The provincial government of Shanxi,
in north central China, plans to launch ten projects this year to
benefit disabled people. Some 1.4 million, or 4 percent of the
province’s population, are handicapped in some form, according to
the Shanxi civil affairs department; and 60 percent of them live
below the poverty line.
The ten projects were decided at a recent meeting of the
Coordination Committee for Disabled Affairs of Shanxi Province,
sponsored by the provincial government.
The province will use several methods of raising funds to
provide financial and other assistance. It will encourage citizens
to get involved through the Heart-of-Gold Project, which will
accept donations to help the disabled. Stepped-up publicity
campaigns, organized Help the Disabled Day activities and a photo
exhibition entitled Song of Love and Care will also help to get the
public involved.
Meanwhile, the provincial government will appropriate funds from
the public welfare fund lottery to provide aid to those who are in
the direst financial straits, providing training and rehabilitation
as well as other support.
The province also plans to allocate 2 million yuan (US$242,000),
together with special funds contributed by the central government,
to renovate the houses of 800 rural families whose households
include handicapped members.
Employment security pension contributions of disabled people who
are working in public institutions will be waived to bolster the
take-home pay of these workers.
Merely providing handouts is not enough: rehabilitation,
training and employment are needed to help the disabled truly
escape poverty. To this end, construction will begin on a
provincial-level, 1,300-square-comprehensive rehabilitation
center.
Five million yuan (US$634,000) will be raised to help the
handicapped in rural areas to develop local agriculture and animal
husbandry industries, including processing downstream products.
Several types of special loans will be made available to provide a
kick-start for those who are in need.
Various methods will be used to create jobs for some 7,000
others, such as implementing hiring quotas and offering training to
those who are capable of operating their own small businesses.
Other assistance includes offering cataract surgery to 13,000
patients and providing vision aids to another 1,000 sight-impaired
people. Rehabilitation training will be given to 1,000 physically
and mentally handicapped children, and 443 hearing-impaired kids
will receive language training.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, March 25, 2004)