by Van Dat
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Rock on: Richard Fuller thrills audiences with his performance of Qua cau gio bay in both Vietnamese and English at the Life Is Very Beautiful club in HCM City. |
HCM CITY — Under a small, thatched roof in a dead-end alley in HCM City's District 10, the sounds of song, laughter and applause rang out and echoed till late in the night.
The first meeting of the Doi Rat Dep (Life Is Very Beautiful) Club for the physically handicapped was an unqualified success.
There was no distance between able and the so-called disabled, between Vietnamese and foreigners and between hosts and guests as they sang songs, cooked and ate delicious food and generally made merry.
Guitarist Nguyen The Vinh, who has abroad toured to perform the late composer Trinh Cong Son's songs, enthralled the audience with his performance on the guitar and harmonica, using his only hand.
His performance was greeted with thunderous applause.
Also performing were popular amateur singers Richard Fuller and To Thi Thanh Thuy Tien, who suffers from a facial disability. Fuller, who some call Phu Phong Tran, and Thuy Tien sang songs Gia Tai Cua Me, Qua Cau Gio Bay and Khong by famous composer and pianist Nguyen Anh 9.
Doi Rat Dep Club is the brainchild of Vo Thi Hoang Yen, a disabled woman and founder of the Disability Resources and Development (DRD) established five years ago.
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One hand: Single-handed guitarist The Vinh moves the crowd with a guitar and harmonica performance. — VNS Photos Van Dat |
Yen, who has been actively campaigning for handicapped people's benefits and rights, said she had been nurturing the idea of this club for several years. She said the idea was to have a space for every body to unload all stresses of daily life, to sing, talk and smile and change the way mainstream society looked at disabled people.
"When people without disabilities often feel lonely, the handicapped feel even more so because they don't dare to join society with defects in their bodies. They think they are a burden for society," Yen said.
This inferiority complex inhibited exchange and communication, and the club would help remove it, she said.
She said the club was not only a meeting place, but also a space to learn, get advice on vocational training, search for jobs, share life skills and exhibit art works of disabled people. Many disabled people in Viet Nam were still uneducated, she noted.
Club member Luu Thi Anh Loan said they would sing every day and invite a popular artist every week to perform. She said the club would be a bridge between the disabled people and the larger community.
Said Yen: "I've opened this club for everyone to come, sing and look at paintings, so we can see that life is very beautiful."
The club opens everyday at 91/6N Hoa Hung Street, Ward 12, District 10, HCM City. — VNS