A Story from Vietnam
Thi grew up in the remote hills of Quang Ngai, a coastal province in Vietnam where leafy green mountains ease into plains that meet the sea.
Life was beautiful, in her own words. She’d play outdoors with her friends and neighbors, and travel the countryside with her parents and siblings.
But as she grew into a teenager, she began to lose all feeling in her legs.
She could no longer run along the riverbank with her friends. She couldn’t climb trees to pick fruit anymore.
She could no longer walk.
Thi learned to weave and went on to make a living selling beautiful, handwoven baskets to her neighbors, who praised her for her hand skills.
Although she earned enough to make a living, Thi could never afford to buy a wheelchair. She would crawl to get from place to place, using the same hands that skillfully weave beautiful baskets to pull herself along the ground.
And because these mobility challenges limited her range of travel, she could only find customers in her own village. If only she had a wheelchair, she could venture out further and perhaps sell her handicrafts at a local marketplace.
Over the years, Thi got married and started a family. Today, her husband is no longer with her and her children have moved away for jobs in other regions. Thi now lives with her two grandchildren, and when they are at work, she is left alone, inside their home.
But because of friends like you, Thi recently received a new GEN_3 wheelchair from our local distribution partner, Giving it Back to Kids.
“Now, I can go to the places I want and meet my friends without having to crawl,” enthused Thi.
With mobility, Thi can also take her handwoven baskets to other villages and find new customers. “My life is lit up again,” she grinned.
Your generosity has helped to give Thi—and another 1.2 million individuals in 93 countries—a newfound sense of hope, freedom, and independence through the gift of a wheelchair.
As we give thanks for the freedom we have to help give freedom to others, we thank you for choosing to partner with us in this mission.
