Photo report: Blind teacher with self-made 'conservatory'

(TNO) Teaching a normal person to play the piano is difficult, let alone teaching a disabled person. Yet for nearly 10 years, Mr. Le Van Den (46 years old, from Tra Vinh) has been diligently teaching the piano to the visually impaired, even though he himself has never seen musical notes or piano keys in over 40 years.

(TNO) Teaching a normal person to play the piano is difficult, let alone teaching a disabled person. Yet for nearly 10 years, Mr. Le Van Den (46 years old, from Tra Vinh ) has been diligently teaching the piano to the visually impaired, even though he himself has never seen musical notes or piano keys in over 40 years.

Video : Blind teacher and his own "conservatory" - Produced by: Nguyen Binh - Thien Huong

Born into a poor family. Of the six siblings, two are blind or visually impaired. Anh Den was exposed to darkness from a young age, but his determination has helped him overcome all the difficulties in life.

At the age of 14, Den left his hometown of Tra Vinh to go to Ho Chi Minh City to earn a living. He did many manual jobs, sometimes had his clothes and food stolen by bad guys, and sometimes had to wander the streets hungry because he couldn’t find a place to stay…

Then, by fate, he was taught piano by a blind teacher for free. It is difficult for normal people to learn piano, let alone a blind person.

Not seeing the piano keys, nor knowing what the notes looked like, but with his own efforts, he practiced memorizing and listening with his ears.

Also because of his visual impairment, he made his own raised bumps on the touch screen of the organ for ease of use.

After working all kinds of jobs and saving some money, Mr. Den and his wife - also blind - built a house in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City. Feeling sorry for people with difficult lives like theirs, in 2007, the couple discussed establishing the May Bon Phuong shelter to take care of unfortunate lives. In this shelter, the lonely elderly, homeless children, and even the mentally ill are taken care of by Mr. Den and his wife, who take care of their food and accommodation.

For blind people like himself, Mr. Den teaches them how to play and sing so that they can be self-reliant without feeling inferior to society.

The good news spread far and wide, and more and more blind and disadvantaged people came to the shelter. The couple had to build more rooms for them to live in. In addition, Mr. Den also bought old musical instruments and repaired them so that the blind people could have the means to study and earn a living.

Up to now, there have been more than 100 students who have been taught and supported by Mr. Den to play the piano for free. Thanks to that, the small house is always filled with the laughter of children and the music of the visually impaired. Tet is coming, while people in Saigon are busy preparing to welcome the new year, at this shelter, spring has already arrived...