????Anna Zhao ????anna.whizh@yahoo.com ????SHENZHEN woman Yu Li has been helping the disabled live independently and regain lifelong confidence at the Olive Tree Disabled People’s Home, a non-profit organization at Pingdi Subdistrict, Longgang District. Her own experience is uplifting as well — she is pursuing her dream despite being disabled herself. ????Tough life ????A native of Anhui Province, Yu was paralyzed in both legs due to polio sequela, an infantile paralysis. Since she was wheelchair-bound for life, she has a profound understanding of life’s hardships and the pains of being a disabled person. ????Taiwanese singer Chyi Yu’s 1979 hit, “The Olive Tree,” is Yu’s favorite song. “Don’t ask me where I come from. For my hometown is far away from here. Why am I wandering here? Wandering far, wandering still…” — every time she heard these lyrics, she felt a surge of emotions, as if her heart still resonates with the songwriter’s sentimental feeling. ????Life dealt her the worst blows in the years around 1996, when her husband divorced her, leaving her to raise their 7-year-old daughter alone, and her employer went bankrupt leaving her jobless. Without a moment to grieve over these losses, Yu had to work hard to keep her family’s livelihood together. ????Yu had to walk on her crutches to seek a job, but was repeatedly met with disappointments and contempt — people scorned that she was overreaching and nobody would employ a disabled woman in her 30s. Those words hurt her deeply. ????One day, Yu came home from job-hunting to find her daughter lying near the door waiting for her mother, her small body drenched and shocked by the cold. Mother and daughter huddled together with sorrowful tears in their eyes; Yu was tortured with the pain that she was unable to bear her responsibility as a mother and even thought of ending her life. ????That night, she stayed awake to watch her daughter sleep until dawn, with the tunes of “The Olive Tree” playing in her ears and encouraging her to go on. ????Stepping out of difficulties ????With the help of a local woman’s association in Huaibei City, Yu finally received a clerk job and regained her confidence. ????“Everyone dreams. A disabled person without a job might experience difficulty, but a lack of hope is even worse. All a disabled person wishes for is to have equal work opportunities, to be treated without prejudice and to live out his or her own life in pride,” Yu said. ????Her own experience made her realize that the disabled need more psychological help, and the idea of helping people with similar backgrounds grew in her mind. ????In 1998, Yu set up a hotline to help disabled people in need of emotional counseling. ????In 2005, she went alone to Shantou and got a job there. Two years later, she came to Shenzhen and with her diligence and talent, she became the vice marketing manager of a jade craft company. ????In 2007, she met a disabled boy from Hebei Province who was unable to afford a ticket home after spending all his money without securing a job in Shenzhen. The boy’s story reminded her of the tough hours she experienced 10 years ago, and she eventually helped him get a job in her company. ????She was sleepless again that night and thought that she was obliged to help more people like her improve their lives. In the following years, she helped more than one hundred disabled people find jobs. ????Pursuing charity ????In May 2009, Yu resigned from her job and set up the Olive Tree Disabled People’s Home, dedicated to charity service, such as the training of occupational skills, employment aid, career planning, resettlement management and psychological counseling. ????When the disabled people’s home was established, she named it “Olive Tree” to symbolize unyielding vitality, peace, dreaming and hope — qualities that are associated with the tree, as well as her wishes — so that she may never waive her pursuit of happiness because of her physical handicap. ????At first, Yu didn’t have clear plans how to carry out assistance for the disabled. She tried her best to use the resources she had learned to bring job opportunities to encourage others to pursue their dreams. ????“Most disabled people don’t have too many demands. They just hope to live their lives in the same way as ordinary people, by taking jobs to support themselves, and not to become burdens on their families and society,” Yu said. ????She found by social survey that 80 percent of disabled people don’t have much education, and a lack of professional skills was the major factor that restrained them from finding good jobs. A series of questions challenged her — how to help them improve their job skills or start their own businesses, how to overcome feelings of inferiority, and how to help them regain their confidence. ????As the proverb goes, “Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Yu realized that training could be the key to the answer and disabled people could build up their confidence by living independently. ????She learned that many enterprises in Shenzhen were willing to provide employment for the disabled but failed to do so due to a lack of proper communication between them. For example, an enterprise would hesitate to hire disabled staff members due to a lack of management experience with the disabled. She thought establishing a good communication platform would be useful to promote information exchange between them. ????Yu said her decision to resign from her previous job and run the home was met with disagreement from many. “People thought charity can be practiced only by people who have money, high social status, rich resources and good communication skills. But I don’t have these. They doubted how I could do it,” Yu said. “But I simply thought that I should just do my part to help anyone in need. In my opinion, charity is not adding grace to a prosperous life but providing timely help to those truly in need. Charity is a belief that turns one’s emotion into action. I also feel nourished and enriched in the process of doing works of charity. I believe the goodwill of an organization will spread out to influence all society.” ????Like-minded people ????Yu wasn’t alone on the way to pursue charity; she had received help from many people. Since June 2007, when she became the first severely disabled person employed by Shenzhen Fangyuanzhongtian Arts and Crafts Co., the company has adjusted its employment policy and provided job opportunities for many disabled people. In 2011, the company emptied one floor of its factory building for the online incubation project of the Olive Tree, after the organization ran short of charity funds for the project. The company also provided free boarding and accommodation for disabled training members. ????Zhong Yuanqiang, the company’s general manager, said he gained a higher understanding of charity under Yu’s influence. “I employed many disabled people in my factory, accounting 10 percent of the total staff. But I started to think more about how to help them in better ways after I met Yu Li,” Zhong said. “I was full of admiration for her, a disabled person with goodwill and good deeds.” ????Zhong has given Yu great support in capital and materials, as well as spiritual backing. “I have known many disabled people who used to think that society and their friends were indebted to help them. But now I have convinced them that they can live a respectable, independent life on their own efforts,” he said. ????“A disabled person without a job might experience difficulty, but a lack of hope is even worse. All a disabled person wishes for is to have equal work opportunities, to be treated without prejudice and to live out his or her own life in pride.” ????— Yu Li, founder of the Olive Tree Disabled People’s Home, a non-profit organization at Pingdi Subdistrict, Longgang District | 