She is Dang Thi Ngoc Anh; a cruel fate meant that from the moment she was born she had paralysis in both legs. At 14, she “crawled and dragged herself” into Ho Chi Minh City to live independently. With extraordinary will and determination, she is now the female director of a garment company, creating jobs for hundreds of people with disabilities.
A miraculous turning point
Come to An Hai Tay Ward, Son Tra District, Da Nang City, and when people mention Ms Dang Thi Ngoc Anh, Director of Tam Thien Co., Ltd., everyone admires the talent and rising will of the woman who achieved a “miracle” on legs with a disability. Few know that to achieve the success she has today, she went through so many twists of fate. Born into a poor family of seven siblings, she was not as fortunate as her siblings, all of whom were born safe and sound. Ms Anh unfortunately had paralysis from childhood, sitting in one place day after day, going back and forth in a corner of the house.
Ms Dang Thi Ngoc Anh.
She said: “At that time, though still very small, I was already aware that I was not like ordinary people. Seeing my friends of the same age going to school with their satchels every day, I felt self-conscious and useless. My parents worked hard all day, so they had no time to pay attention to me”. At the age of 14, her life still depended entirely on her family. On days when her parents and siblings came home late from work, with no one to bring her food, Ms Anh was faint with hunger. Many times, when she wanted to go to the toilet or bathe… she had to wait until her mother came home and carried her there. “Every day was like that, and I felt humiliated, sad and discouraged. Not wanting to be a burden on my family, I decided to leave home and make a living on my own. No sooner said than done, the next day I asked a neighbour to take me to the road, and then I “crawled” onto a coach to Ho Chi Minh City”, Ms Anh recalled with emotion.
In 1986–1988, she dragged herself all over Ho Chi Minh City without finding a place to stay. With nowhere to sleep and no food, she lay around on pavements and in parks. Wherever she went to ask for work, people treated her coldly, with contemptuous looks. She said: “At that time, though helpless, I thought that since I had come this far, I could not die here in Ho Chi Minh City. In the days that followed, I did all kinds of work, from shining shoes, selling lottery tickets and bread, to washing dishes for hire, just to have something to eat each day”. Life does not abandon people with determination, and in the days when Ms Anh dragged herself around selling lottery tickets, she met a regular customer who, seeing that although she had a disability she diligently sold tickets in rain or shine, offered to take her home to work as a domestic worker. From then on, Ms Anh had a place to live.
She said: “I knew I could not do as much work as an ordinary person, so instead I tried to please the lady and the young mistress of the house. I just lived cleanly, honestly and diligently, so they loved me“. The turning point in Ms Anh’s life came when the family she worked for as a domestic worker opened a garment workshop. In her free time, she often secretly watched the workers in the workshop sewing on buttons, making buttonholes, stitching… The rhythmic sound of the sewing machines attracted her before she knew it. Then, one day, Ms Anh happened to see the young mistress’s clothing designs on the table, and she was enchanted. From then on, she secretly bought drawing paper and, back in her room, sketched out clothing designs from her own imagination.
She recalled: “Once, the young mistress of the garment workshop caught sight of my designs, and she was stunned and amazed, unable to believe that a person with a disability, with no schooling like me, could draw such designs. From then on, she bought me my own sewing table for a person with a disability. Every day, she taught me how to sew, and I helped her with design ideas“. Ten years of struggling with the harsh life in Ho Chi Minh City not only gave Ms Anh rich life experience and a solid trade, but her legs also took their first faltering steps.
Mother Anh patiently teaching her children every stitch.
Mother to more than 100 children
In 2000, Ms Anh decided to return to her home city of Da Nang to make a living. She had left empty-handed, and on her return she had bought three sewing machines to continue earning a living by sewing. Ms Anh confided: “Finding a job is already difficult for an ordinary person, let alone for people with disabilities. I have knocked on many doors asking for work, so I understand how they feel. People with disabilities are always vulnerable in society. From that, I nurtured the idea that I must do something to help them”. From Ms Anh’s humane thoughts, Tam Thien Co., Ltd., a company of people with disabilities specialising in garments, embroidery and printing, was born in 2005.
In the early years of its founding, Ms Anh’s company faced countless difficulties. Day after day, even with legs with a disability, she had to rush about, busy with the company’s production, finding outlets for its products, and looking for investors…. In the first year, the company had only seven young people learning the trade; over seven years, hundreds of young people with disabilities have now been nurtured and taught a trade by Ms Anh. Ms Anh confided: “The young people who come here include some affected by Agent Orange, some with paralysis, some with epilepsy, some with cerebral palsy, so caring for them has been difficult enough, let alone teaching them, so I have to sort them into groups. Those who are able to work, I teach sewing, embroidery and literacy; those with severe impairments, I care for and guide in simple activities”.
In a level-four house roofed temporarily with an old, flimsy, crooked corrugated-iron roof, dozens of deaf and non-speaking children, children with cerebral palsy, children who have lost legs… chatter as they call Ms Anh “mother”. When asked why she did not look for a man to lean on, Ms Anh just smiled gently and said: “There have been many able-bodied people, and people in the same situation, who wanted to marry me. But I only think that now I do not have just one child, but dozens of children; if I think of my own happiness, I fear I will no longer be able to look after the children. Many times, when things were too difficult, I felt discouraged and wanted to disband the company and send the children back to their families. But seeing the innocent children diligently sewing every stitch, I could not bear it…”.
Sacrificing her own happiness, Ms Anh is instead happy and content when her children grow up. Many of her children, once they have a solid trade, are given a small amount of capital by her to return home, open a tailoring shop, and marry. She happily told us: “I am only 45 this year, but I already have nine grandchildren, and at festivals the children often come to visit me. Those who live too far away call me”. Dung (16 years old), from Que Son District, Quang Nam Province, was brought to Ms Anh by her family two years ago. When she first arrived, she was a shy girl, afraid of strangers, sitting alone in a corner. Now she is the eldest sister in the family. Not only is she good at sewing and embroidery, she also helps Mother Anh look after the younger children. Dung shared: “Mother Anh loves us children so much. She saves anything tasty for us to eat; many nights, even when she is ill, she still works until late at night”.
Standing in front of the small house named “Tam Thien Co., Ltd.” of people with disabilities, no one could believe that this is the home and workplace of more than 60 people with disabilities, and the warm home that has given wings to the dreams of hundreds of other people with disabilities. For her achievements, in 2011 Ms Anh received a certificate of merit from the Da Nang City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for “Enterprise Overcoming Difficulties”.
Bao Binh – http://www.nguoiduatin.vn