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Success Story
Disabled Vietnamese
copies success, starts
business
Realizing A Dream In “Me”
Photo: USAID/Richard Nyberg
Dang Van Toan, left, operates the new
photocopy machine in his computer
services and copy shop in Me.
“The USAID project helped
all of us find jobs. It has also
encouraged the public to
have more open attitudes
about those of us with
disabilities,” said Dang Van
Toan.
Dang Van Toan shuffled across the floor of his garage-sized shop.
Flipping a switch, he warmed up his new photocopy machine
against the din of heavy pounding and drilling from the metalworker
next door. For years Toan hoped he would one day have his own
business. With USAID training and some seed money, he has seen
his dream come true in Me, Vietnam.
Me (meaning “tamarind”) is a town of 5,700 in Vietnam’s northern
Ninh Binh Province. Me is home to Toan’s “Gia Vien Communal
Persons with Disabilities Quality Copy Shop.” Business is good.
Every day, a steady stream of district officials and students pass by
to have documents typed and printed or copied. Looking back a few
short years and over the obstacles he overcame, Toan could not
have imagined himself to be where he is today.
Toan, 25, has diffi culty in getting around because of a disability
in his right leg. A weakness in his right hand and arm also makes
some tasks challenging. Growing up in a poor area, he dropped out
school after ninth grade. Toan got a break when he found out about
the USAID-supported Inclusion of Vietnamese with Disabilities
project. Soon after signing up, he quickly showed his aptitude
to learn and lead other young people with disabilities. During a
nine-month computer training course, Toan earned the reputation
as a fast learner and hard worker as he gained valuable skills in
business office software applications. The project also provided a
modest stipend, a bicycle, and life skills training including personal
communications and leadership, health care, counseling, and
instruction on how to start a business.
After his training, Toan worked as an apprentice at a copy shop
where he was voted by his peers as the leader of a group promoting
social and income-generating opportunities for people with
disabilities. He convinced three other members of the group to join
him in starting their own business. After securing $1,000 in seed
money from the USAID project and matching this amount from their
own resources, the four young people bought a photocopy machine
and acquired computer equipment. Today they run the shop by
themselves.
“We want to improve and expand our business, start selling offi ce
supplies, and increase our income,” said Toan. “The USAID project
helped all of us find jobs. It has also encouraged the public to have
more open attitudes about those of us with disabilities.”
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