tel: 08.54113949
- Mobile: 0918028609 Fax : 08. 54115569
- Email : hvhien56@yahoo.com
