The charity of a disabled runner in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - "Living a life without fear of difficulties" is the motto that helped disabled young man Nguyen Quoc Hoan (born in 1985) overcome adversity to write a journey of more than 2,000km of running to raise charity funds and many meaningful social security activities in the mountainous land of Tuong Duong.
Love life more through each run
“Completing 434km of running in 20 days, an average of more than 20km per day, is truly an impressive number for a healthy person. However, that achievement was made by a disabled man. That person is Nguyen Quoc Hoan (born in 1985) in Thach Giam.
Hoan ran more than 400km of this route in the charity run "UpRace 2023" to support difficult circumstances in the community and society," Mr. Ho Viet Son - Party Secretary, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Giam town emotionally said when pointing to Hoan's certificate of achievement.
It can be said that in Tuong Duong, Hoan is a special young man in everyone's eyes because of his journey of fighting illness with determination and the optimistic spirit he brings.
Going back in time to 1985, the boy Hoan was born prematurely at only 7 months old, so his physical condition was weak. As he grew up, his physical defects began to become apparent. Hoan had a lot of difficulty moving, controlling the reflexes of his upper body, and had a hard time talking and communicating with people, so he was forced to start school 2 years later than his peers.
However, what surprised many teachers and friends about Hoan was his eagerness to learn. If God took away Hoan's communication skills, he made up for it with a sensitive mind and profound writing ability. Thanks to that, he not only completed 3 levels of education well but also became a student of the Faculty of Geodesy at Nghe An College of Economics with quite good results.
Knowing that he was not like a normal person, he regularly exercised. At first, he played sports such as soccer, badminton, etc. However, these sports required too many skills, making it difficult for him to keep up with his teammates. Finally, he became attached to running. Every day, he tried to maintain the running route he had set with great determination.
Later, when seeing the locality launching charity races, Nguyen Quoc Hoan became more determined to participate. Notable among them are the province’s major races such as the 2023 “Ve mien vi, giam” Marathon, the 2023 “UpRace” charity race, and the “King of Speed open” race of the Nghe An runners club…
Up to now, the total number of kilometers that Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hoan has participated in races and run in response to local movements has reached more than 2,000km.
Looking back on the past journey, Mr. Hoan confided: “The first time they saw me participating in races, my mother and wife were extremely worried. The fear that I might be exhausted on the race track or on trips far from home to participate in provincial races made them extremely uneasy. It was my relatives' worries that urged me to train myself to overcome my limits and complete the races safely and healthily. And then, when I did that, I dared to look up and confide in my mother: "I hope you don't see me as a disabled person, because sometimes fear can make you and I forget our own strength. Although I am physically disabled, I want to live an optimistic and fulfilling life every day I live!"
That spirit has helped Nguyen Quoc Hoan become a “perfect” young man in the eyes of everyone. Therefore, when he and a friend came up with the idea of establishing the Tuong Duong Runners Club, many people supported it. Initially, the club only had 8 members, but now - less than a year after its establishment, the club has nearly 30 members. Through each race, they become more connected and increase their determination to train their physical strength to achieve high results in charity runs for the community.
A "defective" but solid support
Looking at the spacious business, bustling with customers and creating jobs for 5 local workers, few people would think that its owner is a disabled man. That business is the sweat and tears of many years of overcoming difficulties to rise up.
In 2008, when Nguyen Quoc Hoan had just graduated from Nghe An College of Economics for 4 months, a big incident happened. His father had an accident and passed away. At that time, the burden of raising two younger sisters to study fell entirely on his mother's shoulders. With a meager teacher's salary, the whole family's life was truly lacking and difficult.
To help his mother support his two younger sisters in college, he decided to start a business by opening a small phone repair shop and selling SIM cards. At first, the number of customers was not much, the money he earned was only enough to cover the basic needs of life.
But then, thanks to his meticulousness, carefulness and dexterity in work, he gradually gained the trust of customers. Thus, more and more people in the district began to come to his shop to shop and repair. By 2011, after 4 years of working in the profession, he had expanded the scale of the shop and created jobs for 5 local workers.
Most of the employees at his store come from difficult circumstances. For them, having a stable income from their current job is a solid foundation for a stable life. Therefore, there are people who have been with the store for over 10 years, such as Mr. Ho Duy Hien (born in 1989), Ms. Vi Quynh Tam (born in 1991). They consider Mr. Hoan as a friend, a brother who has accompanied them through difficult times in their lives.
Nguyen Quoc Hoan has also participated in many charity activities. He and his friends have mobilized shop owners and business owners in the electronics and refrigeration sector in Tuong Duong district and other localities in the province to support and help disabled children, poor children, families with meritorious services, and poor households.
In particular, the flash flood that occurred in October 2022 caused great damage to many mountainous districts, including Ky Son district. Mr. Hoan and the local volunteer group raised 150 million VND to support people in the affected communes.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he also contacted the Youth Union and local Party committees and authorities to support dozens of boxes of masks and hand sanitizer worth tens of millions of dong.
“Being disabled myself is the biggest reason that motivates me to do charity work. Because more than anyone else, I understand the pain of those with disabilities.
The journey of volunteering is not only filled with pain, but also with smiles, aspirations and extraordinary determination of the lives I have met. They are a great source of encouragement for me to live better every day…”.
