The old war invalid's heart for the disabled

Heroic memories

Born in 1940 in Tan Son commune (Do Luong), graduated from high school, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang (currently residing in Trung Hoa block, Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city) joined the army and was sent to study electricity at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

In 1963, he was assigned to Company 3, Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion 138, Air Defense Regiment 280 stationed at Quyet Mountain, directly protecting Vinh city. He was the one who fought side by side with Hero Phan Dang Cat - the first martyr of the heroic epic to defeat the US Air Force in the battle with enemy aircraft on August 5, 1964.

In that battle, Company 3 shot down 2 American planes, but Hero Phan Dang Cat and 4 soldiers of the Company sacrificed, and Mr. Thai Khac Hoang lost 1 finger joint and suffered 3 cuts on his right arm.

At the end of 1967, the 280th Regiment established a new Battalion, Battalion 12, with the mission of participating in the 1968 Spring General Offensive and Uprising. However, at the end of February 1968, in response to new developments in the Tri Thien - Hue battlefield, Battalion 12 was ordered to march from Route 9 to Laos, protecting Route 559 (Ho Chi Minh Trail) from the attacks of the US Air Force. At this new battlefield, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang and his comrades experienced many fierce battles, directly writing a heroic history for the Truong Son troops. He was gradually promoted to Senior Lieutenant, Battalion Chief of Staff.

In August 1972, during a battle to protect the Xe-su underground in At-ta-pu province in the Lower Laos region, a US aircraft launched a rocket that hit the Battalion Command bunker, killing many officers. Thai Khac Hoang lost his left arm and many other injuries on his body. He was transferred to the North for treatment and discharged with a disability assessment of 65%, a 2/4 class disabled soldier.

At the end of 1972, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang was transferred to the No. 1 Nursing Camp for War Invalids, located in Thanh Lien commune (Thanh Chuong) and Ly Thanh commune (Yen Thanh).

Former teacher active in social work

In 1973, the Nghe An Department of War Invalids and Social Affairs (now the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Nghe An province) selected 18 war invalids to review for the university entrance exam in Hanoi. Because of his university graduation record, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang was appointed as the head of the delegation. In that year's university entrance exam, 15 war invalids from the Nghe An delegation passed; Mr. Thai Khac Hoang was one of the five people with the highest scores, admitted to Hanoi Pedagogical University. After 1 year of studying at Hanoi Pedagogical University, Mr. Hoang was transferred to Vinh Pedagogical University.

In 1977, after graduating from university, Mr. Hoang became a literature teacher at Vinh 1 High School (now Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City). For many generations of students at this traditional school from 1977 to 2000, the image of a teacher with a severed arm but full of enthusiasm on the podium is always imprinted in their minds.

In 2000, teacher Thai Khac Hoang retired under the regime but still actively participated in local social activities. He joined the Veterans Association, the Education Promotion Association, the Red Cross Association of Trung Hoa block and Ha Huy Tap ward. In each position, he held key positions and left many marks.

For example, in 2002, as the Head of the Trung Hoa Association for the Promotion of Education, Ha Huy Tap Ward, he proposed with the association's officials the idea of ​​establishing a small library, a place for young people in the block to relax and study. Up to now, the library has over 3,000 books of all kinds, becoming a meaningful cultural activity spot for people in the block.

Concerns for the disabled

In 2010, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang joined the Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities and Orphans in Vinh City. In 2012, with the encouragement and advice of Mr. Phan Khuyen - former Chairman of the Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities and Orphans, he campaigned to establish the Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities in Vinh City based on Article 9 of the Law on People with Disabilities, with 100% of members being people with disabilities and has held the position of Chairman of the Association since then.

In 2017, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang also campaigned to establish the Association of People with Disabilities of Nghe An province and held the position of Chairman of the Association for the first term, from October 2017 to June 2022.

In the story, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang said that he really liked the Chinese proverb "like-minded people" - meaning that people in the same situation can truly sympathize and understand each other. Therefore, as a war invalid and a disabled person, understanding the difficulties and disadvantages of disabled people in social life, he stood up to advocate for the establishment of provincial and city-level associations of disabled people with the desire to represent more than 240 disabled people in Nghe An province to express their wishes and aspirations, as well as seek help for them.

Mr. Hoang also expressed his concern that, although the State has many support policies, the majority of people with disabilities have very difficult lives, both materially and mentally, and many of them cannot access outside support sources.

On the other hand, the Association of People with Disabilities of the city as well as of Nghe An province was established after Decree 45/2010/ND-CP, so it is not considered a special association, and is not assigned a staff, supported with funding, or operating conditions. However, with a heart for people with disabilities, when the Association of People with Disabilities of Vinh city first started operating, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang used his own money to renovate the association's office as well as cover expenses for administrative activities.

More importantly, he and his colleagues use relationships, directly lobby, and request support projects for members from non-governmental organizations. Up to now, the association has called for 3 projects from non-governmental organizations to support people with disabilities in the province, namely the CBM Project, the Project on Strengthening Law and Justice in Vietnam funded by the European Union and the DHF Project (Denmark), thereby helping people with disabilities raise their legal awareness as well as access to livelihood support sources.

In addition, in 2019 and 2020, with the support of the Central Association and the Institute for Community Development Studies, the Association of People with Disabilities of Nghe An province implemented the project Strengthening capacity to respond to gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities, aiming to equip women and girls with disabilities with legal rights and interests, helping them identify forms of violence and access measures to protect themselves.

Not only that, in his position as leader of the Provincial Association of the Disabled and the Vinh City Association of the Disabled, Mr. Thai Khac Hoang also pays great attention to vocational training for the disabled. He chaired the establishment of the Nghe An Province Association of Disabled Entrepreneurs, gathering disabled people who are owners of production facilities to provide vocational training for many disabled people such as the sewing facilities of Ms. Ngoc Ha, Mr. Ho Phuc Danh, Ms. Tran Thi Nhu Hoa, Mr. Mai Hong Quan (Vinh City), Mr. Dang Van Hung (Nam Dan) ...; at the same time, encouraging the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship in the disabled community.

12 years in the army, 23 years standing on the podium, 23 years actively participating in social activities after retirement, at the age of 83, the old war invalid Thai Khac Hoang seems to have never lost the enthusiasm and spirit of dedication of a soldier.

Although I am old, I still have a pension, a war invalid allowance, and my children and grandchildren are all successful, while other association officials are all severely disabled and still have to worry about making a living every day. Therefore, as long as I am healthy, I will continue to strive for the association's work, to be able to help my colleagues and, more importantly, to find more sources of support so that the disabled community in the province can overcome difficulties and have faith and motivation to move forward.

War invalid Thai Khac Hoang - Chairman of Vinh City Association of People with Disabilities.

Minh Quan