Zhou Siyuan has always been unwilling to read the classics "Gulliver's Travels" and "The Lord of the Rings", as being a dwarf in reality is far from the romantic notions of those books.
Zhou, a 16-year-old teenager finishing junior middle school in Xixian county in central China's Henan province, is only 115 cm tall and looks like a primary school boy.
"The boy stopped growing taller when he was seven. Our fellow villagers nicknamed him 'Midget Melon' and thought he was good for nothing. Few of them were willing to talk to him, though he was actually a good student,"Zhou's mother, Song Wei, said, on the verge of tears.
But she became happier when she said Friday her son had grown nearly 10 cm taller during the past year, after receiving injections of growth hormone. Zhou, together with four other dwarfs, had been provided with the medication free of charge for six months.
Lack of growth hormone often causes dwarfism.
"The most important things are my son has become optimistic and more willing to communicate with others," Song Wei said.
Zhou's growth during the past year was brought about in a program called Red Cross Angels, sponsored jointly by the Chinese Red Cross Foundation and Changchun Gensci Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. based in Changchun, capital of northeastern China's Jilin province.
Initiated in 2008, the program targets dwarfs in poverty-stricken areas of the Chinese mainland and will provide appropriate medical care valued at 5 million yuan (732,064 U.S. dollars) for 200 teenage dwarfs over five years.
During the past year, 80 youngsters from more than 20 provinces, autonomous regions and cities throughout China have benefited from the program.
Zhou Kuiqing, deputy head of medical aid department of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation, said dwarfs, who have been discriminated or ignored in Chinese society, should receive more love and care from people. Commercial firms and organizations are encouraged to contribute financially to their care.
