"Xinlu" village, Sichuan Province in Southwest of China- Two physical disabled people in one family. They are a couple with a daughter. When He Yinfu married with his physical disabled wife, he has no disability. He is illiterate and very poor, but as the breadwinner he worked hard and became one of the hundreds and thousands of migrant workers to work outside for years.
In 2005, a truck crushed his left arm following the source of income in the three-member family disappearing. “I only want to kill myself at that time.” he looked at his wife and said.
A car accident completely changed her life. She is unable to speak and half of her body has no conscious.
His wife's eyes were unfocused as if she were staring inside at the memories of the old days. Her name is Song Qinli who used to work in the newspaper in Xi'an.
"She was in state of coma for a long time. The doctor told me she couldn't come back to life at that time. I spent almost all my savings for her treatment. She lost the ability to work."said her father. " "Her left-front skull was squashed and we don't have money to repair it." he pointed her head to add.
With the rapid development of economy in China, a large number of poor, handicapped people in rural areas have been left behind.
People with disabilities from rural areas face great challenges to get rid of poverty. According to the new rural poverty standard in 2011, there are about 25 million impoverished rural disabled people in China, accounting for one fifth of the rural poor population. The difficulties of employment become main barriers for working-age rural disabled people to get rid of poverty.
This ordinary rural family became more impoverished because of disability. This disabled family present a group who have physical disabilities from rural areas. They want to get rid of poverty and live a better life, but they are disadvantaged and lack social support.
Song's father stressed that before her daughter had the car accident, she was the hope of his family because she is the most educated person in the family. He added that Song and her husband couldn't rely on him forever because he is getting old and he also has diabetes. Thus, finding a job is the last straw for the couple to survive.
"For rural poverty-stricken people with disabilities, their employability plays decisive role in getting rid of poverty and improving their living conditions. The key to helping rural people with disabilities improve their employability is to provide employment assistance. Government assistance focuses on towns and cities and rarely extends to rural areas." Wang Sanxiu, a Professor from School of Social Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, wrote on the first issue of Qinghai Social Science, Responding to the Difficulty of Employment Ability and Employment Assistance for the Rural Disabled people.
From this chart, it can be seen that the majority of disabled people in rural areas in China find jobs through acquaintances. Employment Service Agencies for rural disabled people provide little help. At present, the government attaches great importance to relief and ignore service. The functions of rural grass-roots institutions are incomplete and they cannot meet the needs of the disabled for employment and entrepreneurship. In addition, various organizations and Agencies neglected individual and technical differences in the employment assistance work for disabled persons in rural areas.
"Luckily, the friend of my father in law helped me find a job in the local kimchi factory, Ji Xiangjv. At beginning, my wife followed me to work. Now, she also as a worker to cut pepper in the factory." He expressed.
"I don't know how to increase income to afford my daughter's school expense and make our life better." he smiled. He also pointed he and his wife couldn't take care of their daughter like other parents in all aspects. He nearly never bought a cloth to her and her clothes are from relatives and friends. He told her she can’t eat snacks because that’s her tuition.
"My land is used to plant some eucalyptus. We don't have ability to manage it. In the future, I want to raise pigs to increase income, but I don't have money." He Yinfu said.
Their house in "Xinlu" village was burnt by He's mother who suffered mental illness. He expressed that he wanted to change the situation and get rid of poverty, but he is illiterate and has limited ability.
The kimchi factory employer manager Li pointed the factory has a few people with physical disabilities from city become managers. So one of the main challenges for rural physical disabled people is that they have lower education level.
"Indeed, their situation is different from other rural people with intellectual disability and mental disability because they should have ability to become better."the local CDPF chairman Wang Yan said. Wang also expressed they can't rely on the low-wage and subsistence allowance to get rid of poverty and become better off. It is necessary for the government to provide employment assistance based on the employment capacity of persons with disabilities. However, there is no specific policy to deal with their problems.
According to the sample survey data of the National Bureau of Statistics in 2006, the illiteracy rate of persons with disabilities above the age of 15 is about 44%. Among them, the ratio of illiterate people in rural areas is as high as 50.86%.The Outline of Poverty Alleviation and Development for the Disabled people in Rural Areas（2011-2020）has formulated a series of plans to address poverty-stricken rural areas including rural practical technology training, dangerous house renovation etc. However, the development of rural economy is relatively backward, so the development of rural social organizations and other disability aid organizations is still vacant. It is difficult to provide financial and technical support and other related employment services for rural disabled persons. Therefore, the improvement of the rural disabled assistance system should achieve equal opportunities for urban and rural disabled people. On the other hand, strengthening the construction of a Special Education System for the disabled in the rural areas also necessary.
There are differences in the types of disability, personal abilities, family situations and social resources. If the assistance is carried out according to uniform standards, it will cause inequality. It is necessary for governments and non-governmental organizations to formulate separate assistance policies and achieve refined assistance.
He Yinfu and her wife never pay attention to the support policy about the rural disabled people. They don't know how to get connect with relevant organizations and Service agencies for people with disability in rural areas.
"From social perspective, society lacks correct recognition of people with disabilities. Disabled people themselves also cannot face their own advantages. Rural disabled people have weak awareness of their own rights. It's necessary for government to improve the anti-discrimination law." said the local CDPF chairman Wang Yan.
At present, it is still a long way to go for people with disabilities in rural areas. The government should pay more attention to the living conditions of each specific disabled person. In the employment of disabled persons in rural areas, the government should introduce more policies to solve specific problems including increasing investment in education, poverty alleviation in the industry and providing technical guidance for planting.
