Vietnam recently held their official "National Day for People with Disability".
The Disability Resource and Development (DRD) group was an organisation founded in 2005 under the sponsorship of the Vietnam Ford Fund and supported by the Sociology Department of Ho Chi Minh City Open University with the aim of promoting a positive image for people with disabilities in society.
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| Managing Director of DRD, Vo Thi Hoang Yen. |
Vo Thi Hoang Yen, Managing Director of DRD, was crippled after a serious fever when she was just 3 years old. One of her leg's lost its mobility, and the other became weak. Using her crutches, Yen can only walk short distances.
Luu Thi Anh Loan, Yen's Assistant Managing Director, found herself in a similar situation to Yen's, but with lots of practice and hard work, Loan can still use her legs to walk about.
In charge of the deaf section of DRD, Duong Phuong Hanh is herself also deaf. Hanh was not born deaf, instead her hearing impairment was caused from a severe disease she suffered from when she was 6.
Nguyen Thanh Tung, in charge of the events management and communication section of DRD, has to use crutches to move about as a result of his disabled legs. Nguyen Van Cu, in charge of the training and employment section of DRD, has one crippled leg.
Every member in DRD suffers from some sort of disability, with the exception of a few volunteers who often come and give the group support. The organisation has made great progress over 4 years and become one of the most respected organisations that supports people with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City. Each member has their own remarkable achievement story and situation.
Vo Thi Hoang Yen has two bachelor degrees in Economics and Foreign Language, a master's degree in Behavioural Science from the University of Kansas, USA in which she produced an excellent thesis. Yen has also received many international awards for her research studies and contributions for the disabled community in Vietnam.
Luu Thi Anh Loan, who graduated from Hanoi University, was one of the first professional's to organise a peer counselling method psychotherapy programme in Vietnam.
Loan's psychotherapy group has brought their programme to many medical centres in Ho Chi Minh City such as the HCMC Orthopaedic Trauma Centre, the Nursing & Rehabilitation Treatment for Occupational related Diseases Hospital, and Cho Ray Hospital.
Duong Phuong Hanh, despite her disability, learned how to read and write with strong determination. After her high school graduation, she attended the Hanoi University of Technology and continued to improve her foreign language skills. Besides being able to speak sign language, Hanh can also lip-read Vietnamese and communicate about basic things in English. Her translating skills are excellent. This has made Hanh a very special person in the disabled community.
What is most remarkable about those people is their optimistic disposition and extraordinary strength to overcome their unlucky fates.
Vo Thi Hoang Yen said with confidence, "You might run faster than me, but your brain may not work as fast as mine." Luu Thi Anh Loan shared her view, "In life, one door closes, another opens." Dang Phuong Hanh added, "If you go, you'll get there."
DRD's mission statement is: "Disability is only a limitation; the disabled absolutely have the ability to learn and work just as well as people without a disability given a suitable learning environment and conditions."
The organisation often refuses charitable money being given to DRD, and instead, only accepts support for scholarships for disabled children and fund money for the organisation's many projects.
According to DRD, people with disabilities do not need be taken care of, and the only thing they need is an environment, where they can fully grow and develop.
