A school for people with hearing disabilities of a province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands on Saturday set up a stall selling mostly hand-made products of its students, with a view to giving them an opportunity to continue their education.

A stand named Lang, which literally means calm or quiet, has appeared in the modest 40-square-meter space on the second floor of the Lam Dong School for the Deaf, a boarding school located in Da Lat, the capital city of Lam Dong Province.

The stall features hand-sewn pictures, pattern-decorated clothes, desiccated farm produce, and various handicrafts created by the students under the guidance of teachers and craftspeople.

A board emblazoned with Lang, the name of the souvenir stall at the Lam Dong School for the Deaf in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A picture on sale at the Lam Dong School for the Deaf in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In the past, a number of graduates from the school, which only taught children of the elementary level, failed to pursue their education due to poverty and had to find employment in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh, the school’s principal.

They earned a meager monthly salary of under VND1 million (US$44), about VND1-2 million lower than Vietnam’s minimum wages for 2018, and received no support from employers for accommodation costs, she said.

The school decided to bring them back by offering secondary-level classes and trained them in practical jobs.

The students, who have been increasingly skilful, made a larger number of products which found no demand while the program was constrained by a lack of funds for the materials.

The school therefore solicited contributions from many people to start the stall project, so that it can provide jobs for graduates and hands-on experience in creating handicrafts for students currently learning here, Minh said.

The principal added that money obtained from the sale will be used to pay the costs of studying and living of the students, the majority of whom are financially underprivileged.

A voluntary South Korean woman (R) helps a Vietnamese student with hearing loss draw decorations on a piece of clothing at the Lam Dong School for the Deaf in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Dried flower arrangements on sale at the Lam Dong School for the Deaf in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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