Born and raised in a family where both parents were farmers, the life of the young man Tran The Dat (born in 1989, in Yen My Commune, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi) drifted by peacefully and calmly, like the suburban home village where he was born and raised.
In 2006, when he was in grade 11, Dat suddenly contracted a serious illness and lost all the sight in both his eyes. Dat’s life seemed to go “downhill” from then on, but unexpectedly, with extraordinary resilience and determination to overcome difficulties, Dat showed a will to strive “though my eyes are lost, my mind is never dimmed” as the words of the traditional song that many blind people have long regarded as a torch lighting their thorny path in life.
The student with a visual impairment whose mind is “never dimmed”
For three years after losing the light in his eyes, Dat spent all day alone in his room, burdened by his own sense of inferiority and low self-esteem. He did not dare go out or meet anyone, not even neighbours who came to visit; he isolated himself from community and social life. But over time, with encouragement from his parents, his two elder sisters and his friends, Dat gradually recovered. He began fumbling his way through small household chores to help his parents, such as cooking rice, sweeping the house and washing clothes….
At the beginning of 2009, Dat joined activities at the Thanh Tri District Association of the Blind (Hanoi). This marked a bright turning point in the life of Dat, which had seemed submerged in darkness. On his first visit to the association, he met its chairman, Le Tu Lap, and saw that although Mr Lap could not see, he could use a computer proficiently and speak English quite clearly… which gradually changed Dat’s thinking about his own illness. From surprise and curiosity, Dat gradually felt a belief, a hope and a goal to strive towards.
Dat began his efforts by learning Braille and getting to know computers. Once he could use Braille proficiently, he was determined to return to school. Overcoming difficulties and his sense of inferiority, in September 2009, Dat applied to Nguyen Van To High School at 47 Hang Quat (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) to continue his high school education. Every day, Dat asked a family member to take him to the bus stop, then caught the bus to school by himself. Those hard, difficult and gruelling days were finally rewarded with the high school diploma Dat brought home to show his parents.
With a passion for English and IT, Dat was determined to pursue his dream and turn it into reality. As soon as he joined the Thanh Tri District Association of the Blind, Dat enrolled in the association’s English and computer classes, sponsored by the non-governmental organisation ACCV. Throughout his studies, Dat was always an outstanding student in the class. Recognising Dat’s passion and ability, in November 2010, ACCV officially employed Dat and assigned him to manage the A Brighter Tomorrow programme, supporting school fees for poor pupils and students in Hanoi and Bac Ninh Province. Working successfully in this organisation, in June 2011, Dat and ACCV founded an English club exclusively for people with visual impairments at the British Council at 20 Thuy Khue (Hanoi), creating a space of their own for people with visual impairments to learn, exchange ideas and develop their English vocabulary.
In September 2011, with tremendous effort, Dat passed the entrance exams to two universities. He is now a third-year student at Hanoi University (majoring in English) and the Open University (majoring in Business Administration).
Besides attending university lectures, Dat actively takes part in association work and does massage and acupressure at the association’s facility to earn extra money for himself and ease the burden on his family. Not stopping there, in April 2012, Dat won a scholarship for a short course in Australia. During the course, Dat studied advanced English and IT, and also learned transport skills and met special guide dogs.
Returning from his study trip and experience in Australia, Dat felt he had matured, becoming more thoughtful in his thinking and in his view of everyday life. Drawing on what he had learned and comparing it to suit the lives of people with visual impairments in Vietnam, Dat plans to bring back the knowledge he gained in Australia about how to walk with a cane, how to position a cane and how to use a cane effectively to detect obstacles on the road. He also plans to introduce and widely share how to use a sensor cane, which can detect obstacles well within a range of 1–2 m through vibration, helping people with visual impairments move around more easily. In addition, Dat is learning so that he can soon introduce and widely apply software to help people with visual impairments use computers conveniently through accompanying audio systems…
With all his efforts and hard work, Dat always hopes he can help people in the same situation as himself have the chance to integrate into the community and have a brighter future.
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