At first, he just asked for and bought old wheelchairs and gave them to the elderly, and to poor patients and people with disabilities. But later, he was not satisfied with what he did because he was unsure if the wheelchairs were useful for them.

Later, as the monk spent time to meet disabled people throughout the country and talk with them, he realized that a wheelchair suited specifically for them was very essential for them.

People have different conditions, so they need specific chairs. 

“Doing charity is not simply giving things to other people, but being sure that your gifts are useful,” he said.

“I listened to disabled people talk about their dreams of having a wheelchair, and after that, I repaired and recycled wheelchairs for them,” he said.

Thanks to the wheelchairs, they not only can bathe and move on their own, but also earn a living.

The monk continues to spend his own money to buy old wheelchairs from scrap yards, second-hand shops and from overseas. He sometimes gets wheelchairs from benefactors. 

He faced difficulties in the first days as he had no experience in wheelchair repair. The owners of shops refused his proposals to repair wheelchairs or leave the wheelchairs at their shops because they believed that this was bad luck.

So he decided to hire workers to recycle wheelchairs at the pagoda and paid them VND400,000 a day. However, the people left after several days of working.

“All the wheelchairs are used, so they are damaged and I have to dissemble and install wheelchair parts. Sometimes, it takes me several days to find suitable parts,” the monk said.

“The most important thing is that you need to create the wheelchairs suited to the recipient. This work requires much time and effort. Impatient people can’t do this work. That’s why I have been doing this alone for seven years,” he said.

He spends all of his free time to recycle wheelchairs every day. If he cannot fulfill his work in the daytime, he continues at nights. He gives 20-30 wheelchairs to people each month.

People who need wheelchairs can contact the monk via phone

or email. They need to provide personal information and describe their condition, and tell him what kind of wheelchair they need and how they will use the wheelchair. 

Ha Nguyen