Xiaohe started feeling weakness in her legs in third grade. Two years later, she could not stand up at all. Her older brother had been paralyzed since childhood, and her mother was disabled from polio, unable to do any manual labor. Xiaohe’s father was in good health but was torn between working to earn an income and caring for his disabled family members. Caught between a rock and a hard place, he could not take Xiaohe to and from school every day, so she stayed home instead.

After learning about Xiaohe’s hardship, World Vision intervened to help, first by donating a wheelchair so Xiaohe could become mobile. “My wheelchair is small enough that I can move around easily using only my hands. My brother and I take turns using it,” explains Xiaohe excitedly. Seeing how much Xiaohe enjoys handicrafts, a World Vision social worker gave her colorful threads and a wooden frame to start learning cross stich embroidery. After a while, Xiaohe joined a handicraft training program especially for the disabled and made rapid progress.

Xiaohe is thrilled to be learning skills she can use to make a living. “Before, I would only sit on my bed all day and do nothing,” she says. “Now I can embroider from my wheelchair. When I sell these cross stitches, I earn enough money to support myself with some left over for savings.”

DYK: One in five women will suffer from a disability in their lifetime, and one in ten minors are disabled. People with disabilities have been amongst the hardest hit by the COVID-19 epidemic. Since 1996, World Vision has been helping special needs children in Guangxi, Tianjin, Jilin, Ningxia and Gansu province in cooperation with local partners.