Happy new year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season.

Have you made any new year’s resolutions? Many people do, as self-improvement is something we all aspire to. In southern Vietnam, a woman named Truong has always strived to do the best that she could for the sake of her loved ones.

Truong has lived with a disability for most of her life, ever since contracting polio as a little girl. A single mom to an adult son and daughter– she never married because she didn’t want to be a burden to anyone– Truong desired to be independent and worked as a tailor to earn a living. She would use two chairs to help her get around, but by the age of 67, her arms had become too weak for her to continue doing so. She would have to crawl on the ground to move about and depended on the kindness of others to deliver clothes to her customers.

A representative from the Association of Support for Vietnamese Handicapped and Orphans came by to let Truong know that she would be receiving a new wheelchair. She’d never had one before and couldn’t wait for the wheelchair distribution ceremony, which was one week away but felt much longer.

When the day finally arrived, Truong was so excited that she waited in the rain for her nephews to pick her up by motorcycle. Together, they carefully navigated the mossy, rain-slicked streets of Thoi Binh to take Truong to the distribution ceremony, where four volunteers helped her off the bike and into a brand-new GEN_2 wheelchair. Truong was delighted that she could now visit her neighbors and deliver clothes to her customers without needing assistance.

As we project the distribution of our one-millionth wheelchair in the coming year, we celebrate the newfound freedom and independence of nearly one million people, including Truong, thanks to your prayers and partnership with us.

Blessings,

Don Schoendorfer