‘Niem tin anh sang’ (The Belief in Light) program, broadcast weekly (at one p.m. every Tuesday and Saturday) on The Voice of Vietnam (VOV), is produced mostly by visually-impaired journalists and editors.

More than 40 percent of the news on the program is collected and edited by visually-impaired journalists, collaborators and editors, according to Hong Minh, who is responsible for ‘The Belief in Light.’

Hong Minh shared, “The program has been officially broadcast weekly since the middle of 2008.

In the 30-minute program, many news stories related to visually-impaired people around the country – stories of their activities, stories of outstanding individuals, and stories about sighted people's perceptions of the blind – as well as thinks of sighted people about the blinhave been featured.” He added, “We also have entertainment acts, which are all performed by visually-impaired people at the end of each program.”

Following a visually-impaired journalist

Hoang Van Ly, one of the visually-impaired collaborators, was doing a report on a blind man who helps autistic children overcome their disabilities in Hanoi.

Ly groped his way to find the subject’s house while carrying a heavy backpack full of equipment. Six autistic children were sitting at an old table enjoying their lunch when Ly stepped into the house. Upon seeing him, they greeted him in the chorus they were taught by the blind man. The interview took place in a friendly environment.

Ly shared, “When I was studying at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School for the Blind, I took part in writing the school intramural magazine and dreamed of becoming a journalist.”

“After graduating from high school, I was admitted to the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities and wrote my first report on a blind and invalid man who read Braille. This article was published in a famous magazine after that,” he added.

Since then, Ly has made every effort to become a professional journalist. He is now taking part in ‘The Belief in Light’ program as a regular collaborator.

“Being visually-impaired, I have to make a much greater effort than normal journalists. To make comments, I must listen to and know by heart all of a subjects’s comments,” Ly revealed.

The influence of ‘The Belief in Light’

Millions of blind people around the country are listening to ‘The Belief in Light’ as an indispensable program which helps them recover self-confidence in life.

Tuan, one of the many visually-impaired audience members in Hanoi, shared, “This special radio program for blind people has become my only friend. Via this program, I know how other blind people are living and working as well as how they are integrating into the community. Moreover, via this program, blind people are no longer discriminated by sighted people because we are not useless.”

Besides articles written by visually-impaired journalists, hundreds of songs and comedies composed and performed by visually-impaired people are also broadcast on the radio. Hong Minh revealed, “Those with aptitude for singing and composing have sent disks made by themselves to us. To be honest, they sing much better than many famous singers. Working with them, I have recognized that visually-impaired people can do many more things than we expected.”

According to Dao Soat, president of the Ho Chi Minh City Blind Association, ‘The Belief in Light’ is a helpful program for visually-impaired people. However, because it has only been broadcast on FM, other blind people living in poor provinces are unable to listen to it. “I hope the program will be spread out on more radio stations and at more suitable times,” he said.