Photo: Habitat Vietnam Country Director Robin Shell hands over the house key to Ngo Duc Cho (in wheelchair) and his wife (standing behind).

Seventeen years without sunlight and fresh air have made Ngo Duc Cho’s skin very pale and drawn. After his accident in 1993, which paralyzed his lower body, Cho has been literally imprisoned in a 15 square meter room under a corrugated tin roof, making his life centered around a bed. 

When Habitat for Humanity Vietnam staff approached Cho’s family to talk about working with him to build a new house, we learnt about his situation and immediately introduced him to the Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) organization. A wheelchair was donated by VNAH about the same time the house foundation was constructed. Now, with his family’s help, Cho is able to move in and around his new home. He says he saw the daily changes that every brick brought to his new house. He has a new plan for his life: “My wife and I will stay at the new house and the old place will be used to store our farming equipment and products.”

This time, in Vinh Hong district, Hai Duong province, together with Cho’s family, another two families also worked with Habitat Vietnam to construct their new homes. The three houses were completed and dedicated to the families on 11^th June to celebrate the change in their lives.

Cho says, “This is not only good news for me, but for my family, my parents, my neighborhood, my village—everyone has been waiting for a better day for me.”

And it looks like it’s arrived.