VIETNAM
TOP LEFT: >>> Tran Nghia was 17 years old when David Behring prsented
her with her first wheelchair in 2003. This past Fall, the two were reunited
in Hanoi, as Nghia and her mother joined us for a wheelchair distribution
in the city. David and Nghia have remained in touch via the internet.
David says of the relationship, “It is always a joy to give someone a
wheelchair and it is an even greater joy to personally watch and hear how
that wheelchair improved their life.” >>> LOWER LEFT >>> Three Cheers
for everyone involved in distributing wheelchairs throughout the country
of Vietnam! Everyone gives a thumbs up for a job well done!
Our partners on the ground, East Meets West Foundation, had
worked closely with the Vietnamese Paralympic Committee and
others to arrange opportunities for us to distribute wheelchairs all
along our route. We gave away wheelchairs in Can Tho, Ho Chi
Minh City, Quang Tri, Hai Phong Harbor and Hanoi. We donated
tennis and basketball wheelchairs to sports clubs and training centers
through EMW’s Inspire Sports program, allowing para-athletes
to develop their skills, train and compete in a peer environment.
Along the way we met swimmers, javelin throwers, weight lifters,
track athletes, basketball and tennis players and one tough tug-ofwar team whose single armed competitors easily toppled our crew
on multiple occasions.
Vietnam is now a country of young adults. It is a country undergoing
rapid change, and the impact of having access to modern technology
is visible almost everywhere. There are fewer dirt roads and more skyscrapers, fewer bicycles and more motorbikes and cars. There is also
an ever increasing demand for modern services, like clean drinking
water, sanitation, medical care for newborns, internet access, and
goods and services. And yet, with all of this rapid advancement,
there still exists a very large need for wheelchairs for the disabled.
“Getting to go back to Vietnam,
and to help people get wheelchairs,
often the very first one they have ever
owned, was awesome! Aside from
getting married and having children,
I think this is most significant thing
I have done in my lifetime.”
-John Garfield Reese - U.S. Navy Diver
on his second wheelchair distribution trip to Vietnam.
For the Veterans on this journey, our 15 days pass in what seems
like no time at all. Soon we are speaking to one another about
our trip in the past tense, where we had once been talking about
it in the future tense for what seemed like such a long time. We
were able to help Vietnamese in need of mobility by providing
260 brand new wheelchairs and 60 new sports wheelchairs. The
Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley were able to witness first hand
how their continued support of numerous orphanages, schools
and rehabilitation facilities has had a positive and lasting effect on
the people of Vietnam.
Vietnam Fast Facts
Population: 91,519,289 (July 2012 est.)
Number of Mobile Phones:
127.3 million (2011 est.)
Median Age: 28.2 years
Average income: $9.60 per day
Population living below poverty line: 14.5%
Wheelchairs Donated by Wheelchair Foundation: 14,476
Estimated need: Greater than 2,745,579
Percentage of disabled population reached: 0.527% or
1:190
6
Spr in g 2013
w h e e l c h ai r found ati on. org