A Vietnamese American is bringing hope to disabled people in his homeland through IT training

John Boudreau:

Some wounds never heal. In 1968, at the age of 15, Do Van Du lost a leg and part of an arm while serving as a combat interpreter for the US Special Forces near the Cambodian border. He moved to the US in 1971 and became a successful software engineer and systems analyst. Then, seven years ago, Du returned to his homeland to help found a college-level programme run by Catholic Relief Services to train disabled young people to be software engineers and tech workers - a first for Vietnam.
"People with disabilities don't have a voice in Vietnam," he says. "You are basically thrown away. You are not 'normal'. You can't work. You are a leech on society," he says, before walking into a classroom full of eager students on crutches and in wheelchairs. "In Asia, because of the belief in reincarnation, people think you have done something in a prior life and now you are paying for it."

Grim evidence of the harsh treatment of Vietnam's disabled citizens is easy to find among the students in Du's programme.

Duong Anh My was pelted with rocks because his leg was deformed.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 13, 2009 1:43 AM
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