Representatives of national models and outstanding persons helping the disabled talk about their stories

"Although I lost my hands, I still have legs, I can continue to run for my dreams; although I lost my sight, my world is still colorful as long as the sun rises in my heart." Du Fuguo, a mine-sweeping soldier, said this at a conference commending national role models with disabilities and outstanding people in helping the disabled.

On May 16, the 6th national commendation conference of role models with disabilities and outstanding people in helping the disabled was held in Beijing.

President Xi Jinping met with the representatives and encouraged them to make continued efforts to achieve new accomplishments in supporting China's disabled people.

Du Fuguo, who lost his hands and eyes in a demining operation, delivered a speech at the conference. "I feel proud for being commended this time.

After listening to the speeches of other self-empowerment role models and outstanding people in helping the disabled, I was deeply shocked, educated and encouraged by them," Du said. After losing both hands and eyes, Du managed to remember the places of his personal items in darkness in order to brush teeth and wash face on his own. trying to write, he practiced on the paper with the pen held in his arms over and over again. "I want to express my thanks to all those who care about me. What they always say to me, 'Keep up, Fuguo, keep up!' is the strength of my continuous effort."

Peng Chao, a student of Sichuan University who was named "national self-improvement role model", lost his arms when he was 6 years old because of contact with high-voltage cables.

In the face of his permanent disability, he chose to face the difficulties. He practiced writing with his feet and was admitted to the Law School of Sichuan University in 2015. Peng became attached to poetry, and was awarded the winner for the first episode of a Chinese poetry-themed TV show during the Chinese Spring Festival in 2016.

"With a strong heart and the courage to fight hard, I have made a miracle myself," Peng said at the press conference, which was hosted by the State Council Information Office and open to Chinese and foreign journalists.

Self-improvement, tenacity, perseverance, and dreams are the best interpretations of the spirit of struggle of the disabled, and their way forward is also inseparable from the care and support of all sectors of society.

Song Guihua, a volunteer in Qingdao, Shandong province, teamed up with her mother to help the disabled. Through cooperation with the Qingdao Disabled Persons’ Federation, the idle clothes of urban residents are carefully selected according to the gender, age, height and weight of the members of the assisted family, and then packed and personally sent to the families with disabled family members in rural areas.

"A piece of worn clothes is not something important to us, but it is timely help for the disabled people's family," Song said, "Whenever a piece of fitted clothes is worn on them, it is the time of our greatest satisfaction."

As a representative of outstanding people helping people with disabilities, Cao Peng, a 94-year-old conductor, has long been paying his attention to children with autism. In 2008, he established the salon "Sound of the Angels" to help children with autism recover through music, cultural, and skills-learning lessons. "Children with autism also know how to love. When they embrace me, I feel like all human beings are embracing me," he said.

"The vast number of workers and volunteers who serve the disabled have set an example for the society with their selfless dedication to work and devotion of life," said the director of a provincial working committee for the disabled. The touching stories of the people with disabilities shine with the light of humanity, and many people with disabilities who are helped also set "giving-back" as their own philosophy in life.

Liu Fang, a teacher of the No 3 Middle School of Baiyun district in Guiyang, Guizhou province, lost her sight both of her eyes because of retinitis pigmentosa in 2007. She was transferred into a psychological tutor from Chinese teacher and assumed the work of moral education of minors in the school.

So far, she has offered free psychological counseling services to more than 20,000 primary and secondary school students and more than 2,000 parents. "Although my eyes went from light into darkness, my heart has walked out from darkness to brightness. I have found my value in life. ”

When talking about his ideals, Peng said that he hopes to be a postgraduate of Sichuan University and become a lawyer in the future. "I want to provide legal services for more people with disabilities."

“People with disabilities are also contributors of the new era,” said Yan Sanyuan, a national self-improvement role model and president of Haoqingsong Blindman Tuina & Massage Company in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. Yan expressed the hope that the whole society can fully respect the wishes of people with disabilities, tap their potential, promote their ingenuity and wisdom, and "build a broader stage in life for them to pursue their dreams and realize their value."