How we help:

Project RENEW runs a mobile Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) mobile outreach program dedicated to giving the gift of mobility to amputees living in rural, mostly mountainous areas of the province. Doctors and technicians travel into remote areas equipped with the tools and machines necessary to conduct on-site examinations, fit and adjust the custom devices, and make sure amputees and mobility impaired children and adults can function comfortably with their newly acquired high quality limbs and braces.

Our achievement:
About 1,900 amputees affected by bombs and mines accidents and other trauma incidents have been provided with new artificial limbs and assistive devices for restoring mobility.

How can you help?
According to a study conducted by the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Quang Tri has over 34.000 people with disabilities, of which 2,000 are amputees just like Thong. All they wish for is to be able to stand up, walk and care for themselves and their families.

With $300USD, you can also give the gift of mobility to someone as your financial support helps RENEW maintain and develop this program. You can give people with physical disabilities the opportunity to be independent and lead their own lives.

HIS STORY:

Mr. Ho Van Thong, a 41 year old ethnic minority, grew up in Dakrong District, one of the most remote mountainous areas in Quang Tri Province. At fifteen, he hit a UXO while clearing weeds in his family’s cornfield.

Having lost both an arm and a leg, Thong felt every door slam in his face. No longer could he work or take care of himself. Fortunately, he found a partner to share his life with and had four children. All he wished for was to have the ability to care for himself, help his wife with household chores and be involved in local community activities. However, without his limbs such activities seemed impossible. His wife’s income did not adequately support his family, let alone afford a proper education for his children. Thong’s eldest son had to leave school in the eighth grade to find a job working in Ho Chi Minh City. This again reminded Thong of how his disability has impacted his family.

For more than 20 years, his wooden crutches were his best friends. His family was too poor and lived too far from the District hospital to have an artificial limb made. Fortunately for Ho, Project RENEW’s Prosthetics and Orthotics Mobile Outreach Program traveled to his house and offered him a very special gift, a proper prosthesis.

With his new leg, Thong can do chores, take care of his children while his wife working and plant corn and cassava in his backyard. In addition, he is confident enough to participate in his neighborhood’s activities. His family still may not be as well off as others but he now has hope of being able to support his other three children in the completion of their studies.