Refusing to surrender to fate.

(Baonghean.vn) - Having seen on television a self-driving vehicle for the disabled manufactured in the US at a cost of thousands of dollars, I was surprised and curious to see a person who had lost both legs still moving nimbly on a rather unique three-wheeled electric vehicle, right here in Dien Chau district town.

This is Mr. Dinh Van Canh, a disabled veteran (category 1/4), residing in Block 3, Dien Chau Town. Returning from the Cambodian battlefield, after a period in a rehabilitation center, Mr. Canh decided to return to his hometown to start a business. Using the mechanical skills he acquired during his military service, he tinkered with and built a three-wheeled motorbike for transportation and to help his wife and children carry goods. Seeing the high efficiency of the vehicle, many others in similar circumstances asked him for help.

Undeterred, he helped war invalids and disabled people in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces manufacture hundreds of three-wheeled motorbikes. What's unique is that his motorbikes can move forward and backward easily thanks to an "automatic reverse gear" he invented. This is the most difficult part of the process, and even today, workshops in Hanoi and Saigon still have to order it from him.

Drawing on his experience building a three-wheeled motorbike, he recently invented an electric vehicle for people with disabilities. Interestingly, the vehicle can be controlled while sitting or lying down, it can rotate 180 degrees, and it's easy to operate even with only one hand. It can be used indoors and has a range of 30-40 km before needing to be recharged. When the battery runs out, it can be manually controlled. He stated that, being a person with a disability himself, he knows what's needed for this vehicle. The components are readily available on the market, each costing around 7 million VND.

Thanks to the vehicle that Mr. Canh created, some disabled people who previously relied on others for daily life can now move around and earn a living independently. Many disabled people couldn't hold back their tears. They said that without Mr. Canh's ingenuity, they would never have had the opportunity to use such a vehicle!

In order to create opportunities for people with disabilities to integrate into the community, Mr. Dinh Van Canh and some friends are currently working on establishing a vocational training center in mechanics and electronics for people with disabilities, where he and some mechanics will volunteer to teach.

Mr. Canh also hopes that one day, his affordable self-driving car will be mass-produced so that disabled people in difficult circumstances can use it.

Duc Chuyen