"Lao Bin, get up!" "A Xia, come and put on clothes." "Lao Bin, can't get up yet? Hurry up..." In a farmyard in Wangjiatan Village, Caopu Street, Anning City, Yunnan Province, a mother's "broken thoughts" would be heard every morning at 7 o'clock.
The boy Lao Bin (pseudonym), has an intellectual disability; the girl Axia (pseudonym) is a blind child, has hearing but can't speak. After being abandoned by their biological parents, they were arranged to be fostered by Kunming Children's Welfare Home in Wangjiatan Village. For two special children, the words of "mother" Cao Liqiong are the ones they are most familiar with and understand. The "small thoughts" that surround their ears every day teach them to dress and wash their faces, and also give them warmth and care.
Cao Liqiong was braiding Axia, and Lao Bin handed the headband aside. (Photo by Zhao Pufan, Xinhuanet)
(I) Origin
Lao Bin and A Xia came to Cao Liqiong's house in 2009 and 2020 respectively. Before the two children, the "foster mother" had raised 29 orphans and disabled children.
Wangjiatan Village is about 70 kilometers away from Kunming City, surrounded by mountains, and the per capita arable land is less than 0.2 mu. From the 1980s to the 1990s, the place flourished due to its abundant minerals, but as resources were exhausted, the small village returned to silence. The villagers who used to work in the mines had to return to the limited land to farm.
In 2000, Kunming Children's Welfare Home began to pilot foster care for orphans and disabled children in their families. Wangjiatan Village, which has convenient transportation, simple folk customs, and a large amount of spare labor, was selected as a pilot.
When choosing a foster family, Kunming Children's Welfare Home is very cautious and requires that it must be a two-parent family. The members of the family have no infectious diseases, no criminal records, and no bad habits. They must have a kitchen, yard, bedroom where the child lives, etc. During the foster care process, the welfare home will also provide unified management, guidance and supervision of foster care families, and provide rehabilitation treatment, medical consultation and other services. In addition, as a subsidy and return to foster care families, welfare homes regularly pay living expenses and labor expenses every month.
Cao Liqiong has a simple understanding of family foster care. "If you bring it back, you are your own children. If your parents have it, you have brothers and sisters, so that they can have a warm home."
Cao Liqiong, 53 years old this year, still clearly remembers that she was the first "child" Apan (pseudonym) picked up on June 13, 2001. The girl has good physical and intellectual strength, but was cruelly abandoned by her biological parents. "The face is round and the eyes are big, so beautiful!" What surprised Cao Liqiong the most was that as soon as he came back, A Pan called her sweetly "Mom". Although he had given birth to two children at that time, the sound of "mom" still moved Cao Liqiong to tears.
Cao Liqiong took Lao Bin to the field to dig potatoes. (Photo by Zhao Pufan, Xinhuanet)
(II) Guarding
Every morning, Cao Liqiong would wake up his two children on time. Lao Bin could take care of himself in basic life, while A Xia needed her everywhere. "I basically know how to wear clothes, but I often wear them in reverse; I taught me how to wash my face, but I can't brush my teeth, so I handed over the toothbrush to throw it on the floor, and I have to teach it slowly." After helping A Xia dress, Cao Liqiong took the comb and tied her braids for the little girl. "Others advised me to cut her hair short, but I don't want to. The little girl should dress up beautifully."
Cao Liqiong, who is gentle and patient to A Xia, is very strict with Lao Bin, and is even a bit fierce. After breakfast, Cao Liqiong started cleaning the yard, "Lao Bin, come and help me sweep the floor...Lao Bin, mop the floor...Lao Bin, take out the trash..." Mom's loud voice made Lao Bin dare not procrastinate, and helped Cao Liqiong do housework neatly.
The reason why Cao Liqiong treats the two children differently is that Cao Liqiong has his own reasons and plans, "Miss Axia is thin-skinned and her eyes cannot see, so I just want to teach her slowly day by day so that she can take care of herself; Lao Bin has been in my house for a long time, her youngest son is solid and healthy, so he learns to do more work, and maybe he can find a simple job in the future.”
In addition to teaching two children subtly at home, Cao Liqiong takes them to Wangjiatan Children’s Resource Center to participate in rehabilitation training every Monday to Friday. “My Lao Bin can sing more than 10 songs and memorize several ancient poems, and they all learn it there! "
At 3 pm, the rehabilitation training of Wangjiatan Children's Resource Center began. Here, we met more special children and their "foster mothers".
Wangjiatan Children's Resource Center was converted from a village primary school. The original teaching building was arranged into a rehabilitation training room with various functions. The third floor where Lao Bin and A Xia were located was very lively. The special education teachers and "foster mothers" took the children to sing, dance and play games. The classroom on the first floor is very quiet. On the floor covered with mats, the "foster mothers" sit on the ground. Under the guidance of the rehabilitator, they massage the children with severe cerebral palsy lying on the ground, and then pull them to do rehabilitation exercises.
The two "children" of Hu Cuifen, both have severe cerebral palsy. Xiao Jiangjiang (pseudonym) is 6 years old this year. He can't stand up or sit still. He can only lie down every day. It takes more than 40 minutes to feed a meal. Another child is little Ming (pseudonym) is 17 years old this year. He has certain cognitive abilities and can barely stand up. However, when he is seriously ill, he either shouts and scratches or urinates and defecation, making him dirty and messy. It takes several hours for Hu Cuifen and her husband to clean up...
During the interview, we visited several "foster mothers". When asked what qualities are most needed to take care of their children, almost everyone mentioned two points - love and patience.
In Wangjiatan Village, there are 31 "foster mothers" and 61 special children. Since Kunming Children's Welfare Home piloted family foster care in Wangjiatan Village, in the long years of nearly 21 years, "foster mothers" have given more than 800 special children an ordinary but warm home with endless love and patience.
Cao Liqiong's family celebrates Lao Bin's birthday. (Xinhuanet Photo by Zhao Pufan)
(III) Farewell
May 13 is Lao Bin's 18th birthday. According to regulations, children in foster care must leave their families when they become adults. Kunming Children's Welfare Institute arranges schooling, work, or place them in the corresponding welfare institution.
Cao Liqiong did not dare to think about the parting scene, so she decided to calm down and celebrate Lao Bin's birthday. Early in the morning, Cao Liqiong took Lao Bin to the market to buy a new dress. She specially chose red, "It's time to celebrate her birthday, you have to wear it more festive! "The other members of the family were busy working. Cao Liqiong's husband was busy moving tables and stools, while his son and daughter-in-law were organizing to kill chickens and wash vegetables.
In the evening, the farmyard became lively. The two "daughters" A Pan (pseudonym) and A Yan (pseudonym), who were the first to take care of the husband and children, also brought their husbands and children back. The whole family sat at two tables and celebrated Lao Bin's birthday in a lively manner.
Before blowing out the candles on the birthday cake, the two sisters made a wish. Lao Bin looked confused. Cao Liqiong said two wishes on his behalf, "First, I hope Lao Bin can find some simple work with my own hands; second, I hope Lao Bin is healthy and not sick. "
"foster mother" was destined to part from the beginning. During the interview, we visited many "foster mothers" and recalled the adopted and taken away children they had raised, all of whom were crying. "Some children may not remember me, but I remember the names of each of them and have been cared for them all my life. "Cao Liqiong said.
As night fell, after packing up the tables, chairs, bowls and chopsticks, Cao Liqiong took out a family photo, pulled Lao Bin and sat under the lamp, "Which one is the mother?" Where is Dad? Where is the brother? Where is the sister? "After asking a few times, Cao Liqiong asked Lao Bin to recite a sentence with her. She has taught this sentence repeatedly recently - "My home is in Wangjiatan Village, Caopu Street, Anning City; my mother is Cao Liqiong. ”
Source: Xinhuanet
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