 Over the past few months, VNAH and its local partners delivered more than 2,000 prosthetic and orthotic devices and wheelchairs to the most severely disabled landmine victims and amputees in over 20 sites throughout the country. In addition, 40 disabled children were assisted with corrective surgeries and fitted with braces.
Typical of these deliveries was the outreach mission to Son Tinh district, Quang Ngai Province. At this site, 130 wheelchairs and 280 new limbs were delivered to extremely poor people with disabilities, including more than a hundred double amputees, most of whom have never had a wheelchair. Mr. and Mrs. Houghton Freeman, long time supporters of VNAH, participated at this outreach visit. Mrs. Freeman was visibly moved when she observed the joy and happiness of the beneficiaries of the program.
VNAH’s wheelchairs, braces and prosthetic limbs benefit the needy in the poor and remote areas of Vietnam. Many among those receiving these limbs have never been to school or left their home villages. VNAH’s assistance enables the beneficiary to find employment, integrate into the community and children to attend school. It empowers people with disabilities to lead independent productive lives.
Looking back over more than ten years of providing direct assistance in Vietnam, VNAH is proud to have been able to provide more than 60,000 braces and prosthetic limbs and 9,000 wheelchairs to landmine, war victims and other people with disabilities. This could not have been done without the generous support and assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Freeman Foundation, the Nippon Foundation, the MOLISA, the Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Centers and from many other donors and supporters in the United States and Vietnam. |
