In February 11995, China Population Welfare Foundation , China Family Planning Association and China Population Newspaper jointly initiated and established a poverty alleviation plan " Happiness Project ". The project is based on the mission of helping poor mothers in poor areas. By mobilizing funds and forces from all walks of life at home and abroad, we can help these mothers get rid of poverty as soon as possible and embark on the road to becoming rich. After the establishment of the "Happiness Project", Peng Peiyun, then the State Councilor and Director of the National Family Planning Commission, wrote a letter to Wang Guangmei, asking her to serve as the director of the organizing committee of the "Happiness Project". At that time, Wang Guangmei was 74 years old and had cancer for 6 years. She had declined many invitations to hold honorary positions in society. However, when she learned about the mission of "Happiness Project", she was deeply moved. Not only did she accept the invitation happily, she also promised not to receive a penny salary of the organizing committee and to work for the "Happiness Project".
Herbian Wang Guangmei
After learning that Wang Guangmei was in the "Happiness Project", people did not take it seriously at the beginning, thinking that she was just a name. Unexpectedly, Wang Guangmei worked 8 to 10 hours a day, and she often went deep into Shaanxi and other places to visit the poor and inquire about the hardships.
Shortly after the establishment of the "Happiness Project", Wang Guangmei visited Anlu Township, Dali County, Shaanxi Province. It was raining heavily that day and the village was muddy. The accompanying staff suggested that Wang Guangmei not enter the village, but she insisted on wearing her boots and entering the village in deep and shallow, and visited three families in the rain.
When Wang Guangmei came to the home of a poor mother named Wang Shangying, Wang Shangying's 85-year-old mother-in-law was lying in bed. Wang Guangmei held the old man's hand tightly and chatted with her affectionately. The old man told Wang Guangmei that because her family was poor, there was still a 22-year-old granddaughter who was not married. Wang Guangmei comforted the old man: "It's not that old age at the age of 24. I got married only at the age of 26. After the 'Happiness Project' helps you live a good life, are you still afraid that you won't be able to find your husband's family?"
said this and made the whole family laugh. Two years later, what Wang Guangmei said really became a reality.
Wang Guangmei visited poor families
It is precisely because she visited a large number of poor areas that Wang Guangmei has mastered many of the poor mothers' first-hand information . In the early days of the establishment of the "Happiness Project", the organizing committee formulated a model for the project's help: "Small funding, direct to households, rolling operation, and getting rich through labor." After Wang Guangmei looked at it, she changed "direct to households" to "direct to people".
Wang Guangmei explained this: Our money is directly sent to poor mothers, and she has to sign the agreement on behalf of the whole family, so "to be with people" is more accurate than "to be with households". The primary and most important thing of the "Happiness Project" is to help poor mothers get rid of poverty rather than get rich. We cannot conquer the world, we must be realistic and have an accurate positioning.
When the "Happiness Project" was first launched, there was a shortage of funds. For Wang Guangmei, the most difficult thing was to raise charity funds. She decided to start with herself and donate every penny she saved to the "Happiness Project".
The first donation received by the "Happiness Project" was the $500 donated by Wang Guangmei, which was given to her by her daughter. It was one night, when his daughter, who lived with Wang Guangmei, urgently needed an international long-distance phone number because she was working, so she used the phone number equipped by her family's family for Wang Guangmei. Wang Guangmei thought this was not a trivial matter, and she asked her daughter to register the phone number so that she could pay for it in the future.
Wang Guangmei (first from left)
The daughter knew Wang Guangmei's character well. She registered without saying a word and gave her mother $500, saying that she was paying the phone bill. Of course, Wang Guangmei understood that the phone bill could not cost so much. This is her daughter who was filial to her in different ways!
But Wang Guangmei donated the money directly to the "Happiness Project". It turned out that a few days ago, she went to the "Happiness Project" office to visit the staff and learned that the office was harsh and the staff sometimes couldn't have hot rice at noon, so they took out the $500 to buy a microwave to eat hot rice in the office. This money also became the first donation received by the foundation.
One day, Wang Guangmei was flipping through the newspaper and accidentally saw a news about auctioning jade carvings. Her eyes involuntarily fell on the ivory pen holder on the desk. This was a precious relic left to her by her mother, and it was of no value. Wang Guangmei couldn't help but think: This can be sold for money!
Wang Guangmei found out another 5 pieces of porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties that her mother left her. When she saw the things and thought of others, she remembered her mother. Mother Dong Jieru graduated from Tianjin Jinling Women's Normal School. She is a progressive woman full of democratic ideas. She has trained all her children into experts in various industries. After liberation, my mother moved with her to Zhongnanhai , but she was still unable to rest. So she founded the "Jiaru Nursery" in Zhongnanhai to take care of the children of many comrades in the Zhongzhi government for free. To this day, this nursery named after her mother is still run by the local government.
Dong Jieru
Wang Guangmei thought: My mother practices the principle of being a person that emphasizes education and dedication throughout her life, so let her wish return the antiquities she left behind! She decided to take the six relics to auction.
11996, at the annual autumn auction held by China-Mao Shengjia International Auction Co., Ltd. , Wang Guangmei took out six family antiques, with the original fixed price of 216,000 yuan. The auctioneer excitedly introduced: "Ms. Wang Guangmei's charity sale is all donated to the 'Happiness Project'." The atmosphere in the venue suddenly became warm. After many bidding, the last 6 antiques were sold for 566,000 yuan.
A reporter once asked Wang Guangmei: "Don't you feel sorry for selling the cultural relics you passed down from your family?"
Wang Guangmei replied: "Of course I feel sorry for donating the things left by my mother, but I feel even more distressed when I think there are so many poor mothers who can't eat enough!"
Over the years, whenever Wang Guangmei heard that there was a disaster, she would have to donate money and materials. She asked her to donate everything that could be taken out at home, and the living expenses at home were not enough. The nanny had to manage the money and only gave her 50 yuan a month. But sometimes Wang Guangmei donated the 50 yuan too.
Under the leadership of Wang Guangmei, her family also enthusiastically donated love to the "Happiness Project". During the Spring Festival in 1996, the "Happiness Project" Organizing Committee Office received a donation of 200 yuan from two elementary school students signed by Wang Beiliang and Chen Nan. The staff felt it was very meaningful and decided to send someone to investigate the situation of the two children and then write a report.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he checked, Wang Guangmei's secretary called the organizing committee: "Don't check it, Wang Beiliang is Mr. Wang's grandson, and the other is my son. Mr. Wang instructed that children must not be reported."
The next day, Wang Guangmei personally called the organizing committee: "Donating money to poor people is very good for children. Let the children feel that this is a matter of course and nature. These two children have donated money to the Hope Project every year over the years. We never praise them, but we are sure that they are right to do so. If you promote it, the children's mood of donating money will not be so pure."
There are more people in society who are influenced by Wang Guangmei and joined her kindness. At the end of 1996, Ye Hua, the widow of the late famous poet Xiao San, wrote a letter to Wang Guangmei, saying: The two editing fees (total of 1,858.56 yuan) of "Hotel 1,858.56 yuan) of "Hotel 1,858.56 yuan) of "Hotel 1,858.56 yuan) were sent to us by China Youth Publishing House. Our whole family agreed that according to Mr. Xiao’s practice during his lifetime, this royalty should be donated to the Happy Project to help poor mothers. Although it is meager, we firmly believe that this approach is in line with Mr. Xiao’s last wish.
After receiving the letter, Wang Guangmei personally wrote back to Ye Hua and expressed her sincere thanks.
There is also an old worker from Panzhihua Steel Factory in Sichuan. He took out only 8 yuan from his pocket and donated it to the "Happiness Project", while his wife was suffering from cancer.Wang Guangmei said to the staff excitedly: "Don't underestimate the value of this 8 yuan!"
In recent years, under Wang Guangmei's running and advocacy, the "Happiness Project" has gone from small to large. 29 provinces, cities and districts across the country have carried out actions to rescue poor mothers to varying degrees, covering 389 counties across the country, with a total investment of 310 million yuan, and various equipment and medicines for treating gynecological diseases are distributed for free, worth more than 13 million yuan, 210,000 gynecological patients are treated, and 650,000 physical examinations are conducted for poor mothers. A total of 154,000 poor mothers and families have been rescued, benefiting more than 800,000 people.
In early July 2006, the "Happiness Project" held a charity fundraising party. A painting written by Wang Guangmei "Do good deeds and dedicates love" was sold for 200,000 yuan, ranking first.
Wang Guangmei was seriously ill at the time. After her daughter Liu Ting told her the news, she actually forced her sick body to sit up from the bed, muttering her mouth: "Hold the pen, hold the pen..."
Liu Ting knew in his heart that her mother wanted to fight for the "Happiness Project" for the last bit! But unfortunately, because of the extreme weakness of the body, Wang Guangmei could no longer hold the pen at that time.
On October 13, 2006, Wang Guangmei was already in her dying moment. Liu Ting walked to the bedside and said to her, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll help you with the 'Happiness Project'."
Liu Ting
At this time, Wang Guangmei could no longer speak. She looked at her daughter with gratitude, and then she struggled to lift her thin fists and bowed. Liu Ting was crying like rain, holding her skinny mother, saying, "Don't bow, I can't bear it!"
On the 4th day after Wang Guangmei's death, China Poverty Alleviation Foundation officially awarded her the "China Poverty Elimination Achievement Award".
On that day, Liu Ting went on stage to receive the award on behalf of her mother. She said with mixed feelings: "I don't want to talk about how great my mother's achievements in the 'happiness project', but just want to talk about how great my mother's love is, because the greater the love a person is, the greater the contribution to society."
Author Profile: Brother Di, an office worker born in the 1990s, has been writing for two years and has published many 100,000+ articles on major self-media platforms. If you are interested in self-media, writing, and making money, and want to rely on off-get off work hours to do side jobs every month, you can search and follow my official account " Di Ge Sayings Shi " to discuss and make progress together.
