Looking at the way he talks, his gentle, caring gestures towards people with disabilities, I respect and admire him.
The small man still quietly, silently, day after day, hour after hour, passes on the fire to less fortunate people in life… That is Dao Van Tuan, Chair of the Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities.
The warmth of human kindness
I came to know him quite by chance, when I took part in an exhibition on the theme “Another me”, about the lives and fates of people with disabilities, people living with HIV and gay people, held at Ly Thai To flower garden, beside Hoan Kiem Lake, on a late autumn day. Looking at the photo of him gently instructing people with disabilities in a small sewing workshop, my heart suddenly felt warm, happy and proud. I fell silent and thought to myself that happiness sometimes comes from the simplest things around us.
Born and raised in the sacred land of Mount Tan, surrounded by many great rivers, Tuan has had a congenital disability in both legs since childhood. But that was also the reason and the motivation driving him to rise above fate. Looking at himself and the less fortunate people with disabilities around him, he has always wondered: How can these people stop feeling inferior and have the conditions to live and carry on as other people do?
Tuan has gradually carried out his life’s plans step by step. In 2013, he was elected by everyone as Chair of the Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities, an important stepping stone giving him the chance to be close to people with disabilities, encouraging them and sharing with them. Undaunted by hardship, he travelled to every village and commune in Ba Vi district to publicise and encourage people with disabilities to take part in the association’s activities. Tuan confided: Encouraging non-disabled people to take part in social work is already hard, and for people with disabilities it is much harder, because they always feel inferior and lack confidence in themselves. But with the spirit that “the slightly torn leaf wraps the more torn leaf”, the association’s leaders have used their own sincerity and heartfelt sympathy to encourage and share with less fortunate people, creating conditions to help them integrate into the community.
Speaking of Tuan, many members of the Association of People with Disabilities often jokingly call him the “keeper of the flame” for the desire to live and to contribute of people with less fortunate lives.
Tuan’s small sewing workshop creates many jobs for people with disabilities. Photo: Thang Le
A place to lift dreams…
The Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities now has 358 members from communes across the district. The association’s purpose is to be a place for socialising, learning, building capacity and creating jobs for less fortunate people with disabilities. With that aim, the association’s leaders have regularly organised training sessions on the law and shared production and business experience with everyone. Many meaningful classes have been set up: sewing classes, photography classes, and classes teaching skills in animal husbandry and farming…
Besides sharing experience in work and production, the Association also handles procedures for bank loans from the Social Policy Bank for members who need to develop their careers. Many examples of good workers and producers have emerged, such as Ngoc Anh from Tan Linh commune, Ba Vi district. Through his own determination and the enthusiastic help of the leaders of the Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities, he set up his own workshop producing handicrafts and household goods, creating jobs for a large workforce.
Or the case of Nguyen Ngoc Nam from Tan Hong commune, who, with the thought that she is “disabled but not incapable”, has striven to rise up, produce and earn a living, support herself and help her family. Tuan himself also took out a loan and set up a small sewing workshop, creating jobs for many members of the association. Sharing with our reporter, Tuan said: At present, the funding for the association’s activities comes mainly from the Ba Vi District People’s Committee.
The Association also regularly exchanges and liaises with many non-governmental organisations and charities such as ADCD and AFCD…, attracting many projects, helping to create jobs and giving members access to new knowledge. Besides exchanging and sharing experience among members, the leaders of the Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities also regularly organise study visits for members to districts across Hanoi. From such trips, many members have applied economic production models successfully.
Returning to the Ba Vi District Association of People with Disabilities today, we feel change and a new vitality filling the air. We hope that people with disabilities here in particular, and less fortunate people in life in general, will always keep their faith and contribute to building society.
Thang Le – http://phapluatxahoi.vn