Mr. Tran Van Khoi was born in 1951 in a poor family of nine members in the remoted area of Long An province, Mr. Khoi left school at grade 5 and started working with his parents until he joined the army of the old regime. Unluckily, he was bombed and lost his right leg in 1973, when he was 22 years old.
Through 43 years, despite having to walk on the bumpy and muddy lanes in the countryside, he only had three prostheses, the first was made two years after amputation, the second was provided by VNAH (Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped) in the 1990s and the latest one by SFD, just in April 2016. Isolation, limited access to information, low level of education, being unfamiliar with the official system of doing things of the government or organization, reconciled himself to his destiny are the main reasons leading to his dependence on the only old prosthesis, which is almost obsolete.
For him, life is not settled down at the age of 65 as he has too many burdens to bear. This new device has become an effective supporting tool for him in his difficult life. Day in day out, he walks to check the family’s small rice paddy field nearby, feeds the pigs, ducks and looks after his grandchild. Mr. Khoi and his wife earn enough to live on by income from two harvests yearly and spontaneous little money from selling the pigs and ducks. They have a net income of around 20 million VND a year (about 900 USD) to cover very basic expenses. According to the ordinance of poverty line applied from 2016, with this average income, Khoi’s family is classified as pro-poor household in rural areas (700.000 – 1.000.000 VND per capita per month) (roughly from 31 to 45 USD). Therefore, a trans-tibial prosthesis of 3 million VND (135 USD) is a real luxury compared with his income.
This prosthesis subsidized by SFD is an added incentive for Mr Khoi to keep moving on despite all hardship surrounding him. It makes him feel that he is not a useless person waiting for fruit to fall but an independent old man who can contribute something to his family.
Source: ICRC - SFD
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