Creating jobs for people with disabilities

To help Thanh Kieu, a disabled resident in Tan Tien commune, have more capital to sell lottery tickets, the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin connected resources to support her with a small non-refundable amount of capital.

Thanks to this, Thanh Kieu travels on many routes every day to sell lottery tickets. Although it is difficult, she tries to earn income to help her family and have the opportunity to interact with people.

Dinh Tan Suong, a resident in Xuan Loc commune, with a leg disability, takes care of his flock of chickens with capital from social policies. Photo: Van Truyen

Thanh Kieu is one of the people with disabilities (PWDs) in Dong Nai province who have integrated into the community through their own efforts to work, with encouragement from her family and support from state resources and the community, enabling her to secure employment and help her family make ends meet.

Bringing livelihoods to people with disabilities

According to statistics from the provincial Department of Health, Dong Nai is home to more than 50,000 people with disabilities. In addition to state-funded support policies, local authorities have facilitated access to employment opportunities tailored to each individual’s health conditions and disability levels. This undertaking helps PWDs gain more opportunities to integrate into the community, earn income to support themselves and their families, and contribute to their communities.

The provincial Association for the Blind currently operates nearly 100 massage establishments and other small production models managed by its members. To support visually impaired individuals, the association provides free vocational training and organizes short-term skill enhancement courses led by medical professionals. It has also mobilized funding to support 51 households with loans totaling over VND 1.85 billion to start or expand their businesses.

In recent years, the Dong Nai Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin has, on average, provided production capital to about 110 beneficiaries annually, totaling approximately VND 1.4 billion. At the same time, the commune-level association is connecting resources to maintain capital support for 3-10 members and their families each year.

Mai Van Nho, Chairman of the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, said: Depending on the labor capacity of the victims and their families, and the needs for the job, the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin provides appropriate support to help beneficiaries use the capital to pursue a profession, thereby generating income to improve their lives.

Tran Huu Doanh, a resident of Binh Phuoc Ward, noted that he was born with a congenital disability, so walking and studying were more difficult than for others. However, he tried to learn computer repair. After graduating, he received 20 million VND in job creation capital from the Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. This money helped him buy more components to repair customers' computers. "Whenever people need it, with my three-wheeled motorbike and tool bag, I go to their homes to repair machines. Over time, neighbors and associations also helped me connect with those who needed repairs," Doanh said.

As for Dinh Tan Suong in Xuan Loc commune, despite his leg disability, with his own efforts and policy capital, he and his family have maintained a stable life, sending their children to school.

According to Suong, in 2018, the local government and the Xuan Loc District Social Policy Bank Transaction Office (now the Xuan Loc Social Policy Bank Transaction Office) assisted him with the procedures for borrowing 50 million VND. He used this money to buy newly hatched chicks from a company, raise them for 3 weeks, and then sell the breeding stock to farmers. In September 2025, he was further enabled to borrow 100 million VND in policy capital. He has used this money to buy materials to build chicken coops and install a chicken heating system.

Across the province, about 142,000 individuals receive regular social assistance, including around 50,000 PWDs or households with disabled members.

Creating conditions for accessing capital

In 2026, alongside immediate support activities such as giving gifts to people experiencing poverty and those facing difficult circumstances during holidays and Tet or when sudden hardships arise, as well as annual scholarships for students overcoming hardship, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, together with political-social organizations and mass associations at all levels in the province, is focusing on creating sustainable livelihoods, supporting startups, providing vocational training, and creating jobs to help people, including PWDs.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Thao An, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Tran Bien Ward, in 2026, the Ward's Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee will continue to consider social welfare, care for the poor, policy families, and vulnerable groups, including PWDs, linked to sustainable poverty reduction through self-employment support methods depending on their working ability, as a key task. From this, many models of mutual economic development have been formed in each neighborhood.

Moreover, according to Nguyen Thi Thuan, Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, the association is coordinating to seek resources to assist PWDs and Agent Orange victims in finding employment. In the past, the model of fully supporting livelihood stalls at home for Agent Orange victims and their families, providing small, non-refundable capital (ranging from 8 to 25 million VND) based on the vocational needs of PWDs, has been effective. Therefore, the Dong Nai Provincial Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin continues to actively seek and connect with organizations and philanthropists to assist PWDs and Agent Orange victims in this manner.

Meanwhile, Vo Trong Hoa, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Provincial Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, noted that among more than 212,600 policy-loan borrowers in the province, many are PWDs still able to work or households with disabled members. For these loan cases, the Dong Nai Provincial Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies creates favorable conditions for people to access policy loans in accordance with regulations. At the same time, each year the Dong Nai Provincial Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies organizes and coordinates with local authorities to visit people in difficult circumstances, including PWDs and their families, and to give gifts. Through these efforts, the Dong Nai Provincial Branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, together with the province, carries out social welfare work and creates conditions for PWDs to integrate into the community.

By Van Truyen, Nguyen Hien – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho