A Vietnamese “Nick Vujicic”

Feeling regretted of her daughter, Ms. Trinh Thi Ngoc Thuy, once wrapped her everywhere in a tight blanker regardless of winter or summer. Recently, Thuy was really opend to talk about her daughter who can overcome fate.

That change started when Thuy and her daughter met Nick Vujicic, the world famous disable people who has no limb.

Nick Vujicic was born in 1982 in Australian without any limb. At the age of 17, Nick founded his own non-profit organization called \"Life without limbs\". Nick travels around the world to deliver speeches, inspiring people with disabilities to live in bravery and courage: “The greatest disability of human is to surrender to fate”. In 2013, Nick went to Vietnam and called on people to \"Live for something more meaningful\", \"Never give up aspiration\". When Vietnam Television continuously broadcast his images, there was a storm of emotions among the majority of Vietnamese people. One of them, the little girl Nguyen Linh Chi, was also born without limbs like Nick.

Chi\'s grandfather, Colonel Nguyen Dinh Sanh, former Commander of the Yen Bai Provincial Military Command, used to fight in battlefields heavily sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin. Chi\'s father and two sisters were infected with this evil chemicals.

Chi could only speak at the age of three. To everyone astonishment, the first sentence Chi said in life was: \"I\'m sorry, Mom!\". When Chi applied for kindergarten, no school accepted her but a church school in the region. Mr. Nam, Chi’s father said: \"Every time my daughter asks me: “when will my arms grow as long as our friends so that I won\'t be called \"the amputated” dad...?” I could say nothing but cry.

Watching Nick’s inspiring life, Thuy asked herself how he could do that? why she cowardly rolled up the nest, dragged her innocent daughter into it, and cried all these years? Why not bring Chi out of the house confidently so that she can integrate with her friends? She was thinking so, when Chi said to her: “I want to see Uncle Nick. I want to draw a picture for him. When he came to Vietnam, we just register by email to attend\". Then, Chi showed her mother Nick’s web.

Life changes

For a long time, busy with work, the couple had little time for their daughter and thought she could do nothing. Chi’s grandfather taught her to write and she began to learn with much difficulty. Then with effort and persistence, she learnt to walk and even do the housework.

Chi surfed the web and told her mother to send email to the Vietnam Television to attend Nick’s talk. While her mother was registering, Chi sat and drew a portrait of Nick. The drawing only featured Nick\'s round face, no arms or legs! Her mother, not very technological savvy, sent her email to the website of VOV (Voice of Vietnam). “After a while, a journalist called back, saying that, as Chi is a special case, she would find her ticket to see Nick. Then, editor Hoa Thanh Tung from VTV called and invited Thuy and her daughter to come Hanoi to have talk with Nick. In the end, Chi and her mother had chance to come to Hanoi for the first time of their life. Thirsty and hungry, they were taken to the studio and wait.

Finally, they were brought to the stage. Chi met her idol. They had a very emotional talk which left a deep impact on millions of Vietnamese viewers. The exchange was successful beyond expectation. Nick gave Chi a lot of useful advice, and he promised to visit her family in Yen Bai one day.

After the talk, Ms. Thuy and Chi became more happy and optimistic. Thuy thought that her daughter could well live happily, study, get a job and become idol, inspiring others. They got a lot of donation from benefactors. Besides, with the help of the provincial leaders, Thuy got a job at the Yen Bai Center for Social Protection, and Chi were accepted to that Center. Thuy confessed that, working at the center, she met a lot of miserable lives. Seeing their happiness and optimism, Thuy felt more exciting. She also became more open in social activities.

The miracle of a \"brave soldier\"

Nick can do many things that make many people surprised and admired. Linh Chi is by no mean inferior. The photographer Thanh Mien and we went to Linh Chi\'s house and were surprised to see Chi cleaning the house skillfully! She even can thread the needle and embroider in class, which surprises her teachers and friends. In particular, Chi can type her name on her phone or ipad and then search the webs to see what journalists have written about her, and her idol, Uncle Nick. She can chat on the Facebook, and talk with her mother\'s peers at the Center on the phone. She can even make spring rolls like a normal person. She is very intelligent in the way she looks and behaves.

In 2013, Chi received the scholarship \"Nurturing Vietnamese talents\" from VNPT Group. Many people come to her house to encourage the girl. Some businessmen even give her monthly allowances worth millions of Vietnam dongs. Photographer Thanh Mien, whose album of Chi won the National Journalism Awards, bought some presents, printed a large set of photos of Chi to encourage the \"brave soldier\" with iron will. Chi has made a legend of a girl without limb but great will in Vietnam. Her mother also made great effort in protecting, caring for, encouraging, and training her so that she could confidently live and study with her friends. When Chi was in first grade, Thuy went to school every day at noon to feed her baby. Later, she and Chi’s teacher, Ms. Lam, trained her to do every thing by herself.

Ms. Nhu, the principal, usually observes her from afar. She requested that Chi is put in a class close to the toilet, the music class so that she could move easily. In particular, every time she was given gifts and awards, the school told a teacher to lift her to the stage. That teacher must not wear high heel shoes because Chi is 11 years old, and quite heavy. Also, she has no limbs to cling to the person holding her, as well as there are too few positions on her body for the person holding her to keep the baby from falling. When being asked “what’s surprise you most about Chi”? Miss Nhu answered, Chi has such a strong will to rise up in life. Although being disadvantageous, Chi managed to write and her handwritings, both Vietnamese and English, are very beautiful.

Ms. Tran Thi Hong Lam, the teacher in charge in class 4D, burst into tear when talk about her most special student: “At grade 4, the calculations are very long. Chi has to face down on each page of the notebook to hold the pen, so she is seriously shortsighted. She has difficulty seeing the numbers, and usually misspell them. I would like to express my admire to her mother, too. God does not take everything from anyone Their efforts will be rewarded. And now, I see they both open their hearts, and live happily.\"

The \"penguin\" dream

So far, Chi still has to undergo treatment which costs a lot of money. As affected by Agent Orange/dioxin, she has hot blood. She sweats a lot, even at times that her friends have to wear sweater. She has to move around always because she often feels uncomfortable inside. Therefore, all the plans to install prosthetic hands for her are failed. She has a very good friend who acts as her limbs every day by carrying her bag and then accompanying her to the class. Surprisingly, when Chi and her mother were asked about the future plan, both said that they wish Linh Chi will become a computer and an internet expert because since she was very young, Chi has been quite proficient and passionate about this field.

Hoang Duong & Tam Am