KOICA Country Director of Vietnam: "I hope the most is that in the future there will not be any more mine / UXO victims"

Thứ ba, 02/06/2020

During a high-level visit on May 25 - 26, 2020 in Quang Binh, representatives of KOICA, UNDP, and VNMAC had cooperated with the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Binh province to visit, encourage and give gifts to mine / UXO survivors in Quang Son commune, Ba Don town, Quang Binh province.

 
KOICA Country Director of Vietnam: "I hope the most is that in the future there will not be any more mine / UXO victims"

Leading the delegation was Mr. Cho Han-Deog – Country Director of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Vietnam, Ms. Caitlin Wiesen - Resident Representative of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, Mr. Giang Cong Bau - Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) and local leaders.

High-ranking delegation visited Mr. Tran Dinh Theu at his home. 

After the gift giving program to leaders of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Binh province for 14 landmine / UXO victims, who were affected by the COVID-19 epidemic at the People's Committee of Quang Son commune, the delegation visited Mr. Tran Dinh Theu , born in 1969, resides in Trung Thuong hamlet, Quang Son commune, Ba Don town, Quang Binh province. Mr. Theu is one of the more disadvantaged residents of the commune and a victim who lost a part of his body due to a landmine accident.

Prior to the accident, Mr. Theu was a fisherman and was the main labour of the family. In August 2012, during a fishing trip, Mr. Theu accidentally came into contact with a bomb that exploded. The accident caused him to lose his left arm and his left eye. Since then, his life and his family has become much more difficult than before.

In March 2020, with the support of the Vietnam-South Korea Project for Cooperation in the Post-War Remedies (KVMAP), Mr. Theu has been fitted with a functional myoelectric upper limb prosthetic. This arm prosthetic has 2 essential grasping functions such as holding and clamping small objects that helps the user to perform daily activities more easily.

Mr. Cho Han-Deog (blue shirt) – KOICA Country Director of Vietnam.

Sharing with the senior delegation, Mr. Theu said, since the installation of the myoelectric limb prosthetic, his life has been less strenuous than before. In work, many jobs require using both hands to achieve efficiency and this prosthetic has helped him do so. However, the electronic part of the arm is not water resistance, so Mr. Theu must preserve it carefully, so as not to damage during use.

Upon meeting representatives of KOICA, UNDP, and VNMAC, Mr. Theu expressed deep gratitude to the delegation. He emphasized his willingness to cooperate with the program and shared his experience in using the prosthetic arm with other victims. The greatest ambition of Mr. Theu now is to support his family livelihoods with livestocks so that he can together with other members of the community to develop the business to increase income and stabilize their lives.

With the newly supported functional prosthetic arm, Mr. Theu's life has changed a lot. 

After talking with Mr. Theu, Mr. Cho Han-Deog shared: “I see mine / UXO victims often have difficult lives and I feel happy to help them through this Project. Through meeting and asking them directly, I found that the Project has worked effectively, helping to improve the quality of life of mine / UXO survivors. What I hope the most is that in the future there will not be any more mine / UXO victims.”

Representative of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Quang Binh Province, Mr. Trinh Dinh Duong - Deputy Director of the Department shared: “Quang Binh is one of the most affected provinces in the country after the war. In the province alone, there are more than 4,000 mine / UXO victims. The Vietnam - South Korea project of overcoming the consequences of mines and ERW after the war has helped the locality a lot, especially in supporting victims and in clearing remaining mines and UXO. Thanks to the project, a part of the landmine survivors now has a better quality of life and the local community has a clean, land-free landmine / UXO free area to live and cultivate in peace.”

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