One afternoon, we visited the family of Trần Đức Phương Trinh. Both her mother and Trinh recognized us immediately, even though many years had passed since our last meeting. Her approachable demeanor and familiar face stood out on the now 19-year-old girl.
Trinh had been part of the special education intervention program since 2013. She had learning difficulties and tongue-tie, causing her to have a speech impediment. Every time we had conversations during the intervention, she would drool, and her hands would always sweat. She struggled to write each letter and to pronounce every syllable, making her efforts heartwarming and inspiring.
I vividly recall that period when, every week, we traveled 20 kilometers from Đức Tài to Mê Pu, bringing exercises and games to work with her at home. The distance didn’t matter to us—the only thing on our minds was how to help her make progress faster and alleviate her physical challenges.
In time, our efforts paid off. Trinh learned to read, write, and do math. We bid her farewell, wishing her success as she continued her education alongside her peers.
Today, we made the trip to visit her and her mother once again. Trinh had changed a lot. The little girl we once knew is now working. She has a job at a local company, where everyone loves and cares for her. She no longer drools when speaking, and she can now communicate more clearly when she speaks slowly.
She shared with us: "I want to thank the Thiện Chí Center for helping me learn to read and write. Thanks to that, I was able to fill out job applications. Because I can read and write, I can now play with friends and read news on Facebook."
We asked her, "Do you plan to start a family? What qualities do you look for in a partner?"
With confidence, she replied, "Not yet. I want someone who knows how to appreciate me and is responsible."
We thanked her, appreciating all the effort she had put in. We encouraged her to continue practicing her speech daily so that she could communicate even more clearly and be better understood by others. We assured her that we would gladly support her with speech therapy whenever she needed it.
As we parted, we carried with us a deep sense of gratitude for Trinh’s hard work and the successful intervention that had brought about such positive results in her life.