Pham Minh Trung is currently a second-year Psychology student at Van Hien University. Trung has been receiving Luong Van Can scholarship since 2018. That young man impressed LVC Scholarship’s Selection Council with his independence and steadfastness in making plans. If you have not met Trung, perhaps you cannot know that this dynamic guy is unable to see …
Born and raised in a small town in Highlands, Minh Trung thought that he would have a peaceful childhood like many other children. However, an unexpected event happened to the boy when he had just turned 5 and totally changed his life. On an unfortunate occasion, he was struck by a stick which made his right eyeball break. The accident destroyed his right eye, causing him to wear fake eyes. Unhappiness continued until his left eye gradually faded and he no longer distinguished the colors. At the age of 5 – the age when he was just about to explore the world, Trung was surrounded by only a close friend named ‘darkness’. Despite vision loss, it seemed that unhappiness could never diminish the optimism of this boy. “Perhaps I was too young, I did not feel much upset. In my daily life, I told myself that what other blinds could do, I could do. Therefore, I have never found anything difficult. After that accident, my family sent me to a school cared for by the nuns. Here, the blinds who wanted to study with the bright-eyed students had to finish the 4th grade curriculum. Thanks to my good performance, I already integrated with them right after the 2nd grade”, Trung excitedly shared. He also identified himself as an adventurous and reckless person. Because of his love for music, Trung continuously enrolled in art competitions and excellently won the C Prize at the provincial level when he was in secondary school.
When finishing secondary school, Trung’s dream of higher education was challenged. “Four of my siblings were all at school age at that time, thus it was hard for my parents to handle our tuition fees. They advised me to take massage lessons or become singing vendors like other blinds, but I did not want to. My dream was to become a psychological counsellor or a speaker who could inspire others, thus I needed to continue to study. During those difficult times, I overheard an audio book named “Mastering Thought – Changing Fate” by Adam Khoo. It was the book that motivated me and encouraged me to convince my parents. Thanks to the Internet, I found some elementary schools with free tuition policies for students. I also looked for blind people who overcame difficulties to invoke my point of view. I did explain to my parents that I might also be among those who get a job after graduation and hope they would not compare me with others. Each person would have their own life and I did not want to be imposed “because you are blind so you just can do these jobs”. Successfully solving my parents’ worries, here I am in Ho Chi Minh City”, Trung smiles.
During high school, Trung often skipped the nuns to attend seminars of soft skills training sessions outside. When being asked how to walk there on his own, he says that being blind is never a problem. As he cannot see the road, he uses the walking stick to follow the path for the blind. Also, he is not afraid to ask people for help. Throughout those school years, apart from the pressure of homework, another worry was always obsessing Trung: “After finishing high school, how could I afford to go to university?”. It was his desire to study higher that motivated the young man to find a way to prepare for the future. In the summer of grade 11, Trung took a part-time job at a massage parlor for the blind in Nha Trang City. Trung chose this job because he could meet many foreigners and improve his English. Studying and working hard simultaneously, Trung and his effort were finally paid off when he won a place at Van Hien University with a full tuition scholarship. With the savings from his part-time job, Trung used them to pay for housing and living expenses, starting a completely independent life without his parents while proving to his parents that “If I want to do something, I can nail it”.
“Although the part-time job helped me deal with financial problems, I was still struggling with the expensive living cost in Ho Chi Minh City. While looking for more scholarships online, I found LVC scholarship and immediately decided to sign up as I liked the Fund’s activities and believed that these programs would definitely help me develop myself. I remember taking the bus to the interview by myself in a very nervous mood, to the extent that anyone who asked anything, I considered them the interviewers (laugh). When Mr. Nghia (Head of the Selection Council) asked why I chose Van Hien University knowing that it had high tuition fees, I told him I chose the major, not the school. I wanted to pursue training and application in Psychology. Department of Psychology in the University of Social Sciences and Humanities was research-oriented, while at the University of Pedagogy, it was medical therapy. That was how I made my choice. Seeing him not asking anything more, I thought I had already failed. Fortunately, that perspective did not happen as I have been accompanying LVCF till now (laugh)”.
Being surrounded by the prejudices of people about the blind’s abilities, Trung reminded himself to do something for them and for himself as well. Ignoring the cynicism, he founded a Youtube channel named “Incovi” to introduce the abilities of the blind, the tasks that they can do, and inspire others to lead a worthy life of their own. Additionally, Trung, together with his friend, also invites professional speakers to conduct soft skills training sessions for the blind, starting with basic things like fixing body languages, choosing appropriate costumes for specific events, or learning how to use a knife, etc… His “Secret from the Darkness” Project also cooperates with a number of schools to give students the experience of trying to be blind and enhance their empathy towards the less fortunate people. With such enthusiasm to support his community, Trung’s project excelled in the Top 6 of “Unlimited Generation” Contest hold by LIN Center for Community Development and won 1,000 USD.
Despite being unable to see anymore, Trung is always optimistic and considers his life is “full of colors”. “When I was in high school, I volunteered to be a Math tutor for two students. I also stood up in front of numerous disadvantaged people and told my stories to inspire them. These works helped me realize the value of my doings and encouraged me to pursue counselling job to help more people break their limits, as I strongly believe that a good person is someone who is able to help others be better”.
One of my friends used to ask me whether it was blindness that motivated me to achieve many things, as bright-eye people spent a lot of time playing video games. Other people might be shocked, but I found him … right (laugh). I believe everything happens for a reason, and I have never considered losing my vision is a misfortune. In the past, I was quite negative and always thought that all the help to the blind was just a pity. I reacted very strongly to those who wanted to help me. Later, I realized that it was a wrong mindset. When people wanted to help, it was because of the caring, so I had better cherish their hearts as they were also my “eyes”. I am not sure if I am able to help those people in return, but I believe helping others is also a way to pay it forward. A new year is coming. My plan for the next year includes: participating in at least 7 skills training courses, bringing “Secret from the Darkness” Project to two schools per month, managing Psychology Club to become more influential to students and spending more time with my family. Those are challenging, I know, but I would like to test my own limits. On this occasion, I wish all the new year expectations of all Luong Van Can Fund’ members will also come true soon.
Content, images: Luong Van Can Fund
Graphics: Tan Phu
