Injury Date: June 1975

Injuries: Total blindness cause by fire bomb, fragmentation injuries to abdomen and arm from UXO explosion.

CPI Assistance: Support for income-generating activities.

Five years after Le Ba Loi's birth in 1942, the French military led a raid on the small village where his family lived. Loi had taken refuge under a tiny shelter when a firebomb exploded right next to him. He survived the explosion and was rescued by the villagers, but he would no longer see the light of day; his young eyes had been exposed too long to the heat of the bomb and the scar tissue refused to let any light pass through.

Loi lived through another war safely, and when the Vietnamese-American War ended in April 1975, everyone sincerely hoped there would be no more bloodshed. In June of that year, Loi and several other farmers went to a nearby plot of land to prepare it for future use. While he was hoeing, the blade of his hoe hit something hard under the dirt.

With the heightened senses of a blind individual, Loi knew that it wasn’t a rock, but he didn’t have any time to react. A loud explosion immediately followed, and Loi was pushed backwards. He sustained injuries to his abdomen and right arm, and once again he survived.

Life continued for Le Ba Loi. Despite the unfortunate events in his life, he remained a positive and optimistic individual. He married a woman from the country and started a family of his own. The couple worked hard to improve their lives and to raise their children well.

After a couple years of small but noteworthy successes, Loi thought the difficult period of his life had passed: he had built a wooden house for his family; he and his wife had started putting money away in a savings amount; his children’s school fees were easily paid; and to top if off, Loi was raising a flock of over 300 ducks.

Unfortunately their luck changed in 1985. A destructive storm, followed several days later by a forceful flood, had put the entire village into chaos. Loi and his wife were busy taking care of their children and making sure that they were all right. They didn’t have any time to think of anything else, and as a result, their 300 ducks were washed away by the floodwaters.

Several months after the flood, Loi’s wife was diagnosed with a malignant tumor. The family sold everything of value in their house in order to pay for her treatment. Despite their efforts and those of her hospital’s physicians, Loi’s wife passed away a couple months later.

Loi walked into CPI’s Viet Nam office in March 2004 with a letter requesting financial support in order to raise a cow. Being a UXO-accident survivor and having 4 small children with his second wife, Loi possesses a poverty card. CPI staff assessed the family’s economic situation and determined that an amount of 3 million VND ($200 USD) in support was needed to help the devastated family.

After receiving the funds, Loi wisely purchased a 3-year-old cow and a bamboo shelter to keep it protected from the elements. After raising the cow for two months, he sold it for 3.5 million VND and then bought another cow for 2.5 million VND with the profits. He raised this second cow for just 20 days and then sold that one, making half a million VND in profit. The profits from these trades were spent on urgent needs for his family.

After making several more wise business decisions, Loi now has two cows worth 4 million VND each. He remains very positive about his life and what the future may hold: “My motto of all time is that if you take good care of them, you can fatten up almost any skinny cow. I simply exchange my labor for profit.”

Loi is currently the chairman of his commune’s Blind Association. He is an excellent role model for others in the area who remain poor but aspire to change their lives through hard work and perseverance.