Phuong Nhi, 28 years old, was born in the beautiful city of Hue, Vietnam. From birth, Nhi had a congenital eye condition inherited from her family; both her grandfather and father also experienced vision impairment. Nhi continued this legacy, with her vision at only about 10%. This allows her to see shapes and navigate vaguely but not clearly.
Despite her challenging circumstances, Nhi persevered, got a Bachelor’s degree in Literature Pedagogy from Hue University of Education. She currently works at the Hue City Association for the Blind, supporting and teaching visually impaired individuals. She loves this job because it not only aligns with her expertise but also has deep humanitarian value. Nhi shares that teaching the visually impaired presents many difficulties. However, these challenges have helped her mature in her outlook on life and understand the diverse circumstances within the blind community, fostering empathy and shared understanding. She’s not just a teacher; she also learns a great deal from her work, such as how to plan care for the visually impaired and how to convey information effectively so they can easily access knowledge.
Beyond her role as a teacher, Nhi actively seeks out other learning opportunities to develop herself and support her community. One such path is massage therapy – a common profession that can provide stable income for visually impaired individuals. Recognizing its potential, she decided to take a massage course. This allows her to gain skills for additional income alongside teaching, and she can also pass this knowledge on to her visually impaired students, offering them more career options for the future.
In the future, Nhi hopes to expand her support beyond her hometown. She aims to help the visually impaired community in other provinces across Vietnam. She wishes that her knowledge and efforts can create opportunities for many more visually impaired people to study, work, and lead more independent lives.
