The will of disabled teacher Thanh Dong

The "iron" woman

Having the opportunity to visit Hai Duong City, I visited the small house of Ms. Vu Thi Nga located in Binh Han Ward. Ms. Nga was born in 1977 in a family of 3 children. Because her father had participated in the war and was exposed to Agent Orange, she was affected when she was born.

“When she was born, her legs were curled up to her shoulders and her fingers were curled up and she couldn’t stretch them out. Her family was very worried. Later, when we learned that she was affected by Agent Orange from her father, we felt even more sorry for her suffering,” Nga’s mother confided.

While her peers grew up rapidly, Ms. Nga always had a childish appearance, a hunched back, and difficulty walking. Now, at the age of 47, she is still only 1.1m tall, weighs 30kg, and is in poor health.

Going to school with many complexes and low self-esteem about her physical disability, Ms. Nga still maintained optimism and faith in life to study well. However, when she was in 8th grade, due to family difficulties, she had to quit school to stay home to help her parents and take care of her 2 younger siblings.

At the age of 17, Nga was invited by the Hai Duong Women's 8-3 Employment Service Center to learn knitting for women with disabilities. After only 3 months of training with her crooked hands, Nga graduated with honors and was one of the few students retained at the center as a teacher. Nga also completed an excellent office computer course to apply to management and teaching at the center.

Mr. Vu Van Bong, Nga’s father, said: “Although she was affected by Agent Orange, she has had the will to rise up and not depend on anyone since she was young. Seeing her become a vocational teacher, we are extremely proud and reassured.”

Help sisters in the same situation

In a large vocational training center in Hai Duong province under the Vietnam Women's Union, there is a disabled vocational teacher, so students often look at her with concern and doubt. Only when they witness her wholeheartedly instructing the sisters with her skillful hands, do they dare to believe their eyes. Ms. Nga's crocheted products are very beautiful and creative, quickly winning the hearts of customers when they are put on the market. She has brought her products to display at fairs, as souvenirs, and she even accepts orders from customers by describing ideas or taking similar photos and sending them back.

Realizing that disabled women in the province have difficulty traveling to vocational training centers, she took the initiative to go to communes to teach them a trade. Seeing the teacher struggling to get to the podium, everyone admired her spirit of overcoming difficulties. Each of Nga's knitting and folding lines shows her diligence and creativity in the long process of doing the job. Although she is disabled, she creates products that are intact, high quality and aesthetically pleasing. Thanks to that, she not only has a stable job but also helps teach and inspire many women in the same situation to improve their lives.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, a crochet student at the center, said: "When I saw the disabled teacher step onto the podium, I was very surprised. But Ms. Nga just gave instructions, we followed and the products were completed. When we were proficient in the craft, she helped us with advertising and sales to stabilize the output. I really admire her spirit of overcoming difficulties and helping others."

With over 20 years as a vocational teacher, Ms. Nga has directly taught hundreds of students, including many disabled students who have mastered the craft and have stable jobs. Thousands of her crochet products appear on the love corner and desk of customers.

Ms. Nga also creates cute handbags and animal models. She sells them online and receives great support from friends everywhere. She also makes a very creative crocheted ao dai.

In 2013, Ms. Nga also brought her crocheted products to the Vietnam Women's Creative Day organized by the Vietnam Women's Union in collaboration with the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Vietnam (UN Women). Ms. Nga's products were honored to be included among 38 research projects, typical products of the festival selected from 130 products.

Not only is she enthusiastic about teaching, for the past 20 years, Ms. Nga has also participated in charity work with friends and organizations. Her income is only enough to cover daily expenses, but Ms. Nga never hesitates to donate and support the disadvantaged.

This year, she has turned 47 years old, her health has weakened a lot, but she still wants to teach knitting to many disabled women, helping them have a stable livelihood. "Seeing disabled women happy and having daily jobs makes me very happy. Each of us born into this world has our own mission, never give up because only you can fulfill your mission," Ms. Nga said with a smile.