Caring for People with Disabilities

Nguyen Thi Dung – Nhu Xuan ADP

“I want to go to school like my friends, but I can’t because my feet are paralysed and my eyesight is weak,” says Bui Thi Giang, a disabled child living in Thuong Ninh district, Thanh Hoa province.

“I can’t help my parents to make money either. My dreams are being able to go to school and having a job,” she adds.

To respond to Giang’s needs and those of other local people living with disabilities, World Vision’s Nhu Xuan programme joined with the district’s association for disabled residents to listen to opinions and celebrate the latest International Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December.

Taking part were 18 children and 65 adults with disabilities and local authority officials, with the meeting being the first time the three-year-old association had organised an event for the global day.

During the meeting, both young and old participants took the chance to express their desires for access to school and healthcare services, training and careers advice to gain employment and full integration into society. Many also called for a provincial network of disabled people, so they could help each other.

Understanding Giang’s difficult situation and similar challenges faced by others in the area, World Vision has provided a range of support.

Commenting on this, head of Thuong Ninh district, Phung Van Tien, says: “World Vision has given many people with disabilities pigs, chickens and cows to earn money. Many children have also received books, bicycles, clothes and blankets.

“The care from World Vision and the local community has encouraged disabled people to overcome their circumstances.”

Meanwhile, of the 16 thousand beneficiaries of World Vision’s Nhu Xuan Area Development Programme, over are 4,500 children.