Differently abled

People with disabilities (PWD) are amazing for the way they persevere in their daily struggle to live. Examples are three young men from southeastern China who sell garlic, ginger and bottled water to support themselves. 

The PWDs are Long, who has no feeling in his legs and is wheelchair-bound, aside from having hand deformities; Han, who struggles to talk; and Qi, whose weak legs prevent him from standing for more than three minutes, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. 

Their friend Xiaoyu, a young woman who lost a hand and was disfigured in a fire, documents their daily routines and work, sharing it online with her 23,000 followers to garner social support for the PWDs.

Long, Han, and Qi rent a small room, help each other to dress, and divide the cooking and other household responsibilities.

The men, all 20 years old, earn only 20 yuan a day for selling 35 kilograms of garlic and ginger, but they get assistance from Qi’s grandfather’s pension, a monthly government disability allowance of 400 yuan, and food and supplies from visiting local officials. 

The PWDs’ attitude serves to inspire others to overcome their own hardship and believe in their capacity to succeed.  

Meanwhile, a woman from Baiyin in Gansu province, northern China, has touched many people online for the incredible way she took care of her children despite her congenital disability. 

Wang Yushi was born with incomplete limbs, but singlehandedly took care of one daughter and two sons while doing housekeeping as her husband worked away on a farm. 

Her younger son, Zhang Lihu, 38, told Jimu News that his mother washed clothes, cooked, kneaded dough, cut vegetables, and sewed clothes using her mouth to hold the thread. She ate with chopsticks that she held with her elbow. 

Zhang and his own family are now taking care of his 81-year-old mother in their home. He also documents their daily life, sharing moments on social media under the name “A Great Mother,” which has amassed 440,000 followers, according to SCMP.