Breaking the silence

Li Jianhong (left) plays with another child in the village of Gaojialing.

Li Jianhong, who turns 2 this October, relies on this fund to hear the many sounds of this world.

So far, the Ear Fund has received 5,300 yuan, most of which are from the villagers. "The fund is not enough to cure little Jianhong's ears, but we will continue making every effort," says Chen, Party secretary of Guojialing Village, Huanghuadian Town of Xiuyan Manchu Autonomous County, Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Li Hengbin, a villager of Guojialing, grinned from ear to ear when his only grandson Jianhong was born on October 6, 2005. The 56-year-old carried the baby in his arms all day long. Half a year later, however, the family was saddened to find the baby boy had no response to sounds.

Doctors at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University of Shenyang found last year that the boy is suffering from congenital deafness.

Doctors suggested an artificial cochlea, and the best period for the boy to be treated is before he turns 3 years old. But the price of an artificial cochlea is 150,000 yuan, which the Li family cannot afford. The farmer's family only has a three-room house, a carriage and an old TV.

"We could not stand Jianhong living in silence all his life," says the boy's uncle Li Shiyong who is a migrant worker in Shenyang.

Only one year older, Li Jianhong’s sister is used to taking care of her younger brother.

After the autumn harvest in 2006, the family sold their only horse and most members went out to do odd jobs to earn money. The grandmother and another elderly relative stayed behind to take care of Jianhong and his elder sister. Li Hengbin does the same heavy labor as young men at a construction site of Xiuyan County where he can earn 1,000 yuan each month.

Li misses his grandson so much that he often goes home to see him. To save the 12 yuan fares of the round trip, as the village is 37 kilometers away, Li borrowed a bike from fellow workers and rides two hours on the winding road to return home. Next morning he gets up early to return to the construction site.

This April, Li spent three days making a rattle-drum with sewer pipe joints and two peach kernels for his grandson. Thinking of giving the boy a surprise present, Li cycled home hastily at dusk on April 12. However, he fell off his bike and fractured his left leg.

But Li didn't want to the spend money to fix his leg, instead choosing to stay home and recover. During this time, little Jianhong spent every day with his grandfather. Of all his toys, the rattle-drum is his favorite.

Li recovered a month later. Leaning on crutches, he could walk alongside with his grandson. But just like the Chinese saying goes: Misfortunes never come singly.

On May 24, Li hurried to stop the boy from climbing onto the stove, when he fell again and fractured the femoral head in his thigh.

Li Jianhong (center) has always been the center of attention. Photos by Wu Zhangjie

Li's two sons took their father to hospital, but the operation would cost 100,000 yuan. Li stopped his two sons from borrowing money, saying: "I am so old that it's unnecessary to care about me. But how can my grandson hear nothing! Even if one of his ears would be cured, and then learn to speak, how can I pass away before I hear my grandson calling me grandpa!"

The 421 households in Guojialing were deeply moved by the family's plight. Villagers gave Jianhong toys that make sounds, in the hope that one day he might hear them.

Chen Ming, who was appointed village head in April this year, initiated the Ear Fund. "The family and little Jianhong need our help," Chen says.

Chen Yuwang contributed to the story.

(China Daily 08/28/2007 page20)