When Bao broke his arm in a motorbike accident, his fragile world fell apart.
Bao had always lived in poverty. He grew up on a floating house along the banks of the Red River in Hanoi with his father, who was rarely able to work because of his poor health.
Now a young adult, Bao was working as a motorbike delivery driver and was earning enough money to care for his son as well as his father. A road accident in December last year shattered his arm and destroyed his motorbike. Facing a bill of at least $1,300 to rebuild his arm, Bao feared that he would never work again. There was just no way that he could ever earn or even borrow that amount of money.
Blue Dragon shared Bao’s story and the global community responded, donating money and items to get Bao’s arm fixed and to get his life back on track. (You can read the story we shared here).
Since then, Bao’s fortunes have turned around. He’s undergone surgery for his arm, and he’s now back to full strength. Bao has been able to get back to work and is happy to be providing for his family once again. And while he’s been working, he has been learning to cut hair, so that he can have a better career in the future.
And then came COVID.
With lockdowns across the city and the country, Bao’s situation was once again very difficult. But donations for Bao earlier in the year were enough to support him through this time as well.
Bao knew that he was fortunate to have this support. Even when he couldn’t work, he had enough to get by. So Bao volunteered to help others in the community who were less fortunate.
During the two months of lockdown, Bao helped out by delivering food and supplies to others who live on the boats along the river, as well as people in neighbouring homes.
Bao assisting Blue Dragon staff to get food and supplies to families during the COVID lockdown.
These areas were close to impossible to access because of COVID checkpoints. Every day, Bao would collect supplies from the checkpoints and carry them to families who otherwise had nothing to eat.
Blue Dragon and several other charities called on Bao to help. Without hesitation, he was ready to cart supplies all through the fishing villages and into slum areas that couldn’t be accessed from outside.
He also made a point of finding children and families who were in particularly difficult situations, and would call Blue Dragon for extra supplies, or for cash if that’s what they needed.
Knowing how hard life can be, Bao did all he could to help when those around him needed it most.
Now that the lockdown has eased, Bao is already back at work as a delivery rider. As soon as classes resume, he’ll rejoin the training to become a hairdresser.
He’s been through some terrible hardships and is grateful for the second chance he’s been given… All thanks to the generosity of people around the world who cared.
