He is not tall, has a black and red face, and always likes to squint and cover his mouth before speaking, and laugh a few times. Chen Yuwen, a teacher at Fuyangying Primary School in Jiangwu Town, Cixian County, gave people a first impression of being shy and smiling, no different from an ordinary peasant woman. However, there is an extraordinary story behind this ordinary.
Fifteen years ago, Chen Yuwen's heart was deeply touched by the ups and downs of an orphan, and she has since embarked on the road of helping left-behind and disadvantaged children.
Over the past 15 years, she has built a bridge of love between society and family, carried out "one-to-one" assistance, and cared for 188 left-behind and disadvantaged children to thrive.
Nowadays, many of Chen Yuwen's "children" have grown up one after another and began to contribute to society, and her deeds have also ignited the love of more people......
Beginning as a "loving surrogate mother"
On the afternoon of May 8, in a small farm yard in Fuyangying Village, Cixian County, more than 10 children were sliding slides, shooting balls, and throwing sandbags, having a great time. "If you're thirsty, let's eat fruit!" With Chen Yuwen's call, the children gathered around her, scrambling to shout "Mom".
This is the home of Chen Yuwen, one of the top ten touching figures of the 6th National Women's Volunteer Service, and it is also the "love hut" of Fuyang Ying Village. "These children come from the surrounding villages, some of their parents are deceased, some of their parents are working outside the home, and they usually live with their grandparents or grandparents." 59-year-old Chen Yuwen said, "These children will face a lot of difficulties in growing up, and as a 'loving surrogate mother', I want to make up for their missing maternal love." ”
In 2009, the Cixian Women's Federation carried out the work of "loving surrogate mothers" to help left-behind and disadvantaged children, and Chen Yuwen, a local teacher, was the first to sign up. "I have a lot of teaching tasks, but when I think of children who don't have the love of their parents, as a mother, I really want to do something for them." Chen Yuwen said.
According to the introduction of the Women's Federation of Ci County, Chen Yuwen met her first "child" - Lingling, an orphan who has lived with her grandmother for a long time. During the busy farming season, Lingling's grandmother didn't have time to take care of her, so Chen Yuwen took Xiao Lingling to live with her. Almost every day, Chen Yuwen made breakfast early in the morning before asking Lingling to get up, and also washed her clothes and picked her up and dropped her off at school; Take Lingling to the park and shopping mall on weekends to buy beautiful clothes......
Holding hands again and again, admonishing each other, and encouraging one after another...... Lingling grew up slowly under Chen Yuwen's careful care. On September 16 of that year, Lingling came back from school, quietly took out a straw ring from her schoolbag, and said happily: "Mom, I wish you a happy birthday!" ”
What does it mean for a teenager to remember the birthday of someone who is not a relative? Chen Yuwen is white, this is the child's recognition of her, and the "mother" is a call from the heart, which contains endless love, gratitude, dependence and trust.
Building a "home" for 188 children
Starting with Lingling, Chen Yuwen has rescued more and more children. In order to give them a place to have activities, in 2011, with the help of the Cixian Women's Federation and caring people, she renovated and renovated 5 rooms of her home and created the first "love hut" in our city.
Neat bed sheets, warm bedding, comfortable sofas, popular science and story books are placed in the cabinet, and cartoon pictures such as learning pinyin and reading Chinese characters are pasted on the walls...... In this cozy hut, Chen Yuwen provides study guidance and life care for the rescued children every day, day after day, year after year.
During the on-site interview, the reporter met Xiao Qiang, a first-grade student at Fuyangying Primary School in Jiangwu Town. chatted and learned that Xiaoqiang's parents are working in other places and rarely go home to accompany him. When he first went to school, Xiaoqiang was sensitive and stubborn, and often had conflicts with his classmates.
"Since I came to the cottage in September last year, Mr. Chen has tutored me with my homework every day, and on weekends he will cook fragrant big pot dishes or wrap a pot of delicious dumplings......" Xiaoqiang said, with "Chen's mother" in the company of him becoming a love of talking, laughing and singing, and everyone calls him "Sunshine Big Boy".
Over the years, Chen Yuwen has collected clues on left-behind and disadvantaged children from women's federations at all levels, civil affairs and education departments, as well as primary and secondary schools, and then visited households and carefully sorted out to find children who really need help.
"In this hut, I have rescued 188 children in a row, especially the first group of children, who have gone on to university or work. For example, Lingling, after graduating from university, worked in a large hospital in Shijiazhuang, often treating patients with financial difficulties for free; Congcong, who was admitted to a university in Heilongjiang, is determined to learn the skills to overcome cancer,......" Chen Yuwen said with emotion, "I often compare these children to small saplings that are 'crooked' by the wind, as long as I help them and take care of them with my heart, they can grow into towering trees." ”
Love drives the warmth of a city
Over the years, Chen Yuwen has devoted himself to the career of "loving surrogate mother", and he can't say that he has no guilt for his family. The family contracted a cherry orchard covering an area of more than 10 acres, and the husband took care of it silently, never bothering his wife to help.
After graduating from university, his son Chen Beibei worked in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and every time he went home to visit relatives, he would help help the left-behind children with their homework. "I feel very distressed that there are more and more gray hairs on my mother's head, and when she can't run, I will take this baton." Chen Beibei said solemnly.
There were also 4 volunteers at the scene, who were busy taking care of the children with Chen Yuwen. "Teacher Chen has to teach and take care of so many children, which is very hard. When I heard about this, I took the initiative to come over to help cook and sweep the floor and take care of the children. Kong Xiangqin, a villager of Fuyangying Village and a "loving surrogate mother", said.
Nowadays, more and more people are gathering around Chen Yuwen. Among them, there are not only the students she has taught, but also villager volunteers, school teachers and caring entrepreneurs. In addition to volunteering at the "Love House", they often deliver books, stationery and clothes.
"Under the influence of Teacher Chen, our city has recruited more than 2,000 'loving surrogate mothers'." Zhang Aijun, chairman of the Municipal Women's Federation, said that the pairing assistance and care work of left-behind and difficult children in Handan needs to be further deepened and expanded, and hopes that more people will follow Chen Yuwen and use practical actions to be a good guide for the growth of such children, a guardian of rights and interests, and a dream builder for the future.
(At the request of the interviewee, Lingling, Xiaoqiang, and Congcong are pseudonyms in the article)
Handan News Media Center reporter Liu Kun, Huang Tao, Zhang Yingying