Stories: Children, Community, Future

Hao, 8 years old, is the eldest child of a family currently living in Quang Hoa district, Cao Bang province. Hao was diagnosed with Down syndrome at the age of 1. Her family is considered a near-poor household, with only a few fields to cultivate, and there are days when the family don’t have enough to eat. Hao’s father – Hung faced many difficulties in raising Hao. He shared: “I didn’t know what to do, everything must follow Hao’s wishes. She doesn’t know how to speak, and when she speaks it’s not clear, sometimes only a few words.”

When participating in the project ‘My Right to Education’, Hung learned about the livelihood model that supports parents to raise chickens and pigs to improve their children’s nutrition. He registered to raise chickens to improve the quality of meals and improve his family’s finances. “Since Hao likes to eat chicken, I registered to raise 100 chickens. I planned to raise them for food or sell them to buy school supplies for my child”. The project supported part of the cost (80%) for participating families to buy starting chickens and provided food for the chickens for the first 20 days.

This year, Hung continued to participate in this livelihood model and was given guidance to raise chickens better. “I installed warm lights for the chickens and gave them medicine to prevent diseases. I also boiled guava leaf water for the chickens to drink. They are healthy and growing fast. Hao also occasionally feeds the chickens and plays with them. She hopes they grow up quick!” he happily shared.

Participating in the project, Hung and his wife also have more opportunities to share with families of people with disability about supports for people with disability. They also learned how to guide their children to perform daily activities on their own such as brushing teeth, combing hair, and getting dressed. “Hao now listens to her parents. She knows how to brush teeth, get dressed, and comb hair all by herself”, Hung said.

Hung also found himself becoming more patient with his children, spending more time taking them out to play around the neighbourhood. He and other parents of children with disability can now openly discuss with commune leaders or teachers so that their children can enjoy benefits and learn better. He said: “Previously, Hao can only call the name of one friend from the same commune, but now she can talk to her teacher and friends. When participating in the project, my child received a lot of help and guidance from teachers as well as members of the project team.”

Hao’s father’s dream is simple. He confided: “We hope Hao will always be healthy and won’t be criticised or shunned by others.”