A laundry shop run by deaf people on the banks of the Set River in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District has been helping a group of hearing-impaired people find joy and confidence in life.
The shop was set up by Luong Thi Kieu Thuy, a 30-year-old girl in December 2020. Despite being deaf since she was 10 years old, Thuy did not lose faith in life.
“To be able to stand firm and compete fairly with other business models, we have promoted differentiation and depth, besides service quality,” Thuy told The Hanoi Times.
“Besides washing ordinary clothes, we receive high-class items, including feather coats and expensive outfits. We satisfy all requirements and wishes of customers. We also invest in technology to shine shoes so that they look like new,” Thuy added.
She stressed that she remains always optimistic even though her shop has encountered many difficulties for the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We find opportunities in difficult situations, we can not let difficulties knock us down,” Thuy shared.
Thanks to optimism and constant efforts, she opened a new establishment at alley 41 Lang Street in Dong Da District.
"Our staff has a lot of experience in the laundry and we have become better known. The most meaningful thing which our employees have gained is changing many people’s stereotypes about people with disabilities. We feel proud about that,” Thuy said.
Not only helping the deaf people, but Thuy is also cherishing plans to bring job opportunities to other vulnerable groups.
“There are plenty of jobs for other types of disabilities. I will find business models adaptable to different levels of disability. For now, I focus on training people with disability on laundry and plan to open more laundry shops,” Thuy shared with The Hanoi Times.
The girl always carries in her mind that she can help and change the lives of people with disabilities, enhance their values and help them gain a position in society.
Dreaming of becoming a journalist, Thuy passed the entrance exam to the College of Television. However, after graduating from college, she realized that journalism is not suitable for the deaf. Leaving her job and dream, she studied sign language and participated in social projects for the deaf.
In 2019, when implementing the project “Research on the employment status of the deaf”, Thuy acknowledged that the employment issue for the deaf was really difficult. Therefore, she wants to help deaf people improve and change their lives.
The followings are some photos of Kieu Thuy (middle) and her staff at the Laundromat for the deaf people:
