Giving wheelchairs to people with disabilities: a humanitarian project
On the morning of April 9th 2019, representatives of the VWU and the LDSC organized a wheelchair handover ceremony of 150 wheelchairs and 30 walkers for the disabled in Phu Tho Province.
The ceremony was held in Thanh Ba district, Phu Tho province, with the participation of Mme. Nguyen Thi Tuyet - Vice President of the VWU; Mr.Steven and Mrs.Sheryl Holt – Country Director of the LDSC in Hanoi; and representatives of the central VWU, the Phu Tho provincial WU, Thanh Ba district's leaders, and the WUs.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Steven Holt – LDSC’s Country Director said that LDSC is the humanitarian arm of a world-wide church, based in America, named The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with LDSC representative offices in 169 countries. In Vietnam, LDSC provides humanitarian aid and development projects including wheelchairs, vision aid, water and sanitation work and Neo-Natal Breathing support.
Since the early 2000s, LDSC has collaborated with the VWU to implement programs to donate wheelchairs for the disabled, as well as provide latrine and clean water systems and gifts for the disadvantaged people in many provinces.
By the end of 2018, there were about 7,000 wheelchairs and 400 walkers (worth nearly 1 million USD) awarded to people with disabilities in 16 provinces in Vietnam. In 2018, there were 350 wheelchairs and 70 walkers given to the disabled in Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Phu Tho provinces. The central VWU has coordinated with LDSC to organize various training for the assessors in 9 provinces including Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh and Phu Tho.
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VWU Vice President Nguyen Thi Tuyet acknowledged the contributions of LDSC, especially Mr. Steven and Mrs.Sheryl Holt in Vietnam |
In addition, 5 provinces and cities including Hoa Binh, Hanoi, Ha Nam, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Tuyen Quang have been supported to build clean water sanitation facilities and other support such as backpacks for poor children and sewing machines for the disabled, gifts for pregnant mothers and newborn babies...
Recognizing the achievements of humanitarian activities for the community, especially the disabled, the disadvantaged and vulnerable people, Mme. Nguyen Thi Tuyet - Vice President of the VWU highly appreciated the wheelchair program. At the same time, she affirmed the program is particularly meaningful this year, because of its contribution to the implementation of the VWU’s 2019-year theme of "Safety for women and children".
Mme. Tuyet also shared that while many other wheelchair programs donate a mass number of wheelchairs in a single size; LDSC’s wheelchair program has a rigorous process from assessment, measurement, assignment of the right wheelchair type and size to user instructions and evaluation after using wheelchairs. The staffs in charge of the program are all fully trained with the knowledge and skills needed to implement the program properly, ensuring safety and best support for wheelchairs’ users.
