Ms. Ho Thi Huong Thao, the owner of the Happy Heart Restaurant located No. 57, Ngo Thi Sy Street, My An Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang, has felt compassion for person experiencing the suffering or misfortune to provide support for vocational and skills training in efforts to help them to enjoy full lives within their communities. Ms. Thao's restaurant has become a shelter home for people with disabilities in recent years.

Happy Heart Restaurant’s staff offering vocational training for people with disabilities. Photo: T.D

Never surrender to fate

Thao’s hometown is Dai Quang Commune, Dai Loc District, Quang Nam Province. Thao was born perfectly healthy like other children, but she had her legs injured and infected after an accident at the age of six. Since then, her childhood no longer had the days of going to school or playing with her friends, but had to get used to the omnipresent smell of antiseptic and continuous operations, along with encouragement by doctors.

In 2001, she had to have her legs amputated due to infection. As a result, she underwent a series of days getting used to walking with wooden crutches at 20 years old.

 “For many years, my parents had to pay for my prescription medication costs and take caring of me. This is what I am most sorry for. Therefore, although I knew in advance how difficult I could face in my life, I wanted to rise up on my own in order to find a stable job so that my parents are no longer worried about me," Thao said.

In 2012, she immediately registered with a Da Nang organization that offered free housing for poor school pupils and college students to get accommodation for free even though she didn't know what to do for a living at that time. After she moved to Da Nang from her hometown in Quang Nam Province, she made ends meet with many jobs but did stick around for the long haul due to her disability.

“In 2015, I was fortunate to receive support for vocational training from a foreigner who was the owner of a restaurant in Da Nang, and I was given a chance to work at his restaurant. Here, I met with people in a similar situation to myself, of whom, they were individuals with limb deficiency, along with deaf and dumb persons. During my work, I learned sign language to support her deaf-mute co-workers in communicating with customers”, Ms. Thao recalled.

In 2018, the foreign owner of this restaurant left Viet Nam for his home country. Thao realized that the business model serving foreign tourists in Da Nang has lucrative development potential, and she cherished the dream of opening her own restaurant to create employment opportunities for her co-workers who have worked with her at the restaurant for many years, as well as help deaf and mute people to fully engage in life activities.

After that, she joined efforts with a her Canadian friend who was opening an English Training Center in Da Nang in a bid to together open the Happy Heart Restaurant on the first floor of this center.

With her determination, Thao made the Happy Heart Restaurant a favorite place to eat and drink for tourists, especially foreigners, during their visit to Da Nang. Then she borrowed money from her friends to take over this restaurant after her Canadian friend went back to their home country. She moved her restaurant to the An Thuong tourist quarter in an attempt to continue her efforts to create job opportunities for the disabled.

Sharing love for unlucky people

Thao's restaurant was filled with domestic and foreign tourists in the mid-May as the city saw strong rebound in its tourism sector.

Mr. Toan used to work with Ms. Thao at the old restaurant, and he now works for the Happy Heart Restaurant. Being an intelligent person, he learned new tasks and skills extremely quickly after working at Thao’s restaurant. He is currently able to take different restaurant positions such as waiter, head chef, baker, bartender, and cashier.

“I feel happy to work with Ms. Thao as my job at her restaurant helps me not only earn a stable income to support my family, but also increase my self esteem. I want to prove to everyone that a deaf and mute person like me is able to perform effectively on the job, and I am capable of doing many things as a non-disabled person," Toan expressed in sign language.

Like Toan, Ms. Vo Thi Kim Oanh, a resident of Quang Nam Province, who is hearing-impaired, now operates as a head chef at the Happy Heart Restaurant.

“My daily job is to cook delicious foods for the restaurant’s customers. I feel lucky to be part of the restaurant’s staff as they always love and help each other to improve their professional skills. I consider the Happy Heart Restaurant as my second home", Ms. Oanh expressed in sign language.

Ms. Thao hopes for stability in her restaurant's operations to severe coffee and cake for foreign tourists. Apart from creating employment opportunities for nearly 10 disabled people to work at her restaurant, Ms. Thao also provides support for career guidance and vocational training for people with disabilities who need help.

Furthermore, the Happy Heart Restaurant regularly provides free nutritious meals for children living at the Da Nang Centre for Agent Orange Victims. Thao is also active in raising funds from her friends and sponsors to support the centre's activities, as well as seeking foreign volunteers to teach child victims of Agent Orange how to sing, dance, draw, make handicrafts. and other skills.

 “Many people asked me why I decided to open this restaurant. Of course, operating my business at a profit is a business goal for me but this is not my core value purpose that guides my goals. Being a disabled person, I understand the disadvantages of people in a similar situation to myself. Hopefully, the disabled people will help each other and join hands together to rise up to life's challenges for a better future. Life becomes meaningful when shared with others," remarked Ms. Thao.

Reporting by THANH DANH – Translating by H.L