Nguyễn Thùy Trang with some of her Origami products. — Photo courtesy of Trang

ĐỒNG THÁP — Despite suffering from osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, Nguyễn Thùy Trang still persistently pursues her dream and inspires others in the same situation.

Trang, 24, was born in Lấp Vò District, the southern province of Đồng Tháp.

However, Trang was not like her peers.

Since she was small, every time when she changed clothes, accidentally used too much force, coughed or sneezed too hard, or fell down while playing with friends, Trang broke her arms, legs and ribs.

When she was four or five years old, her parents took her to HCM City for a check-up. They learned that she had brittle bone disease, and there was no cure.

Her family was too poor to care for her, so her parents asked their close friend in An Giang Province to take care of Trang.

Trang often calls her Aunt Hai.

Aunt Hai lives alone, so she treats Trang like her own child and cherishes her. Since then, Trang has had fewer broken bones.

Today, Trang is 90cm tall and weighs 25kg.

At home, Trang moves around on a chair with wheels. When she needs to go out, Aunt Hai helps her move with a wheelchair.

Due to her incurable illness, Trang cannot go to school.

Her family asked a teacher to come to her house and teach her how to read and write.

Completing the primary curriculum, for Trang, was a long and arduous task.

However, not resigning herself to her fate, Trang read books to explore the world.

“I can't go out much and can't see the world around me, so I want to read a lot. Reading books makes me feel like I have more lives," Trang said.

Love people

In 2009, when she was only 10 years old, Trang and Aunt Hai started a motorbike journey around different provinces to do charity.

For 11 consecutive years, they have been a bridge connecting the people’s philanthropic hearts with those in need of help.

Trang excitedly said, "The provinces that we have visited the most are An Giang and Đồng Tháp. I am extremely happy because I have the opportunity to bring joy to everyone, even in only small things.”

Every month, Trang and Aunt Hai visit people with incurable diseases and cancer.

In the summer, they go to remote areas to give gifts to poor children to prepare for the new school year.

"The roads are full of obstacles. My aunt and I fell off the motorbike many times. Every time I fell, I was injured. But seeing people’s joy when receiving our gifts, I'm very happy. That sympathy motivates me to continue, to not be afraid of accidents," she said.

Start-up

In 2016, Trang happened to see a clip instructing Origami paper folding art and found it very interesting.

She realised that paper flowers could be sold, and looked for training courses about making paper flowers.

"When I first started studying, I was quite worried because I didn't know what I should do with those paper flowers. I also didn't know where to learn more to develop my skills. Luckily, an acquaintance saw my pot of roses and bought it with VNĐ50,000 (US$2). My efforts were recognised, so I decided to try selling them on social networks," Trang said.

Working with papers seems easy, but for the girl with crystal bone disease, it is not simple.

Trang's hands are weak so holding scissors and folding paper gets tiring very quickly.

"If a normal person can make four or five lotuses, or a dahlia with hundreds of petals in one day, it takes me all day to make just one lotus. But I keep doing it until I get tired. The more difficult the flower, the more I like to do it," said Trang.

“Thanks to perseverance, I see the meaning and value in my life," she said.

After more than six years of pursuing paper flower art, Trang can make nearly 50 different types of flowers, such as lotus, chrysanthemum, rose, gerbera and cactus.

Each product is a unique version.

Her first wholesale order was more than 200 handmade cards on the occasion of Vietnamese Women’s Day October 20, which took Trang several weeks to complete.

“I try to do my best at each step to make my products beautiful. I'm grateful to everyone," Trang said.

Trang is now owner of the paper flower workshop named “Mộc’s Garden” with two workers, Trang and Aunt Hai.

Participating in groups of people with disabilities on social networks, Trang inspired four other brittle bone-afflicted people from HCM City, An Giang and Bình Thuận provinces to set up an online shop called "Tiny Handmade", which sells their own products.

The small shop has been welcomed by many people.

“People with disabilities in general often have the strength and always want to get ahead in life. Be brave enough to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. You may not succeed the first time, but try boldly. Just go slowly, if you make a mistake, correct it. If you keep persevering, you will definitely succeed," Trang said. — VNS