(VOVWORLD) - The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has more than 6,200 people with disabilities. Many have refused to surrender to circumstances and become the masters of their destiny.
 Nguyen Thi Kim Truc at her grocery store. (Photo: VOV)
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The grocery store in Vo Nguyen Giap road in Kon Tum city offers hundreds of different kinds of goods. A large number of customers visit the shop everyday but few realize that its owner has struggled to survive.
Using her hands to swing her body up to sit in a chair, 49-year-old Nguyen Thi Kim Truc recalled her life story.
23 years ago despite being unable to move her legs, she moved from her hometown in Binh Dinh province to Kon Tum to find a way to make a living. She had held numerous jobs and saved money to open a grocery store. Truc has mastered her own life and cared her parents both materially and spiritually when they remained alive and for her brother who is in poor health and currently living in their hometown. She has also helped local workers get part-time jobs.
Truc told VOV, “I always tell myself that I must live well and have a moral life. Kindness is my top priority”.
Truc’s agility, confidence, and outgoing personality have won the hearts of many people in Duy Tan ward in Kon Tum city.
Nguyen Thi Lan in Duy Tan ward, a regular customer, said, “Truc is a friendly and enthusiastic seller. She often sells goods at lower prices than in other places, so her shop is crowded. Though Truc is a disabled person, she is diligent and hard-working. Everyone loves her.”
 Part of Pham Thi Hong Huong’s daily job is to feed cows. (Photo: VOV) |
Each disabled person has a unique storybut many of the 6,200 disabled people in Kon Tum have found happiness for themselves. All of them have in common the strong will to rise up, optimism, and self-confidence.
Experiencing problems with her legs since she was small, 53-year-old Pham Thi Hong Huong of hamlet 6 in Doan Ket commune now has grandchildren and keeps working diligently.
“I’ve tried to do all what I can. I cook sticky rice to sell at school, cut grass for cows and feed pigs, make straw brooms, and repair clothesto have more income for the family. What I want to say is that people with disabilities must try to be optimistic about integrating into society,” Huong recalls.
A meeting was held in the middle of this month in Kon Tum city to honor outstanding disabled people for their achievements in study, work, production, and efforts to integrate into the community in response to the Vietnam Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Nguyen Thi Anh, President of the provincial Association for Protection of Child’s Rights and People with Disabilities, said, “100 people with disabilities from all localities in the province attended the meeting. They are outstanding representatives who have done the utmost to get out of poverty, rise up in life, and help their peers who are less well-off. When they return to their hometowns, they’ll serve as role models to help others.”
Since the beginning of this year, the provincial Association for Protection of Child’s Rights and People with Disabilities has handed over 4 houses and has provided financing to buy breeding cows for families of disabled people.