Editor's note: Changsha is a city of light, and Changsha has a group of people who chase light. There are 150,000 licensed disabled people in Changsha, who are unable to hear, speak, see, or physically handic... But under the care of this city of light, they have composed a song of life with self-improvement. Those who strive to chase the light will finally shine! Red Network Changsha Station specially launched a special report "Star City Chasers", focusing on 38 inspirational disabled characters, to see how they become light chasers, and illuminate the way forward, becoming a light in the hearts of others.
Red Network Moment News trainee reporter Wang Rong Correspondent Zhang Huan reported from Changsha
Intellectual retardation, developmental delays, special appearance... This is a symptom often accompanied by pediatric patients with Down syndrome, and a "Down Verdict" in the hospital can make families who have not yet escaped from the joy of becoming parents fall to hell in an instant. Li Xiufang is also one of the thousands of parents of "Tang Baobao".
At the end of 2014, Li Xiufang and six other parents of "Tang Baobao" "huddled to warm up", and the "Tang Guo Home" was born to help the "Tang Baobao" family, and so far, "Tang Guo Home" has helped more than 800 families.
Be the pioneer of "Tang's public welfare"
In 2002, Li Xiufang's first child was born, and before she could enjoy the joy of being a new mother, she was poured cold water on the doctor's "judgment" - her child was a "Tang baby".
"I really felt helpless and devastated, and I didn't dare to tell anyone." Li Xiufang recalled that the arrival of the child brought her not joy, but grief for a long time.
Li Xiufang knew that she could not give up on him when she brought her child into the world. She regained her strength and worked hard to learn the right way to care for her Down's child, hoping to help her live a better life. But even if the knowledge about Down syndrome is temporarily supplemented, it is inevitable that there are many detours.
The world came with pain, and Li Xiufang sang sang in return. In 2014, with the help of the Internet and friends, Li Xiufang met many parents of "Tang Baobao", and with their company and encouragement, Li Xiufang's heart knot was slowly untied. She also realized that there is currently no organization in Changsha that specializes in helping Tang children, but there are still so many "Tang baby" families in Changsha, how can their pain be comforted? Where should they go to study? Where to go for help?
At the end of 2014, with the help of the Yuelu District Disabled Persons' Federation, the District Women's Federation and the Xianjiahu Community of Xihu Subdistrict, Li Xiufang and her six parents of Tang children came to the Yuelu District Civil Affairs Bureau and registered and established Tang Guo Home, the first non-profit organization in Changsha that specializes in helping Tang children.
"Our original intention is to huddle and take the children out, so that parents can gain strength and the public will no longer be unfamiliar with this group."
In March 2018, with the approval of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Down's Syndrome Committee of the China Association of Intellectually Disabled Persons and Relatives and Friends was initiated, and Li Xiufang was elected as the deputy director of the Down's Syndrome Committee. In recent years, "Tangguo Home" has not only become a service-oriented organization in Hunan Province, but also radiated to central China, and is gradually growing into a cultivation and support platform for 15 parents with mental disabilities in central China.
800 families, 10,000 hours
Social integration, educational integration, career transition... Over time, "Tang Guo House" has developed more and more projects, and gradually attracted many parents who want to actively learn but are desperate, and the existence of this non-profit organization has lit a light on their dark way forward.
So far, Tangguo Home has helped more than 800 children with mental disabilities to get a new life.
"Every year on March 21, we organize a campaign about Down syndrome, which has been going on for nine years now." Li Xiufang said.
Every weekend, parents from different places will bring their children to the "Tang Guo House" to carry out activities such as "Bang Bang Tang" painting classes and roller skating groups, so that the children can learn and play independently, and parents can relax for a while. So far, the "Parent Respite Service" has recharged parents for nearly 10,000 hours.
"It has not been easy since the establishment of 'Tangguo House', but seeing that so many children have been improved and so many families have received respite, I feel that it is a meaningful thing."
Let the "Tang Baobao" group enter the society
Li Xiufang has always believed that for patients with mental disabilities such as "Tang Baobao", social integration is the most important.
In March 2022, in Yuehua Road, Yuelu District, a special café opened. The café is called "Tangguo Cafe" and is open for the social integration of people with mental disabilities.
"Since opening, we have accepted more than a dozen adult people with mental disabilities for internship and training, and basically everyone can complete a drink on their own, and the store can be well organized." Li Xiufang said.
According to Li Xiufang, the current environment is much better than before, but the difficulty of going to school and finding employment is still a problem that entangles these people with mental disabilities, and one of the reasons is that society lacks care and understanding of this group.
When people with mental disabilities are confronted, they tend to look at them with sympathy, but they don't know what they really need. "Tang Guo Cafe" is like a window of social interaction, through which we can see that they not only have the ability to work, but also work hard to live.
In August this year, Li Xiufang led several mentally disabled patients from the "Tangguo Home" to intern at a good company. "They proved to be focused, attentive and up to the job."
"Now society and families are paying more and more attention to prenatal diagnosis, so the birth rate of babies with Down syndrome is definitely declining, and the number of families who have come to us for help in recent years is decreasing, but this is a happy thing." Li Xiufang said.
The road to educational integration and social integration of patients with mental disabilities is a long way to go, which is also what Li Xiufang will continue to insist on next, she is the mother of a "Tang baby" and the "mother" of hundreds of people with mental disabilities in the "Tang Guo Home".