Before coming to Japan I could not speak Japanese very well. But after our arrival, the teachers enabled us to rapidly learn Japanese to a workable level. For example, to make it easier to remember, the teachers showed us lots of interesting pictures or gave us a lot of homework.

And when trainees met each other or when we met Japanese people we tried to speak Japanese. But I still cannot write very many Kanji-Chinese characters and so I would like to continue learning it.

Among the trainees Tomasi is hearing impaired so to make it possible for daily communication, Tomasi tried to teach us Japanese sign language and we learned it little by little.

Now in Japan there are about 130 CILs so persons with disabilities can enjoy independent living, have jobs as well as join in with social events.

At many CILs I learned about the history and purpose of the Independent Living (IL) Movement and also experienced the services offered for persons with disabilities.

At Sapporo IL Center, I learned about the services available for persons with disabilities. Also in Sapporo I was introduced to the Japanese Ventilator Users Network (JVUN) for the first time. JVUN is a network of severely disabled persons who need a ventilator for daily living.

At other IL Centers like CIL Higashiyamato, AJU in Nagoya and the CIL Kodaira I stayed in and experienced a typical IL room and the staff introduced and explained about the services. Besides that, I visited the houses of the IL Centers' service users. The more I talked with the Japanese persons with disabilities, the clearer the image of IL that I built-up.

In the IL Program I enjoyed learning about Peer Counseling and I was trained in Peer Counseling ←it at the Machida Human Network.

At DPI Japan I learned the disability movements in the world and in Japan

At Oyata Center, I received computer training including how to use Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Homepage Builder. Most of us had used computers in our home countries before, but here all the software was in Japanese, so we had to study it again. I very much enjoyed learning Homepage Builder as I had successfully created a homepage for my training.

Also I spent 4 days to learn about DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) at the Information Center of JSRPD. This program is very useful to persons with visual impairment so I would like to share this with persons with visual impairments in my country.

As I wished to promote the services for persons with disabilities in my country to access travel and tourism, I had a good meeting with Mr. Imanishi of JTB (Japan Travel Bureau) and with Ms. Ueno of JSRPD, listening to their ideas and experience about those services.

I also experienced some very interesting study trips to places like the workshop of Mr. Saito where the electric wheelchairs are repaired and maintained. Support is very important to the independent living of persons with disabilities　and electric wheelchairs are also very necessary. In Vietnam, persons with disabilities who can receive electric wheelchairs are still rare so my dream is to make it convenient for persons with disabilities to access to such liberating devices.

I spent the New Year’s Holiday with the family of Mr and Mrs Maeda in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. I experienced more about the Japanese culture and family life through this experience. Mr and Mrs Maeda were very kind to me. They cooked a lot of delicious food for me. I also visited the Duskin Company in Seki City where Mr and Mrs Maeda worked. Then, on New Year's Day, I visited with them Zinja, a Japanese Shinto shrine

During my training I also experienced sports for persons with disabilities, some of which are popular in my country and some of which I experienced for the first time. Among them are:

Since we came to Japan, we had swimming classes once a week in nearly two months with Mr. Inaji and the staff of JSRPD. This kind of sport is good for my body and I had good time for relaxing.

It was my first time to see snow! So even though it was very cold, I would really like go skiing again someday.

Other sports like archery, bowling, electric wheelchair soccer, and wheelchair dancing, are still rare in Vietnam so when I return home I would like to start them with friends in my association.

I want to create services for persons with disabilities to start their independent living, especially for persons with severe disabilities. First of all I wish to build up a kind of information resource center to provide information to everyone involved in the field of disability.

Once the network has been done, we will disseminate / send-out information about the IL Movement inside the country and also about the worldwide IL Movement.

Then, to make it possible for independent living, we will create the required support services such as personal assistant services, taxi services for wheelchair uses and travel services for persons with disabilities.

We were given the chance to go to Japan for this training. Duskin and JSRPD staff and Japanese language teachers were very helpful and supportive to us during our stay in Japan. Thank you very much.