People who have been blind since birth face innumerable difficulties, most especially in countries such as Vietnam that have very limited resources for the visually impaired.
In Hanoi the Training and Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind (TRCB) offers courses in Therapeutic Massage, Computer Proficiency, English, Business Management and Communication Skills to blind students from the many provinces of Vietnam, thus greatly improving their employment opportunities and capacity to live productive and independent lives.
One such student to graduate from TRCB is Mr Dinh, a young man from Hoa Binh, a mountainous province of Vietnam. Born blind and in impoverished conditions, Mr Dinh struggled in mainstream school, often subjected to bullying and exclusion. When Mr Dinh first attended TRCB, he was quite shy and reserved, often afraid to speak up to his classmates and teachers. Furthermore, he lacked essential living skills for blind people such as direction realization and life skills such as cooking and washing clothes.
Through the onsite living and education at the TRCB campus, Mr Dinh was able to find the support and care his disability required. Through hard work and dedication he gradually learned the necessary vocational and soft skills required to be competent in the industry of remedial massage. The school also taught him life skills, many of which means he is now able to go anywhere he wants via the use of an orientation sticks whilst being able to define objects as well as roads and paths quite well. Notably, perhaps the biggest change throughout the course was Mr Dinh’s self-confidence, which as it improved, so too did his ability to effectively communicate with fellow students and teachers alike.
Upon completion of the course Mr Dinh returned to his hometown before getting married and gaining full time employment at a small massage centre. Mr Dinh now has a renewed sense of hope in his personal and professional life as he is able to provide a stable source of income for him and his family. Mrs Dinh (who is also visually impaired) now hopes to attend TRCB and study massage. They dream of owning their own massage centre in the future and hope to provide job opportunities for other visually impaired people from within their province.
AMS would like to thank and acknowledge its partnership with the Catholic Mission, who’s generosity has ensured that stories like Mr Dinh’s are possible.
There is much more to be done for youth with a disability in Vietnam. To learn about how you can help, visit: Training for the Visually Impaired | Vietnam