Embrace a can-do attitude
On his quest for a better education, new Bachelor of Languages student Tran Van Bau left his hometown in Ha Tinh when he was nine-year-old.
“There were very limited education options available for visually impaired students in my hometown,” Bau said.
“Our education simply ended at learning to read and write, and no more.”
Having to take care of himself since childhood while living in Binh Duong and then a shelter in Ho Chi Minh City was challenging yet rewarding at the same time.
“Things were confusing back then as I didn’t know what to do so that I won’t be a burden to my family nor society,” Bau said.
While trying to thrive academically, with any given opportunities Bau always tries to make the most out of it with a strong belief of “if you try hard enough, there’s always available opportunity for you”.
“Apart from formal education, I have had opportunities to access information technology, many classes of language, essential life and soft skills,” Bau recalled the journey to build his confidence over the years and reach the major milestone of becoming one of RMIT Opportunity Scholarship recipients in 2021.
“For years, I can commute from my shelter to places by public transportation on my own,” Bau said and shared his other talents in playing the guitar and flute, and his high results at competitions for visually impaired people such as playing dominoes, singing, and doing Judo.
In 2018, Bau and his close friends implemented a project named “Teach to share, give you tomorrow”.
“This was one of the projects guided by UNICEF in cooperation with Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) through the Generation Unlimited 2018-2019 program,” Bau said.
“We ran workshops and activities for young people to help them reduce screen time and appreciate normal things in life.”
It was when Bau realised that “disability is really just an inconvenience, not an unhappiness”.
Now in preparation for the higher education program, a philomath himself, Bau can’t wait to acquire new knowledge and skills so that he can translate valuable learning resources to Vietnamese to help other people, especially visually impaired people, access to much needed information.
Dao Thuy Linh and Tran Van Bau are among six students receiving RMIT Opportunity Scholarship this year, a partnership program with four not-for-profit organisations – REACH, KOTO, Vietnam Blind Association, and Sao Mai Center for the blind.
RMIT Opportunity Scholarship is awarded to students living under disadvantaged circumstances both physically and financially who otherwise cannot access higher education. To date, RMIT Vietnam has awarded 22 Opportunity Scholarships with a total value of more than 36 billion VND.
Story: Ha Hoang
