Write your dreams from your feet

(Baonghean) -Unable to speak or write with his hands, his skinny, bony toes can write faster and more beautifully than normal people. With those toes, he is trying to write his dreams with sweat and tears. The touching story of Nguyen Van Cuong in Hamlet 3, Quynh Thuan (Quynh Luu, Nghe An).

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hung is from Hamlet 3, Quynh Thuan Commune (Quynh Luu, Nghe An). In 1974, he joined the army and fought in the 341A Division in the Southeast region. During his years in the army, he unfortunately carried within himself the "pain of Agent Orange." After being discharged from the army and returning to his hometown, he married Ms. Le Thi Hue and had 4 children, the youngest of whom was Nguyen Van Cuong, who was the most severely affected. At the age of 7, Cuong suddenly contracted an itchy disease all over his body, then his limbs gradually atrophied and he could no longer speak. Seeing his friends going to school, Cuong was very sad, always going to the end of the alley, using his feet to pick up pebbles or bricks, sometimes sticks, and then practicing writing. Not letting down his perseverance and passion, his handwriting gradually appeared on the ground. At the age of 12, he started first grade. Currently, Cuong is a student of class 12 C6, Nguyen Duc Mau High School.

Mr. Hung dressed Cuong.

Every day Cuong wakes up at 4am, his family has to help him with all his personal activities, from eating to dressing. When he was in primary and secondary school, his house was near the school so he had to walk, but now that he is studying far away, he relies on friends and relatives to help him get to class. And especially his friend Le Thi Tram, a 12A2 student at Nguyen Duc Mau High School - who has been taking Cuong to school for more than 2 years now on her own motorbike.

However, studying with him is never neglected, late or absent. In studying, Cuong finds it very difficult to draw pictures like in industrial engineering or geometry. He cannot speak or write on the board, but the teachers are familiar with handling this special pedagogical situation. That is, giving Cuong a separate test, mainly theoretical questions. For the oral test, Cuong just sits there writing his answers on paper, while the teachers stand next to him to monitor the answers. Cuong is passionate about learning computers, writing poetry and is very good at kicking. He dreams of studying information technology after finishing grade 12.

Cuong was dark and thin, small in stature, his arms were curled up in front of his chest, unable to grasp anything, even very small. His feet were thin but flexible, and he wrote very quickly and beautifully. When talking to us, he could only express himself through facial expressions or shaking and nodding his head.

Cuong studies at home.

Confiding in us about his dream, Cuong’s feet trembled as he wrote: “Thank you Le Thi Tram for taking me to school, thank you to my parents, teachers and friends for helping me overcome all difficulties. I will try to study hard to become a disabled person but not useless!”

Currently, in addition to the subsidies for being a victim of Agent Orange and his father's war invalids, everything depends on a few acres of contracted rice fields, so Cuong's family is facing many difficulties.

Nguyen Thi Hoe