Band of angels joins war on poverty丨CD Voice
Wang Haizhu, who works in the financial sector in Beijing, refuses to remain on the sidelines as China's war on poverty escalates.
"I don't want to be just a spectator," she says.
Wang once participated in a charity project near Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, where she witnessed the brutal poverty among single, elderly villagers, many of them in their 80s or older, who had no children or income. Deeply affected, she decided to act on her own.
Wang, whose English name is Anne, posted about her experience on her WeChat Moments. She told the story of a man of almost 90 who moved to one village three decades ago and married a local woman, who later died.
"They had no children, no house, nothing," she says. "He lives with one of the families temporarily. He has nothing in his room except a blanket and pillow that look like they have been used for decades. I didn't even see a bowl."
Her friends were shocked by the living conditions of these lonely men and women, and they asked how they could help. They began sending Wang money so she could buy food and clothing.
Wang tirelessly gathered donated items and set out with seven other adults and a 10-year-old child to personally deliver hope and love to 26 needy souls in four remote mountain villages.
In a truck provided so this mercy mission could navigate the unpaved roads between villages, Anne and her band of angels arrived on a particularly bitter December day with care packages that included coats, blankets, cooking oil, noodles and rice.
"It was super cold, like thousands of knives cutting your flesh," she says. "But none of us complained. When we think of them living in such a place under such conditions their whole life, we have no reason to complain."
The encounters with the lonesome villagers left a deep impression.
"One of them was an old woman," Wang says. "When she saw us taking so much stuff to her home, she said thank you so much. Then she burst into tears."
When they visited a man of about 70, "we were wearing thick coats and boots, but he was in a thin, worn-out coat and very thin shoes," she says. "I saw some dry rice that looked rotten in the pot. He was cooking that."
Still another was hemiplegic. "The first time we saw him, he could speak, though we couldn't understand him," Wang says. "This time he was much worse. He just lay on the bed. He hadn't eaten in days. We saw a coffin in the yard. He has no wife, no children. I thought it must be the last time we'll see him. Before leaving, I kissed his forehead, hoping he wouldn't suffer." She says the man has since died.
The motivation for Wang, who hopes to bring help to other villages, is profoundly simple. "My Mom taught me a lot about Buddhism since I was little," she says. "I just want to help people as much as I can."
About the author & broadcaster
James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2014. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.
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