Happiness smiles with Duong Van Binh  

His father, Mr. Duong Quoc Ngu, enlisted in 1968, fought in the Central Highlands battlefield, and was exposed to Agent Orange. He gave birth to 4 children, all whom were infected with Agent Orange from him. All four children have deformities and birth defects, in which his daughter died young due to severe infection. Binh, born in 1976, has a deformity, his legs are atrophied, bent backwards; his back is hunchbacked, and his spine is curved. He confided:

I really want to go to school. I wish I could come to class with my friends everyday. I realized that dream with the help of my parents. When my classmates teased me and called me "the hunchback-crooked-leg guy", I felt very pity, embarrassed and hopeless at first. Because of this, I dropped out of school twice. Then I was encouraged by my teachers and friends, so I was determined to go to class. I overcame my destiny and became a good student. Then, my friends looked at me more friendly. My path to school was full of hardships, even with blood when I had to crawl on my feet to finish high school. Then, I passed the entrance exam to the Central Vocational School No.1...

In 2001, after graduating from the Vocational School, Binh returned to his hometown in Song Cong. With the support from his family and Song Cong City Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, he started his own life. With his knowledge and skill from the vocational school, and the capital from his parents, Binh ran an electronics workshop. At first, many people did not believe him. They thought he could damage their devices more seriously. But he was determined to do well his job. And happily, more and more clients came to him which brought him a stable income. Not only that, he also gave free training to other disabled AO victims.

With stable income by repairing electronic devices, Binh was able to buy his own land, build a house and open his own store. And happiness came to him. He got married with Ms. Ta Thi Thu Ha, who came to him despite all barriers and objections. Together they built a happy family. Now, they have 3 children, a boy and 2 girls who are good children both at home and at school. Later on, he and his wife bought more land to build a livestock farm. He has invested in breeding sows and currently he is raising up to 10 calves and cows. In 2014, he opened a garment factory. He wanted to help more people disabilities and AO victims by creating jobs and income for them.

With the mindset of "for people with disabilities, for AO victims", he regularly studies and learns about social work, researches and proposes to establish the Association for People with Disabilities of Song Cong City. With the approval of local authority, in 2012 Song Cong Association for People with Disabilities was established and he was elected as President of the Association.

After 10 years working with social work, Binh always cares about people with disabilities and people with difficulties in life. In October 2020, he was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam. Currently, he is still the President of the Song Cong Disabled People's Association for the 2020-2025 term.

At the 4th Congress of Thai Nguyen Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, he was an official delegate, and was required to report his achievements to the Congress which earned him praise and admiration for his strong will.

Luu Sy Mui