Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, Vice President of the Nam Dinh City Blind Association (far left) performs acupressure and massage for customers at the facility of the City Blind Association.

Born healthy, but after a high fever at the age of 16, Anh gradually lost his vision. Being at the age of eating and studying, not being able to see the light made him fall into a state of sadness and despair. In the beginning after that incident, he was always pessimistic, depressed and gradually withdrew, not wanting to interact with anyone. Accepting the reality of having to live in the dark, he decided to study massage and acupressure at the Training and Rehabilitation Center for the Blind of HNM Vietnam. After the apprenticeship, with the support of HNM of the province and city, Anh worked at the acupressure and massage facility of HNM city. With constant efforts and hard work, after a period of accumulating and practicing to improve his skills, Anh stood up and opened his own massage and acupressure facility in the city. The facility was established, creating stable jobs for 5 blind members with an average salary of 3.5-4 million VND/person/month. Mr. Tran Van Tuan, who works at the facility, said: “Because I was born blind, I learned massage and started working at Mr. Anh’s facility. I am very happy to work here because there are people in the same situation to share my experience. With a stable income, it is enough for me to cover my daily expenses and not have to depend too much on my family and relatives.”

According to Mr. Anh, for people with disabilities in general and the blind in particular, making a living by massage and acupressure is not easy. To do this job, one must undergo at least three months of basic training and during the working process, one must constantly learn and improve to improve one's skills. He took an additional course on spinal manipulation, acupuncture points, and nerves on the body, and traveled to many places to learn from people with a lot of experience in the profession. In the beginning, his facility encountered many difficulties due to the small number of customers and low income. However, with perseverance, solid skills, and dedication to the profession, his massage and acupressure facility gradually became known to many people. Every month, the facility welcomes hundreds of customers. Customers who come here are of different ages, from over 20 years old to 60 years old, most of whom suffer from headaches, shoulder and neck pain due to office work... Mr. Anh said: "To have the results I have today, I always receive attention from the authorities at all levels, the city's HNM always cares, helps, creates all favorable conditions for me to be able to develop my abilities, not become a burden to my family and society. Life is becoming more and more meaningful."

As Vice President of the City's HNM, Mr. Anh is always active and enthusiastic about the Association's work. He spends time encouraging and helping people in similar situations, creating confidence for them to rise up and integrate into the community, becoming useful people for society. He is always exemplary, upholding the sense of responsibility, encouraging and persuading visually impaired people in the city to join the association; regularly encouraging members not to rely on support from others, not to let themselves be forgotten in the dark. In addition, he and the Standing Committee of the Association create conditions for members to learn Braille; guide members on loan procedures and orientation for labor and production, help members' families use capital for the right purpose; maintain professional activities in the association such as animal husbandry, small business, making bamboo toothpicks, brooms, etc. Therefore, members love him very much and have warm feelings for him. Mr. Tran Van Hoan, Chairman of the Nam Dinh City Association of Women's Unions, said: "Mr. Nguyen Van Anh is a responsible person, always completing assigned tasks well, dynamic and creative in orienting the organization's development and organization as well as taking care of the lives and creating jobs for members."

Losing his sight, but with his own will and determination, Mr. Anh has become a shining example for the visually impaired to strive to overcome their circumstances, become independent through their own labor, and integrate into the community.

Article and photos: Thanh Hoa