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Blind Associtation of Ho Chi Minh City - Viet Nam
Ho Chi Minh City is the central city of culture, science, technique and economics of Vietnam with the population of more than 7 millions people, of which nearly 3,700 blind people.
Ho Chi Minh City is the central city of culture, science, technique and economics of Vietnam with the population of more than 7 millions people, of which nearly 3,700 blind people. The reasons of the blindness are the consequences of the war before 1975, the innate blind, shortage of vitamin A, labor accident, the disease after effect.
With the purpose of gathering those who are blind with a considerable number, we educate and encourage them to make efforts in life by all our care. Getting the sponsor from the Government and the support from organizations and individuals, we have tried to help the blind so that they are able to well intergrate into the social community in an equal manner like other normal citizens. The blind association of hochiminh city was established on 26 June 1979, up to now, the association has 21 district associations and 2 direct premises with 1399 members ( of which 575 blind female). The association activities include the following five key duties:
1. Organize the development: impact the city authorities to have the policies caring more about the life of blind people such as social support, medical insurance, bus fare…, create good relationships with the local authorities to get help, organize the training courses to key leaders, develope the quatity of the members and new branches, organize AGM (annual general meeting) to give the result of operation, reward in the association.
The pre-integration education program classes
2. Propagandize the culture and education: open the classes of illiteracy eradication, facilitate the blind to attend the schools, colleges and universities, manage the education programs of bringing up the young blind, the blind orphans and the members in the association like studying orientation and mobility for the primary classes, daily living and home economic skills (cooking lesson & practice), especially do research and organize the informatics training courses to the blind, print the kinds of magazines, newspaper and supply to the library to help them grasp the social information in a timely manner.
3. The life and works for the blind: manage two therapeutic massage facilities and give jobs to more than 50 members with stable incomes, increase the income sources to recover expenses of the association activities and manage the loan from National fund for job supports with a low interest rate as per the specific channel of the association, facilitate many blind families by giving capital for them to create small home-business, open the rehabilitation class, vocational training courses which are suitable for the capacity of the blind such as massage, informatics, handicraft, telephone switchboard, support the members to construct and repair house, supply the clean water, family and population planning.
The massage training course
4. International relationship: Create the relationship with the foreign organizations to take the advantages of their support for the association activities.
5. The care and policy to the blind female: learn about the desires and inner thoughts, support difficult situations, apply for scholarship to the poor children but getting good results in study, mobilize them to study further to improve the educational level, join in the association activities to equally intergrate into the social community.
Scholarship to the children of poor members
STRUCTURE OF ASSOCIATION ORGANIZATION:
The association is operated under the leading of the executive board, term of 5 years. In term 7 (2010 – 2015), the executive board of association has 25 members, the leaders is the standing committees with 7 members, of which are one chairman and two vice chairmans. Up to now, there have been 21 districts having the association branches. All the blind from the age of 15, without discrimination on the blindness, the religion, the faith, the class, voluntarily agree with the articles of association, and apply for the membership.
THE RESULT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Up to now, through the illiteracy eradication by Braille, the association has 600 members who can read and write Braille well, more than 250 members are middle, high school and 24 members are college, university graduation. The library of the association has more than 1000 kinds of Braille books, CD about culture, science, life, textbooks, novels,… to easily widen knowledge about life for the members, supporting well the propaganda about culture and education in the association.
Through the program of loan from the national job support fund (from the state budget), through the channel of the association, currently 126 members have received the loan with the total amount of 843,000,000VND, making contribution in decreasing the poor households and increasing the household with good incomes. 2 massage facilities give jobs with stable incomes (on average, 1,200,000VND/person/ month, not inclusive of tip), and regardless of some massage facilities are organized by some blind individuals, not in the association system.
The pre-integration education program
Having been accepted by the People's Committee of the city, the association gives montly social support to the members as per the meeting conditions of Decree No.67 of the Government. At the same time, 982 members have been delivered with the book about free disease treatment or medical insurance cards and cards for travelling bus in the city on free… The pre-integration education program at the head office of the association helps some young blind who have difficult life situation, unable to afford education or the ones who are abandoned and transferred to the association from the social centers, to have change to study, getting good educational level, well integrating the social community. This program helped 10 children graduate from college, university and arranged to work at the association. More than 60 of them have graduated from middle and high school and worked at two massage facilities managed by the association, with the stable incomes, stable life. Some of them get married, having happy life like other normal citizens.
At the end of 2006, the People ‘s Committee of the city granted a piece of land for the city blind association to construct a center of vocational training to the blind in Thu Duc District. After 6 years of operating, with the sponsor from the foreign organizations such as SIDA - Sweden, ABILIS – Finland and partly from the budget for vocational training from the Government, the center has trained 140 blind people to know how to use computer basically , 60 blind people are trained with therapeutic massage, 20 blind female working at the district branches of the association are trained with the teacher training courses as sources for locality and the courses of switchboard operators with 20 learners... These courses have helped the members to improve some working skills and to have the chances of finding suitable jobs with their ability. Beside that, the blind can overcome the inferiority feeling, depression, and lead a more self-confident life, make efforts to well integrate into the social community.
However, the handicapped in any country is the poorest. The global research shows that 20-30% of the poor is the handicapped and 80% of the handicapped is the poor. The chances for education and employment for the handicapped are also fewer. This hinders them to become a part of social life. Vietnam is the country that always gives priority on the handicapped, of which there are the blind. However, actually, the handicapped in general and the blind in particular still have many difficulties, disadvantages, and many of them are still unemployed, and can't support themselves or help their family. Therefore, how to help the blind to have a better life is always a big question and leading mission to the association.
Nowadays, Vietnam is still a country having difficulties. And in progress of forming and developing of associtation, we really need the support and the share from the charity organization all over the world.
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