ONE ARM, ONE HEART
Ms. Tuyet's full name is Vo Thi Tuyet, 56 years old, currently a teacher at the Center for Supporting the Development of Inclusive Education for the Disabled (108 Ly Chinh Thang, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). Having lost her right arm at the age of 1 due to a bomb during the war, Ms. Tuyet's posture has always been skewed to the right when she grew up. This is the effect of many years of doing housework, taking care of, and carrying her 5 younger siblings with only her left arm. To give her younger siblings a support, she always had to stretch her body to the right.
Ms. Tuyet and her students' special gift on November 20
Coming to observe an hour of early intervention by teacher Vo Thi Tuyet at the center, many people were silent before the image of the teacher with a tiny figure, struggling to hold a hyperactive child with a crooked back. One day, a student who had not seen Ms. Tuyet for a long time bit her shoulder until it bled. It was so painful that Ms. Tuyet cried. But in the tears there was also joy, when the child became aware of his feelings for the teacher.
"I only have one left arm, and during many years of my childhood, in Phu Dien commune, Tan Phu district, Dong Nai, I kept asking my parents why they didn't live in a place without bombs and bullets so I could have two arms like my friends. But my father replied that he and my mother had returned from the war. To have peace like today, my grandfather and many comrades sacrificed. I only lost one arm, but I'm still alive, I'm smart, that's a very precious thing. I have to live a life worth living," Ms. Tuyet confided about her life.
With only one arm, Ms. Tuyet was still taught by her mother to cook rice, clean fish, carry her younger sibling, and still be able to pull and lift a heavy cast iron pot onto a wood stove by herself. Her father taught her to ride a bicycle, having to cycle 50 km back and forth every day, crossing many bumpy hills to get to high school. Fate tested her countless times, but Ms. Tuyet still rose up to be able to stand firmly on her own two feet with her dream teaching career.
A SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABLED CHILDREN
Graduated with a bachelor's degree in literature from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Ms. Tuyet used to work at an orphanage in Dong Nai. Returning to Ho Chi Minh City, she has been associated with the Center for Supporting the Development of Inclusive Education for People with Disabilities (formerly known as the Center for Research on Education for Children with Disabilities) for more than 20 years.
Even though she only has one arm, teacher Tuyet has never stopped being passionate about learning and working for children.
Ms. Tuyet has been studying and working for many years and currently has a double degree in special education from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education. The one-armed teacher has also completed many courses, with certificates from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education on educating children with learning difficulties; completed a course on the "Early Intervention" program for children with intellectual disabilities; and a course on "Family Systemic Psychotherapy" from Belgium, in conjunction with Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, studying for 3 and a half years. She is also a student of the "Motivational Psychotherapy" practical class, a program organized by Belgium.
Living in Xuan Thoi Son Commune, Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Tuyet has to leave home at 5:30 a.m. every day, with a lunch box, walk to the bus stop, take two buses to get to work, and return home late at night. But she said she still wants to study to help more disabled children.
"Working with disabled children requires not only a tolerant and loving heart, but also a correct understanding mind. All the support and education we provide for the children, the conversations we have with and the advice we give to parents, are based on scientific grounds. Loving the children in the wrong way is a sin against them," said Ms. Tuyet.
The 56-year-old teacher still clearly remembers the story of a parent. The couple was very successful, they gave birth to a baby girl with Down syndrome. Desperate, not accepting her child, the wife thought about ending the baby's life at least 3 times, but failed. She once stood on the top floor of the hospital, intending to throw herself into the dark space below, but it was her daughter's screams that helped her pull her legs back. During the consultation that day, Ms. Tuyet did not rush to give scientific advice on how to care for and raise a child with Down syndrome. She told the mother about her journey, the child with only one arm grew up in the middle of the foggy fields in Phu Dien, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai, and the boundless love of her parents that gave her the life she has today.
Suddenly, the mother burst into tears, hugged Ms. Tuyet and sobbed and thanked her. For many mothers and fathers, having a child born as a special one, a disabled child, makes it difficult for them to accept that reality and not know what to do, where to start to live. Ms. Tuyet gives them a support. She always emphasizes that disabled children need early intervention. The earlier intervention, the more significant progress children make, they learn self-service skills, can take care of themselves and contribute to society.
"No matter what, you are still our child"
Every student that Ms. Tuyet tutors and supports calls her "mother". Ms. Tuyet doesn't remember how many children she has, not only in Ho Chi Minh City but also in many provinces she has been to, during more than 20 years of working.
Every year on November 20th, to show gratitude to teachers, many students are brought by their parents to the center to visit their teacher. There are children standing in the yard, aiming in the direction of her office, calling out loudly "Mother Tuyet, it's me". She keeps all the cards that her students gave her, even though they were just scribbled hearts, clumsily colored flowers, but she knows that it was a long journey of effort from the children. Once, a student wrote a descriptive essay, the topic was to describe a beloved younger sibling, the autistic boy described Ms. Tuyet emotionally like this: "My teacher's name is Tuyet. My teacher has one hand. My teacher sings very well. She knows how to play 5, 10, she knows how to crawl, and she also knows how to play the slide...".
"To me, all the letters, cards, or midnight phone calls from parents boasting "Teacher, my child can talk now", "Teacher, my child can bathe by himself"... are the most precious gifts. It's like the parents are inviting me to a luxurious meal, making me feel elated", the teacher was moved.
The teacher who just received the Vo Truong Toan Award from the Ho Chi Minh City Education Department said she wanted to say something on this special day. Her words are the voice of the children who receive special education - inclusive education: "Mom and Dad, please love me, no matter what I am, I am still your child. If I am loved and educated properly, I will have my good points, I will also have things that make my parents love me more"...
Daughter follows mother's journey
Ms. Tuyet has a happy home with a husband who loves her wholeheartedly and 2 filial children. Her youngest son is working in the restaurant and hotel industry. Her eldest daughter - who admires her mother who has only one arm but is always devoted to disabled children - studied health sciences and is currently a technician at the Center for Rehabilitation and Support for Disabled Children at 38 Tu Xuong, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
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