Photo taken on May 9, 2020 shows He Wenhua teaching weaving techniques to other women at home. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)
YINCHUAN, March 10 (Xinhua) -- He Wenhua, 46, adjusted her wheelchair and placed the smartphone on a tripod, as she started her livestream sales session, proudly introducing local handicrafts from her native village of Hongya in Wuzhong City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
As someone with severe paraplegia, He never imagined she would one day become a renowned local handicraft artist and that she will be able to help her family out of hardships through online sales of these products manufactured by her and her neighbors.
A loving mother and wife, her life completely changed after she met with a road accident in 2011. "When I realized that I would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my years, I fell apart," she said.
To add to her tragedy, He's husband, the family's sole breadwinner, developed asthma a few years after her accident.
"It felt like the sky was falling. I couldn't take care of myself, and he couldn't do heavy work," He said, recalling that she even contemplated suicide.
Amidst all gloom, rays of hope emerged after her family was registered as an impoverished household. The local government's timely and courteous assistance, which included the donation of a wheelchair, gave her the courage and hope to live.
After the local poverty-alleviation cadres came to know that He had learned basket weaving from her father as a child, they encouraged her to brush up on the skills to sell such products online and even offered financial support through loan.
Encouraged by the officials, He not only attended a government-funded weaving skills training session but also learned other weaving techniques through online courses.
With the help of her husband, she built a workshop at home and started making many exquisite products including shoes and hats.
To her delight, poverty alleviation cadres volunteered to help promote her handicrafts on social media and through exhibitions, with some cadres even joining her livestream to help boost sales.
With orders pouring in from all over the country, He started recruiting women living nearby to assist her in the business to increase income. Today she has some 20 women working with her, all of whom are "left-behind" wives whose husbands work far away from home as migrant workers.
"I can earn about 25,000 yuan (about 3,959 U.S. dollars) a year by selling the handwoven products," He said, expressing her gratitude to the government and kindhearted locals who helped rekindle her life.
As China improves its welfare policy for the disabled, which includes offering grants to start a business and free job training, an increasing number of people with disabilities are now facing life bravely. Last year, the overall employment rate among disabled people in Ningxia reached 85.5 percent.
During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), a total of 26 million disabled people benefited from living allowances and nursing subsidies and 7.1 million disabled people have been lifted out of poverty in the country, official data showed.
During the same period, 95 percent of children with disabilities in China received compulsory education, according to the China Disabled Persons' Federation.
In 2021, the local Disabled Persons' Federation helped renovate He's home building accessible facilities, which made her life a lot easier.
"Before the renovation, I relied on others to get in and out but now I can move all by myself," she said.
Talking about the ongoing Beijing Winter Paralympics, He said she was deeply moved to see Chinese athletes' efforts to realize their dreams, winning one medal after another.
"I cherish my present life very much and I'm learning while working. I hope I can make products that satisfy my clients," He said. ■