Mr. So was born in 1953 in Dien Bien province, Vietnam. He is an ex-leprosy patient who lives permanently in K10 Nam Din Leprosarium. Mr. So got leprosy after having served in the army during the war time. His limbs were all deformed.
In 1996, he had his first leg amputated. In 2003, thanks to the support from the project on Prosthetic care for People affected by Leprosy (PAL) funded by Peerker Donders Stichtings (PDS), Mr. So received his first prosthesis. In 2006, he had his other leg cut and was given the second prosthesis. Additionally, he receives maintenance and repair services for his prostheses from the mobile orthopeadic team run by RCI. Thanks to the support, he can walk on his own. Though sometimes he has to use crutches to move around due to his weak health, he is very happy that he can manage to take care of himself.
Due to his mitten hands, he is unable to hold things or do daily activities smoothly. He has a wife and 6 children but he does not live with them. They are all living so far away from him and he has not met them for a long time since he moved to live in the leprosarium. Fortunately, he still has a cousin who lives nearby come to visit him often. Not able to work or to make money due to his old age and severe disability, he shares that he deeply appreciates the support from the government, the leprosarium and especially from PDS and RCI for their kind and keen provision and service of prosthetic care.