Agent Orange victim receives IT award
An Agent Orange victim recently received an honorary award at the “Vietnamese Intellectuals 2004” national IT contest.
Nguyen Chien Thang, author of the software “Positive Solutions for Network Security,” was granted the Nghi Luc (Perseverance) Award as a respectful acknowledgment of the Vietnamese IT community for the marvelous efforts of a young man who struggled valiantly to overcome his unfortunate destiny.
25 years ago Chien Thang, whose father was a soldier during the Vietnam War, was born as a normal baby. When he was a few months old, he began showing symptoms of myasthenia, a chronic condition of muscle weakness. The cause of his disease was a mystery until two years ago, when Thang and his family learned that Agent Orange had severely injured his right brain and made him unable to speak correctly or control his limbs.
At the age of 10 Thang’s parents brought him to school, hoping that their son would have a chance to get an education. However, the boy was soon distressed by the cruel tricks played on him by his schoolmates. Overcoming discrimination towards the handicapped, Thang began to learn how to read and write after two years at school.
Thang’s father Colonel Nguyen Vinh Tra recalled, “I don’t mean to blame those kids whose played tricks on my son, but it is really hard for handicapped people to study or live a normal life.”
Despite all his difficulties the boy persevered, even though he could not speak or control his hand coordination properly.
International IT Certificate
In 1992, Thang began to use a computer. His parents were encouraged because they thought that typing on a keyboard would be a new kind of physical therapy for their son. But surprisingly, beyond their wildest imagination, the computer helped to transform the boy and brought him a life he had never had before.
Thang soon found that he was very keen on exploring the IT world. He began with basic office software and went on to programming languages like Foxpro, Visual Basic and C++.
In 2002, Thang decided to enroll in an international programmers training course at Aptech Center. At first, Mr. Nguyen Khac Thanh, the director of Aptech, did not believe the young man could follow the program since Thang did not know a word of English.
Still, Thang did his best to prove that he could succeed in the course. Last year, he graduated with an Aptech accredited certificate.
For the final exam, Thang and another handicapped Aptech student were given more time to take the test and his friends helped him out with the English-Vietnamese translation.
Online friends
By chance, Thang made contact with a staff at Microsoft’s training center in France. Thang’s new online friend helped him to get into a free Microsoft training course. Then Thang had to study online from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. every day for a year because of the difference in French and Vietnamese time.
On January 1, 2005, Thang’s father was moved to tears when he witnessed his son receiving the Vietnamese Intellectual award. Just a day before, his son had been awarded a certificate from the Microsoft Training Center in France.
Currently, Nguyen Chien Thang is hard at work studying English every day. He has also received a job offer from FPT Communications, one of the biggest IT companies in Vietnam.
Reported by Hoang Ly – Translated by Quynh Nhu.
Story from Thanh Nien News
Published: 06 January, 2005, 22:39:26 (GMT+7)
Copyright Thanh Nien News
