While many people consider the disabled as a group of
disadvantaged people that need help from society, Wang Li is
proving that is not always the case.
Wang, a former champion at the National Para Games, has founded
a?website (www.soho-ku.com) called "New Vision
Foundation for Disabled People."
This non-profit Website launched by some handicapped individuals
has attracted a lot of attention.
The Website was initially designed to provide a platform for
both warm-hearted and disabled people so they had easier access to
offer and receive some help.
"At the very beginning of the site being set up in 2003, few
people ever know about our site, let alone visited it," Wang
recalled.
"But fortunately enough, we received lots of help from some
volunteers. They did the whole translation work for the site and
helped us maintain the network system. Thanks to their help, the
site is in better condition now," she said.
The site was set up in Chinese and English, and covers a variety
of resources, such as photo galleries, message boards and other
services. It also features a bulletin board to keep visitors
well-informed about events organized by the site.
Currently, more and more people have come to know and joined in
the site, including some foreign charities.
"We also received many donations like clothing, refrigerators,
computers, printers, wheelchairs, furniture and other daily
necessities from some foreign friends," Wang added.
The donations will be distributed to disabled people who are
suffering from poverty or illnesses via Wang's site.
Such was the case for a 76-year-old woman, surnamed Gao, who
underwent an amputation operation.
The woman was totally isolated from the outside world after her
husband's death, while her children paid no attention to their
ailing mother.
"So I posted an article about Gao's critical condition in the hope
that more people would read her story and lend her a hand," Wang
said.
It didn't take long for these warm-hearted people to gather and
offer their help to the miserable woman.
"I still remembered the day when we went to Gao's home and gave
her all the donated stuff, she was very touched. And the scene
really moved us to tears," she added.
So far some hundreds of people have benefited from various kinds
of assistance or donations with the help of the Website.
But in Wang's opinion, the situation they're facing now is far
from being satisfactory.
"Our site can only provide a small group of people with the
things that allow them to meet their basic needs. Yet their lives
have not been changed in a stricter sense - they are still
struggling to survive," she said.
It is true that many handicapped people are jobless due to their
physical defects.
At present, most disabled people live on small subsidies
provided to them by the government.
And for those who are able to do some light work, more often
than not they have been treated with prejudice as well.
"Some employers tend to discriminate against such people when
they try to apply for a job," she added.
Therefore, helping them to become self-employed is Wang's
greatest concern at the present stage.
"Some of them are good at making handicrafts, which are quite
popular in some European countries. So we're trying to establish
contact with the sellers in those countries through our foreign
friends," she said.
Wang is optimistic about the future.
"With the increasingly easier access to the Internet, the link
between our disabled and the rest of the world will be closer in
the near future," the disabled woman smiled.
(Shanghai Daily April 18, 2005)