By Nguyen Kim Ngan, World Vision Vietnam communications

No eleven year old boy wants to stay at home. It's a time of activity, adventure and participation for them.

But Huy, in Ho Chi Minh City, is different from other boys. Playing sport, joining in games and making friends are all difficult for him. Until recently, he did almost nothing outside his home.

Huy, the only child in his family, has suffered from cerebral palsy since he was born. The boy is unable to talk or walk like other children. He replies by nodding or shaking his head when someone asks him a question.    

But now Huy is enjoying sport, games and learning like any other boy his age. Every morning he loves going to a World Vision club especially for children with disabilities.
 
“The club opens at 7.00 in the morning but my son always wants to be present there at 6.30. He will cry if my husband or I take him to the club late,” says Mrs Lien, Huy’s mother.

“When my child was six months, I recognised that there was something abnormal with his back. I was shocked when doctors said he had cerebral palsy,” his mother recalls. “I brought my son to all hospitals in the city with a hope that he would receive proper medical treatment to become normal.”

“I also took Huy to acupuncturists and practised movement exercises for him at home but little progress was made,” she continues. “My boy looked miserable because he stayed at home all day. He was so weak that he had to sit against a wall or with someone’s assistance.”

After years of caring for Huy at home, his parents heard of an opportunity that might help him develop.

In collaboration with local authorities, World Vision established the club for disabled children in the city in 2002 and Huy was among the first students of the club.

“When the boy joined the club, he was unable to move around the room and handle toys when playing with other classmates,” remembers his teacher, Mrs Thuy. “He had difficulties in chewing food or drinking water.”

Spending every weekday morning at the club, Huy and other children with different disabilities such as epilepsy, Down’s syndrome and mental illness have a chance to enjoy their life. World Vision has provided learning equipment and other necessary facilities to the club, which are attended by 15 students aged from 4 to 17 years old.

“We teach them everything from literature, doing physical exercises to playing games and doing housework. At first we got exhausted because the children just did what they naturally wanted,” the teacher says.

“They then began to follow our instructions little by little. At present, the students know to assist each other when preparing for lunch, cleaning dishes and sweeping floors. Most parents are moved to tears when they see their children able to help around the house for the first time.”

Huy’s health has improved since he joined the club. “The boy now can eat easily when teachers feed him with spoon and can drink water himself. Though he can not walk, he always tries to move closer to join his classmates’ activities,” his teacher reveals. “He also understands and reacts to what other people say.”

Since the first club’s establishment in 2002, five more have opened up across World Vision's urban development area in Ho Chi Minh. In all, a total of 100 local children with disabilities are attending the centres.

World Vision's work in the disability field in Vietnam is delivered alongside their community development work, based on the theory that all children deserve the same opportunities. Children who stay at home, for whatever reason, miss out on important socialising and play opportunities which contribute to their growth.

Providing these opportunities for children with disabilities helps to protect them from rights abuses. It also makes them more visible, reducing stigma against them and increasing their community standing.

For their parents and carers, at first the clubs seem almost too good to be true.

“We faced many challenges when encouraging the first families to send their children with disabilities to the clubs because they were doubtful about them,” says Mr Le Thien Thach, manager of World Vision's development in the area. “The clubs have attracted more children with disabilities as the kids have shown positive progress after participation. We have also assisted older children to get a livelihood after they leave the clubs.” 

Huy looks cheerful when playing with toys at the club and his eyes brighten whenever his teacher calls his name. 

“I once told Huy he would have to stay at home if he was not good," remembers Thuy. "The boy immediately stared at me and started crying. I had to take back my words before he would smile again."

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