Dong Ha, Quang Tri (December 3, 2014)
Elite artist, Vietnamese folk singer Van Khanh performed for hundreds of disadvantaged children and people with disabilities in an exchange program of which she was the special guest held today at the Mine Action Visitor Center in Quang Tri Province.
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The event was jointly organized by Project RENEW in collaboration with Vietnam Ban Advocates Project and Quang Tri Provincial Disabled People Organization (DPO) with financial support from Handicap International Belgium (HIB) in commemoration of International Day for People with Disabilities.
Leader representatives from the local authorities including Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and disability support organizations operating in the province and national and local media and press were also present during the commemoration.
Folk singer Van Khanh singing with a disabled person who teaches at Quang Tri School for Disabled Children.
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Celebration of the International Day of People with Disabilities is an annually organized event aimed at raising public awareness on disability issues, promoting the rights of people with disabilities and enhancing strong and broader integration of disabled people into all social, economic, cultural and political aspects.
This year the theme of International Day of People with Disabilities focuses on the role of technology in disaster risk reduction and emergency relief, creation of enabling working environment, and and inclusive-disability sustainable development goals.
Vietnam Ban Advocate Pham Quy Thi and other exemplary disabled persons who overcame their tragedies joining a roundtable talk with elite artist Van Khanh.
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The Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), the first human right convention in the 21st century, was approved by United Nations on December 13, 2006 and came into effect on May 4, 2008. Since then, it has been widely welcomed and adopted by many countries in the world. Vietnam is the 188th nation to sign the treaty on October 22, 2007 and approved its national regulation on people with disabilities in 2010. Following the plenum on November 28, 2014, Vietnam’s National Assembly has ratified the UN CRPD. The ratification would bring about significant change in application and implementation of the right of people with disabilities in the country.
A group of hearing-impaired and visual-impaired kids performing a hip hop dance at the commemoration.
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Four decades after the war ended, Quang Tri Province still suffers the highest impact of unexploded ordance (UXO) and Agent Orange of any place in Vietnam. The province is home to with more than 37,000 disabled persons, most of them live in rural areas and currently have to cope with many disadvantages in travel, livelihoods social integration.
With support from international donors, since 2008 Project RENEW has provided prosthetic and orthopedic devices to help restore daily functions for over 900 UXO survivors and disabled people. 45 blind people in two districts of Hai Lang and Huong Hoa have received occupational training to generate income from making toothpicks, brooms and scent sticks. 450 families of UXO victims now raise livestock thanks to participation in RENEW’s micro credit program. 193 families are provided with tools and knowledge to grow mushrooms for sustainable income.
At the end of the commemoration, representatives of the local authorities signing on a banner to show their solidarity with people with disabilities.
