Although they have been much affected by childhood diseases, Hai Nang and his wife, Be, are optimists and hard workers in Long Chau hamlet in Tan Loc precinct of Can Tho. For years, the two people have worked day by day to earn a living and raise their children.

Hai Nang said with a satisfied smile, “My wife lost an eye when she was three years old.

For 40 years, she has ‘leased’ me her remaining eye. Together, we have tried our best to raise our children. Although we are still a poverty-stricken family, I am totally proud of what we have nowadays, after many years of working tirelessly.”

Hard life

Hai Nang is as skilled and famous a basket weaver in Long Chau hamlet as his parents. He learned to weave from them when he was 15 years old. Over time, the blind man has developed this traditional handicraft, a challenging job which requires a particular kind of skill. Be, Hai Nang’s wife, also a victim of disease, is the only person who can deeply sympathize with him.

Diseases took their eyes but brought them together. Day by day, they support each other; one has the eye and one has the skills. Besides basket weaving, their main job, they also do many other odd jobs, like farming and rowing people across the river. Years ago, they used to gather top soil from the nearby fields and sell it to local brick-kilns as well as bring it in for trade on their old canoe.

Hai Nang shared, “We did not have the chance to study, so we have to work harder to sustain our family,” He added, “I am blind, so I must find a variety of ways to work by myself. Thanks to my wife, I can work and earn money for our family.”

To raise six children, they have to work through the day and night. However, their little profits are not enough to afford every expense of the eight-member family. Therefore, Hai Nang and his wife decided to eat only once a day to save money for their children’s books and school fees.

The man and wife are sharing not only their eyes but also their life and responsibility for raising the children.

Sacrificing for the children

For Hai Nang, his daughters are everything. He said, “We are willing to do everything for their future. We can eat less and work more than other parents to save money for our children.”

Years ago, Hai Nang did not allow his daughters to get married to Taiwanese men, as other parents did in Tan Loc precinct, because he loves them so much and wishes they will have happy lives near their parents.

For being raised with love, Hai Nang’s daughters are always dutiful to him. After a harsh childhood, two of them are teachers in secondary schools in Tan Loc precinct and another is going to become a teacher just like her sisters.

According to Nguyen Hong Ni, Hai Nang’s neighbour, Hai Nang and his wife always try to overcome fate by themselves. They are also rare people who still maintain the traditional handicraft in Can Tho province.

“Hai Nang will soon join the local Blind Association, where he will be guided to do things by himself as well as teach other blind people about basket weaving,” said Hoang Quyet Thang, vice president of the Can Tho Blind Association.