DIDN鈥橳 TAKE THINGS SITTING DOWN Vietnam鈥檚 Vo Thi Hoang Yen is recognized for her sustained campaign to break down the barriers that limited opportunities for persons with disabilities like herself. 鈥擱ICHARD A. REYES
Vo Thi Hoang Yen still remembers how she had once applied as a chief accountant in a private company and, after meeting all the requirements, was called in for an interview with the director.
鈥淎t that time I didn鈥檛 use a wheelchair or crutches because my disability was getting worse (with them).听 I didn鈥檛 use any assistive device either,鈥� Yen recalled.
It so happened that she had come early for the interview and the director had arrived late. She was already seated when he came in so he did not recognize that she was a person with disability (PWD), although she had never tried to hide it, she said.
鈥淗e did the interview and said, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 good. You can come back to work on Monday.鈥�
Yen was ecstatic but noticed that the secretary had looked at her strangely when she left the office following the interview.
鈥淥n Monday, I came back and didn鈥檛 see the director, only the secretary. And he told me that there had been a change.听 鈥楥an you wait for another call?鈥� he asked me.听 And I understood that something had happened, that they had turned me down because of my disability,鈥� Yen recounted.
Like most PWDs in Vietnam in the 1990s, she听 felt despair. Was she also fated to depend on other people for help and financial support, she asked herself. 鈥淚 [thought I] would live life as a helpless person and I didn鈥檛 want that,鈥� she said.
The general belief that disabilities were a divine punishment for sins committed in a previous life has made life for PWDs more challenging in Vietnam. The perception that they are a burden and can鈥檛 do anything by themselves has only added to the difficulty, Yen said.
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Full potential
鈥淏efore the 1990s, Vietnam was a closed country and did not have any private companies or organizations. All university graduates had to work for the government which, at the time, did not expect a PWD to have gone to the university,鈥� she said, adding that while a PWD may have passed the entrance exams in college, 鈥渕ost of them were turned (away) because of their impairment.鈥�
After stewing for three months over her rejection for a job, Yen made 鈥渢he big decision to do something. I didn鈥檛 know exactly what, but I was determined to help change the situation for myself and others,鈥� she said.
To empower herself and help other PWDs achieve their full potential, and with more understanding about disabilities from her studies abroad, Yen put up the Disability Research and Capacity Development Center (previously known as the Disability Resource and Development), or DRD.
She declined a job offer and a scholarship for a doctorate degree in the United States so she could return to Vietnam in 2005 and set up the DRD, but promised to return to the US in three years after the center had been well established.
But the center鈥檚 activities and programs kept expanding, so for the next 10 years, Yen had to stay. 鈥淚 could not leave my work until 2014,鈥� she said, adding that she eventually earned her Ph.D. in Australia.
Personal experience firmed up her resolve to put up the DRD, Yen said. 鈥淚 am a person with disability (who) was born and grew up in a remote area. I faced a lot of barriers and challenges in school and at work, so I understood the difficulties faced by PWDs. I (wanted) to make the change for myself and for others,鈥� she said.
But PWDs themselves harbored wrong ideas about themselves, Yen found out when she opened the DRD and invited them to join the center鈥檚 programs and activities.
鈥淢any people came expecting to receive some money or materials,鈥� she recalled, explaining that most PWDs in Vietnam had gotten used to doleouts.
鈥淥ur organization was different at the time because we did not give them any money. But we told them about RISE (Research to Improve Vietnam鈥檚 Education System) and how to develop their capacity, how to become confident to integrate into society.鈥�
Finding partners
Despite the initial misconception, the DRD persisted and continued its activities. This eventually drew more PWDs who were taught 鈥渢o regain their value鈥� through training programs and other capacity-building projects.
The DRD teamed up with other advocates to push for reforms in Vietnam, particularly the passage of the National Law on Persons with Disabilities, the inclusion of PWD employment in labor laws of regulations, and the eventual ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of PWD.
The center鈥檚 work in spreading awareness about the contributions of PWDs to society and the challenges they face also helped improve the attitude and mindset of the Vietnamese toward disability.
15,000 jobs
Yen鈥檚 nonprofit group has so far helped 15,000 PWDs get jobs. 听It also earned Yen a Ramon Magsaysay Award this year, one among six outstanding individuals celebrated for their selfless service. The prestigious award, Asia鈥檚 version of the Nobel Prize, recognized Yen for her personal advocacy and commitment to PWDs, and for her showcase project that involved a motorcycle taxi service designed for them.
The other 2018 RM Awardees are: Youk Chhang from Cambodia, Howard Dee from the Philippines, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor, and Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, both from India.
In encouraging her students at Ho Chi Minh Open University and other colleagues to continue being a cog in the wheel of humanity, Yen said she always reminded them that, 鈥淲e need only one person, each person to know their responsibility, and what they can contribute to the development of the community. Knowing their responsibility and doing it, that鈥檚 good enough for society.鈥�