The story Nguyen Ngoc Binh – a heavily wounded veteran and a victim of Agent Orange

At the age of 22, at the call of the Fatherland, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh (born in 1955, in My Son Village, Tam Anh Nam Commune, Nui Thanh District, Quang Nam Province) volunteered to join the army. He served in the Cambodian battlefield and was injured in 1979. After treatment, he was transferred to Hoi An War Invalids Centre and discharged in 1985 with 81% injury (1/4-level invalid). Severely injured and broken both his legs, Nguyen Ngoc Binh was also contaminated with Agent Orange, but he made normal people admired by his will and energy of a war invalid.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh

Returning to his homeland, although provided with beneficial policies and treatment, he decided not to rely on the support of his relatives and the preferential treatment of the State. Remembering Uncle Ho\'s words that \"War invalids wilted but not wasted\", after many nights of thinking, realizing that the shrimp farming model was effective, he explored himself and created a pond of over 500m2 in area and learned how to raise shrimps from people in the region. He first earned an interest of over 16 million. His initial success gave him a great source of encouragement for himself, and made him confident and invest all his loans into production, expanding the pond area, buying more breeds and expanding production. Thanks to the industrious nature and hard-working spirit of the soldier who was always passionate about labor, he earned an interest of 30 million to 50 million dong each year, especially in time of big hit, he earned nearly 150 million dong. He confided: “Due to limited health, but thanks to my hardworking and favorable weather, my shrimp farming model has become a great success. Although I haven’t earned as much as others, I have generated a steady income, which helps me stabilize my life and make me happy about the fruits of my labor”. Indeed, for a wounded soldier infected with Agent Orange, to have a steady job, a sufficient income to support himself is not easy, but, with his strong will and energy, he could not only support himself but also other victims of Agent orange and poor people. Facing the situation of Tam Anh Nam Commune with 30 victims of Agent Orange, most of whom are ill and poor, Mr. Binh was elected as Chairman of the Association for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin so he could contribute more to the members. He persuaded donors to provide loans for breeding, production, medical examination and treatment, orthopedic surgery, giving gifts on holidays and Tet occasions, etc., to help the victims\' families step by step improve their life and overcome their difficulties. Last year, Mr. Binh mobilized philanthropists to support more than 6 million VND for the program \"Tet for the poor and victims of Agent Orange\"; and another over 3 million VND for members of the association who suffered from natural disasters; built 2 gratitude houses of over 45 million VND; 25 gifts for poor victims with the amount of 7,550,000 VND. In addition, he also mobilized members to contribute 4,539,000 VND for the Association’s fund. Particularly, annually, he supports the Association\'s fund 01 million to 1.5 million. Nguyen Ngoc Binh, a seriously wounded veteran and a victim of Agent Orange, has not only risen to enrich his family but also does well in social work, both as the Chairman of the Association for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, as well as the Chairman of the Association for the Disabled of Tam Anh Nam Commune, Head of the Solidarity Group of My Son Village, Head of the Village’s Learning Encouragement Sub-Association. He completed successfully all his tasks, which creating trust and will to overcome pain for his members. He is such a shining example of a war invalid and a victim of Agent Orange who does not surrender his fate, overcame the difficulties to rise up and earn the love and admire of other people./.

Bài và ảnh: Huy Hoang