'Fulcrum' for disabled women to overcome adversity and take control of their lives

Hidden within their physical disabilities is the strength of will, determination and belief in life. Overcoming adversity, women in poor districts have risen to take control of their lives.

With only one left arm, Ms. Pit Thi Mo (34 years old, resident of Con Phen village, Huu Khuong commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An ) quickly checks the dryness of wild bananas and bitter melons, then operates on the computer to promote and close orders. She is currently the owner of a grocery store in the commune, selling school supplies for children and dried agricultural products.

Mo was born healthy and intact like any other child. The incident happened when Mo was 10 months old. That day, her mother returned from the field and saw her daughter crying. Thinking that she was hungry, she gave her sticky rice to eat, but the sticky rice she put in her hand kept falling out. Her mother took Mo to see a doctor and then to many hospitals for treatment, but Mo's arms kept hanging down. The terrible disease made it impossible for Mo to stand on her legs.

"I could only squat to move. After treatment and practice, when I was 10 years old, I was able to stand up and walk, but my body was crooked and my right arm was completely paralyzed," said Ms. Mo.

God took away Mo's arm, but in return, gave her intelligence and the will to overcome her fate. After finishing high school, Mo passed the entrance exam to the forestry university because "she was born in the forest and wanted to be attached to the forest".

In 2014, Mo graduated from university. A year later, she was recruited by Huu Khuong commune as a part-time officer in charge of plant protection and agricultural extension. In 2016, implementing the Project of Bringing 500 young intellectuals to rural and mountainous areas, Mo was recruited by the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district to work as a young intellectual officer to help Huu Khuong commune.

When the project ended, there was no more money to pay her salary, Ms. Mo's contract was terminated, but the Huu Khuong commune government created conditions for her to be in charge of education promotion, emulation and reward work or plant protection officer, waiting for mechanisms from related sectors. During this time, Ms. Mo bought wild banana seeds from the villagers, dried them and sold them to earn extra income.

In 2022, feeling that she could no longer wait, after getting married, Ms. Mo quit her job to start a business. About her decision, Ms. Mo shared: "I studied forestry, and in the forest where I live, there are many valuable products such as bamboo shoots, bitter melon, and Chinese smilax... After selling dried banana seeds for a while, I found that these products have quite a lot of potential and are popular with customers. If there is a purchasing and processing facility, people in the village will also have a better income from the job of collecting forest products."

About 20 households in the village are regular importers for Ms. Mo. Forest products are washed, cut, sliced, dried in the sun to ensure they are completely dry, and then packed in plastic bags for preservation. During the rainy season, Ms. Mo has to dry the products on the stove. Instead of the traditional drying method, this woman has the initiative to use cold corrugated iron sheets to both capture the high temperature of the stove and produce products with colors as beautiful as those dried in the sun, without the smell of smoke.

Ms. Mo admits that she is a picky person when it comes to choosing raw materials, pre-processing and processing, but in return, her products are popular with customers. This year's bamboo shoot season, Ms. Mo purchased 600 kg of fresh bamboo shoots and processed 200 kg of dried bamboo shoots, but they have all been sold out, even though the selling price is "higher" than other establishments.

"If the product is not good, I am afraid that the customer will return it. Moreover, the product must be worth the money the customer spends. My products were initially sold mainly to teachers in the area, then one person introduced another, along with promoting and selling through my personal Facebook channel, so I became known to more customers in many places," Ms. Mo shared.

In her story, Ms. Mo talks a lot about the support of her parents, husband, and the women's association of the village and commune. It is the encouragement, motivation and support of everyone that has helped her reduce her inferiority complex, become more confident and bolder in economic development.

After 8 years of selling agricultural products and one year of officially starting a business from local products, Ms. Mo does not consider herself successful, but she can be financially independent and help people in the village have more income. More importantly, she has stepped out of the "cocoon" of inferiority about an imperfect body to overcome herself.

Ms. Pit Thi Mo is one of nine examples of disabled women overcoming difficulties to rise up, honored by the Women's Union of Tuong Duong district, on the occasion of Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20).

"I am very touched and happy because my efforts and hard work are recognized. The recognition from the community is the motivation for disabled people like us to continue to strive," Ms. Mo confided.

Ms. Nong Thi Kim Tuyen - President of the Women's Union of Tuong Duong district - said that this is the first time the District Union has organized a ceremony to honor disabled members who have overcome difficulties and risen up.

"The 9 sisters who were honored are members who have constantly made efforts, overcome fate, adversity, and themselves. Although they have disabilities, they do not wait or depend on others, but are financially independent, take care of their families, and some of them have even created jobs and income for others, and are a source of inspiration and encouragement for sisters in similar situations to rise up," said Ms. Tuyen.

According to statistics, currently in Tuong Duong district there are 192 members of the Women's Union who are disabled, many of whom are in extremely difficult circumstances due to their limited ability to work.

Over the years, women's organizations at all levels have always paid attention to and created equality among all members. In addition, the organizations have mobilized women in the branches to accompany, support, and help disabled members to reduce their difficulties.

In Son Ha village, Tam Quang commune (Tuong Duong), every month, Women's Union members contribute 50,000 VND to the "Self-managed Women's Savings Group" to create capital to help each other develop the economy. Also thanks to this interest-free loan, Ms. Mai Thi Kinh (50 years old) has invested in buying a piglet and 3 pigs to raise and develop the economy. Although she has not been able to escape poverty, the disabled woman, a single mother of a small child, has become more confident in life, participating more actively in union movements as well as local activities.

In particular, in addition to the support and assistance of members and organizations at all levels, disadvantaged and disabled members have access to loan capital from sources entrusted by the Social Policy Bank through the Women's Unions of communes.

Having a crippled leg after a bout of malignant fever since childhood, Ms. Luong Thuy Kieu (34 years old, residing in Canh Tong village, Yen Tinh commune, Tuong Duong district) has had a very difficult life. Because of the difficulty in traveling, the main source of income for her and her daughter is the small grocery store left by Ms. Kieu's mother.

In 2020, Ms. Kieu was approved to borrow 50 million VND from the Social Policy Bank's trust fund through the Commune Women's Union. From the economic development loan, Ms. Kieu spent 17.5 million VND to buy a pair of cows for breeding, the rest to renovate the shop, expand the scale, and diversify the types of goods to sell.

The capital has been effective, helping this single mother cover her living expenses and take care of her 8-year-old son's education. With her own conditions, Ms. Kieu could hardly accumulate a large amount of money to develop the economy. Therefore, when she was able to borrow 50 million VND, she was very happy but also very worried. She boldly proposed to pay in monthly installments, 1.5 million VND per month. Up to this point, Ms. Kieu has paid 36 million VND in principal, the remaining amount will be paid off this year.

Ms. Kieu was very excited to be able to go to the district to attend the commendation ceremony. "I left in such a hurry that I didn't have time to inform anyone. When I came back, I told my father, he was so moved that he cried. I understood that he cried because he was very happy, because his daughter, who had suffered many disadvantages, had grown up and was able to take care of herself and her children. He was happy because his daughter's efforts had been recognized by the community," Ms. Kieu was emotional.

For Ms. Pit Thi Mo, Ms. Luong Thuy Kieu and other disabled women in the border district of Tuong Duong, this is not only a joy and pride for them, but more importantly, they have more spiritual support to continue to rise up in life.

Photo: Kim Tuyen

Design: Patrick Nguyen

Content: Hoang Lam

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