A person searching for the light of life.
(Baonghean.vn) - Along the tranquil Con River in Hamlet 16, Binh Son Commune (Anh Son District), lives a man who is blind in both eyes. For over 50 years, he has been a shining example of admirable willpower and determination. His name is Nguyen Sy Hong, 62 years old, originally from Nam Tien Commune, Nam Dan District.
(Baonghean.vn) - Along the tranquil Con River in Hamlet 16, Binh Son Commune (Anh Son District), lives a man who is blind in both eyes. For over 50 years, he has been a shining example of admirable willpower and determination. His name is Nguyen Sy Hong, 62 years old, originally from Nam Tien Commune, Nghean District.
We visited him while he was repairing bicycles for passersby whose bikes had broken down. Hearing our unfamiliar greeting, he stopped what he was doing and invited us into his house. Not wanting to waste his time, we suggested we chat while he repaired the bikes. He told us that his parents had given him a healthy child like any other. But in 1954, when he was six years old, a great flood swept through the area.
Mr. Nguyen Sy Hong is playing the violin.
Later, with encouragement from his family and siblings, he taught himself to do small tasks such as personal hygiene, sweeping the house, washing dishes, doing laundry, and feeding chickens to help his parents. As he grew older, he learned weaving and did many other chores to help his family.
In 1964, following the government's policy of relocating people to reclaim land and develop new economic zones, Mr. Hong and his family moved to Binh Son commune (Anh Son district). Living in this new land with many difficulties and hardships, at the age of 15, he reflected and promised himself, "I am determined not to be a burden to my family." Though blind, his heart remained strong. Day after day, he diligently wove mats to sell to factories supplying war materials and to help his family with livestock farming and economic development.
At the age of 18, Nguyen Sy Hong began learning carpentry. Using his hands instead of his eyes, through imagination, experimentation, and creativity, he made tables, chairs, ox carts, and other items for his family. His products may not have been aesthetically pleasing, but they were guaranteed to be sturdy. Seeing this, his relatives and neighbors came to place orders.
Thanks to his diligence, each month he made dozens of tables and chairs, which he exchanged for a lot of rice for his family. Sympathizing with his hardship, in 1979, Ms. Phan Thi Van disregarded all objections and married him. A year later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. With a wife and child, he gained more strength. At that time, in Binh Son, the villagers produced a lot of rice, and manual rice mills were essential tools. Based on this reality, Mr. Hong taught himself how to make rice mills and sold them to the villagers. He made 10-15 mills each month.
The income from making mortars helped his family stabilize their lives. In 1982, his family built a new, fairly sturdy house. In the early 1990s, when the rice mill was invented, he had to give up making mortars and switch to repairing bicycles and making brooms, a trade he continues to this day. He said that many people come to him for bicycle repairs. In the years when people still used bicycles a lot, he earned an average of 100,000 dong a day, not including the brooms he made to sell at night. Meeting, talking to, and witnessing his work firsthand, we were truly amazed. He repairs bicycles and weaves brooms with nimble, skillful hands. Recently, the Association of the Blind in Anh Son district introduced him to teach broom weaving to blind and disabled people in Dien Chau district.
Not only is Mr. Hong a disabled person with great willpower and talent, but he is also a cheerful, enthusiastic, and kind-hearted man. Whenever he has free time, he often plays the violin and sings folk songs for everyone to enjoy. He is always ready to help his neighbors whenever they need him. Everyone in the neighborhood speaks of him with affection.
Mr. Le Van Sy, Secretary of the Party branch of Hamlet 16, said: "Mr. Hong is a friendly, sociable, and kind person. In our hamlet, every sugarcane harvest season, he cuts down young bamboo trees and splits them into thousands of strips for the villagers to tie their sugarcane. Whenever our household items break down and we can't fix them ourselves, we bring them to him for repair."
In 2008, Binh Son commune launched a campaign to encourage students to study by drumming, and he volunteered to play the drum to help them focus on their studies. Every day at 7 PM and 5 AM, his drumming would ring out, reminding the children to sit down and study. For the past four years, he hasn't stopped drumming for even a single day. He confided, "Born in Nam Dan, the birthplace of President Ho Chi Minh, I learned from him the spirit of overcoming difficulties and striving to conquer all obstacles. President Ho Chi Minh's teaching, 'Disabled but not useless,' has become a motto for people with disabilities. It motivates me to overcome all barriers to become a useful member of my family and community."
It can be said that with his innate sensitivity and a heart full of love for life, Mr. Hong has strived to overcome the darkness of his disability to bring light into his own life.
Diep Anh
