Bring smiles, multiply joy

Parents and disabled children in Cam Nghia commune, Cam Lo district, were happily dressed up and photographed - Photo: D.V

Happy day for disabled children

It was 8am on a day at the end of March, at the Medical Station yard of Krong Klang town, Dakrong district, the fog was thick because it was the time of changing seasons. However, dozens of fathers, mothers and disabled children had sat down early to wait for the Korean volunteer group to come and carry out the “Haircut - Beauty” program.

After a friendly handshake with the parents and disabled children, the volunteers prepared their tools and got ready for the volunteer haircut. Bringing her disabled son, who was only about 1 year old, to get his hair cut, Ms. Ho Thi Chan (18 years old) from Khe Xong hamlet also took the opportunity to beautify her tangled hair after a long time working in the fields. Ms. Chan said that due to poverty, she and her husband had to work as hired weeders in the area.

“When my child was about 1.5 months old, my husband and I went to Ba Long at noon to do some weeding for hire and left him in a hammock at home with his young aunt to look after him. Unfortunately, the hammock caught fire, and the aunt was so scared that she ran away but didn’t tell anyone. It wasn’t until around 6:30 p.m. when we returned that we discovered the incident. At that time, my child’s head was scorched, and to this day his hair has not grown, and all the fingers on one hand were burned,” Ms. Chan confided.

However, her family tried to love and take care of her to keep her healthy. “Today, my daughter and I got a haircut and a beauty treatment, and I was also taught how to cut her hair at home, so I was very happy. Thank you very much, program,” Ms. Chan happily said.

Ms. Ho Thi Anh in Hamlet 1, Krong Klang town happily brought her 6-year-old son Duong Phuoc Hoang to have his rather long hair cut.

Hoang has had many illnesses since childhood such as epilepsy, frequent convulsions after fever, transverse myelitis, intestinal disease, hyperactivity... "He was born sickly, suffering from all kinds of diseases. I sell porridge at the market to make a living, but he often has to be hospitalized so my work is irregular.

“As a single mother, taking care of my child is very difficult for me,” said Ms. Anh. Bringing her child to participate in the program, Ms. Anh said that she wanted to have her child’s hair cut neatly and also let her participate in games with friends and volunteers to have more fun.

This is also an opportunity for her to talk and share experiences with other parents in the same situation in caring for disabled children. Seeing the rare moment her child was happy, sociable, playing and taking pictures with volunteers made Ms. Anh feel emotional.

Meanwhile, in Nghia Phong village, Cam Nghia commune, Cam Lo district, in addition to the hair cutting and beauty program and exchange program like in Krong Klang town, there was also a makeup activity, wearing Ao Dai for disabled children and parents to take pictures. Everyone participating in the activity was excited and radiant with happiness.

Ms. Truong Thi Thuy, the parent of Tran Thi Kieu, who has cerebral palsy, tried to bring her grandchild to join in the activity atmosphere. Ms. Thuy shared: “My grandchild is grown up, it is difficult to take her to the hair salon because she is shy. Therefore, coming here, the volunteers showed me how to cut her hair, I found it very useful and I can cut her hair myself at home. In addition, today my grandchild and I also had fun with the project staff and volunteers doing makeup and taking pictures.”

Because of her difficult circumstances, Ms. Thuy expressed that in the future, she hopes the group will give her a set of hair clippers so she can cut her grandchild's hair herself.

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Ms. Dao Tien, a Medipeace project officer, said that the “Haircutting - Beauty” program is a component of the self-help parent group activity, within the framework of the project to build the Rehabilitation Center - Social Protection in Quang Tri province. In previous years, the activity was organized in Hai Lang, Trieu Phong, and Gio Linh districts.

This is the first time the activity has been carried out in Dakrong and Cam Lo districts with the participation of about 120 disabled children and their parents. “This program not only demonstrates the desire of Korean volunteers to carry out charitable activities but also contributes to improving the integration ability of disabled children in Quang Tri province and strengthening the friendship between Korea and Vietnam,” said Ms. Tien.

Notably, most of the volunteers are skilled hairdressers at famous hair salons in Korea. Many of them are coming to Quang Tri for the first time to participate in charity work, but there are also those who have participated many times. The beautiful young girl Shin Woo Rim has participated with Medipeace 5 times in charity work, cutting hair and beautifying disabled children in Quang Tri.

Taking a break from cutting, Shin Woo Rim explained the reason why he chose to return to this place: “I know Quang Tri is an area with many victims of Agent Orange and post-war victims. As a Korean, I always want to come here to support and help disabled children, Quang Tri people in particular and Vietnamese people in general. When I come to these areas, I still recognize the children whose hair I cut last time and feel their maturity. Coming here, we not only want to bring better quality haircuts but also bring a happy and joyful atmosphere to everyone.”

Shin Woo Rim added that in the past, she had brought hair clippers to give to young mothers with disabilities. However, this time, due to the large number of parents and children with disabilities, she was unable to continue this activity.

Phan Thi Lien, President of the Quang Tri Province Village Health Association, said that the number of disabled children currently managed by the association is about 150. “In previous years, Medipeace only focused on implementing hair cutting and beauty programs for disabled children in the plain districts. This year, we propose to expand to the mountainous districts of Dakrong and Cam Lo.

Here, children get haircuts and participate in activities to increase their confidence," said Ms. Lien.

In the coming time, the Village Health Association will continue to coordinate with Medipeace to organize activities for children with disabilities such as: training to improve child care skills, organizing self-help group activities; updating new policies and laws related to children with disabilities for parents; organizing activities, games, and exchanges between rehabilitation rooms to create agility, liveliness, and concentration for children...

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Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/mang-den-nu-cuoi-nhan-len-niem-vui-193055.htm