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Visit More Families - 100 Misfortune,
Orphans in ShangShui County, Henan Province
By Jill Ji & Grace Lim
Visit from April 16 to April 22, 2007
Determined to continue their studies – the 2 silbings from Ma Ha Village
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| 14-year old Ma Chun Lei |
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| Citations received by the two children |
All adults in the family are sick, who is going to support the 2 children?
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| Zheng’s house is so old that it needs to be supported by wooden sticks to prevent the walls from falling apart! |
Zheng's mother is suffering from galactophore hyperplasia (a kind of breast problem that may lead to breast cancer later on), while her father has bone hyperplasia. Her grandmother has high blood pressure, heart disease and a broken arm, and her grandfather has been diagnosed with diabetes and heart disease as well.
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| Both children have always done well in school, as can be seen from the citations that they have received. |
No money to even perform cremation for his mother – Wu Shuang Ming from Sun Wu Zhuang Village
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| 14-year old Wu Shuang Ming |
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Wu's father passed away three years ago from heart disease at the age of 37. His mother, died 40 days later from some lung and heart problems.
Having no money to perform cremation for the mother's death, which is a requirement in the village, the grandfather attempted to bury her secretly but was found out and fined by the authorities. The villagers even have to help them raised funds to pay for the fine and reclaim the ashes.
Other than Wu Shuang Ming, the grandfather is also taking care of Wu's 13-year old sister, Wu Qing Mei (吴青梅) who had left school 5 years ago to take care of the grandfather and support the family. Another cousin, 16-year old Wu Wen Ming (吴文明), had also left school and gone out to work to support the family.
Poor Family with Outstanding Children - true stories of two families in Henan Province, Gu Qiang Town
It is very typical for poor village families in China to have more than one children. This is based on the traditional belief that the more children a
family has, the more prosperous they are. Chinese families also prefer having male than female children, as males will be more helpful in the farm
and males will carry on the family line. So they will not stop having babies until they get a baby boy.
However, having more children also means greater financial pressure for the families. Below are stories of two families who not have many children,
but they are also outstanding students in school.
Li Family
The first story is about the Li family with 4 children. The eldest, Li Yu Chun (李玉春, 20-year old boy) is now studying high school.
Two of his siblings, Li Zhan Sheng (李战胜, 17-year old boy) and Li Chun Yan (李红云, 16-year old) had quit school and had gone out to
work to support the family. Li Zhan Sheng had gone to Dalian to learn to be a tailor. The youngest sister, 16-year old Li Chun Yan (李春艳),
is studying Grade 3 in middle school now.
Having two of the four children now pursuing higher education, the financial burden on the family is great.
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| Due to Li Chun Yan’s outstanding academic performance, the school had granted her a waiver of school fees for Year 2007. | A mirror reflection of all the citations received by all the Li children. |
Wang Family
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| Mr Li telling us about his mentally ill wife and his children. Behind are some of the citations received by his 3 children. |
The family is supported solely my their father, who cannot do much work as he needs to take care of their sick mother. Mrs Li has heart and mental problems. She cannot even feed or take care of herself and Mr Li has to be at home at all times to take care of her.
How much longer can Grandpa Zhang and his 2 grandchildren survive?
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| 14-year old Zhang Ya Peng |
The grandpa, 72 years old, had 3 daughters and 1 son who were all married and had children. 8 years ago, his only son and two sons-in-law all died in a mine blast in ShanXi province. The disaster pushed the whole family to the chilliness.
The grandpa's two daughters have to bring up their own children, while the grandpa has to bring up his two grandsons Zhang YaPeng (张亚鹏) and Zhang ErPeng(张二鹏) whose mother remarried after the mine blast.
Zhang YaPeng, 14 years old, is studying in GuQiang No.3 Middle School. He is among the top 15 students in 100 students in his class. His daily costs for 3 meals is RMB1.5 (US$0.2).
The house they are living in is so old that it is going to fall apart soon but Grandpa Zhang has no money to re-build the house as well.
An old grandpa of 72, 2 young grandchildren who has problems continuing their studies, and a house that are falling apart, how much longer can they survive under such conditions?
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| The walls are cracking | |
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| The roof is going to fall down soon. | Grandpa Zhang sharing with us the tragedies of his family. |
Reported by:
Jill Ji
HuaQiao Foundation
www.huaqiaofoundation.org
Tel: (8621) 3209- 5514
Fax: (8621) 3209- 1534
Email: hellojihui@gmail.com
HuaQiao Foundation
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