Special tailor shop

(Baonghean) - At the end of alley 17, Son Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, there is a tailor shop specializing in men's and women's suits run by deaf and mute people. The owner is Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen. The tailors communicate with each other using signs, especially through eye contact...

In the sweltering heat of early summer, we, along with officials from the Son Thanh commune's Fatherland Front, visited a unique tailor shop run by an underprivileged family. It was unique because the owner and most of the tailors were deaf and mute. They communicated using sign language, so we couldn't understand them and had to rely on Mrs. Vu Thi Bon, Duyen's mother, as our "interpreter."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen sews clothes for customers.

Mrs. Bon said: Her husband, Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, joined the army in 1966 and participated in the Southern battlefield. In 1974, he returned home as a disabled veteran (category 3/4) and started a family. From 1975 to 1987, they had four children, one son and three daughters. Tragically, all three children were born deaf and mute. Only their second daughter, Nguyen Thi Nguyen, had a speech impediment. Noticing his health problems, Mr. Vinh finally went for a check-up in late 1990 and learned that he had been exposed to Agent Orange. This tragedy left lasting effects on their innocent children. Because of their deafness and muteness, the three children could not attend school in the village, even though they were all eager to learn. Therefore, when they turned 10, they sent them to the provincial vocational school for people with disabilities.

After graduating, Duyen worked for the Huyen Phong tailor shop in Cua Lo, then returned to her hometown to work for the Hong Thuy tailor shop in Vinh Thanh (Yen Thanh). Duyen always harbored a burning desire to become a skilled tailor and own her own shop. During her time working for these tailor shops, Duyen accumulated a lot of experience and became a skilled seamstress. Returning home, with the help of her parents' loan, Duyen opened her own tailor shop at home. Duyen's younger sister, Nguyen Thi Tra, after learning tailoring, went to Hanoi to work for an export garment company. When Duyen opened her shop, Tra returned home to work with her. She came with a young man two years younger than her, who also shared the same condition of being deaf and mute. He is Nguyen Van Vinh, from Van Giang district (Thai Binh province). The two met and fell in love during their three years working as factory workers in Hanoi. Now they are married and awaiting the arrival of their first child.

With her enthusiasm, passion for the craft, and consistently fashionable and beautiful products, along with timely delivery, Duyen's tailor shop is a popular choice for customers. Customers visiting this "special" shop are always satisfied with the quality of the fabrics and the tailoring techniques. When we visited, there were still quite a few customer clothes hanging in long rows against the wall, next to countless fabrics on display, making it easy for customers to choose.

The seamstresses here are paid daily based on the number of products they make. On average, each seamstress earns 110,000 VND per day.

Besides tailoring clothes for customers, Ms. Duyen also trains many people in the commune in sewing skills to prepare them for overseas employment. Understanding the aspirations of these young women, who come from farming families and have never used industrial sewing machines, Ms. Duyen diligently guides them. In a short time, they become proficient in sewing, meeting the skill requirements to work as factory workers in industrial garment factories. Over the past three years, Ms. Duyen has trained 5-6 people annually in sewing, from her commune and neighboring communes.

At Duyen's tailor shop, the seamstresses communicate with customers through eye contact and gestures, quietly going about their work. Their passion for "surpassing themselves" creates a simple beauty amidst everyday life.

Text and photos:Xuan Hoang