Despite the scarcity of institutions caring for disabled children in China, there is one education center that offers free learning and lodging for visually impaired children. Mengjie School for the Blind is home to sightless kids from the country's rural areas that help these kids to live a normal life and be part of the society.
"I am determined and confident that I can provide blind people with the skills they need to enter society," My Mengie, who founded the Mengjie School for the Blind in 1999, said, per Al Jazeera. "They don't need to be thought of as a burden, and indeed they can become the pillars of the family."
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there are 75 million visually impaired people in China, about 8 million of whom are completely blind. Most schools located outside the major urban centers in China's east coast are not well-equipped to provide the blind students' needs. They, too, attend special schools that isolate them from society.
In rural areas, on the other hand, there is a lack of equipment that can help visually impaired children to learn. So, some of them end up staying at home with "little to no schooling" at all.
Mu decided to build Mengjie School for the Blind to give blind children free education and accommodation to help them prepare for life. "When I told my family I wanted to start the school, they wouldn't support me," he told the South China Morning Post.
Mu explained that he didn't want to earn any money by helping the students. He just wanted them to learn and live independently for free. His decision surprised his family, questioning his means to provide and support the school. Inspired by the hardships he had been through, he still built Mengjie School for the Blind to be the haven of unsighted kids to protect them from the pain he had experienced.
Private schools for visually impaired people in China are scarce. There are few public schools that cater to their needs, but can only accept a limited number of students. It is also often located in urban areas, making it hard for kids from rural regions to travel.
Mu admitted that they have a hard time to find funding and resources for the school. Although the government helps, it is still not enough.
But despite the struggles, 300 students successfully graduated from Mengjie School for the Blind since it opened. Mu proudly said that some of them even got married and had a job.
Young students receive primary education, and almost all of them will undergo vocational training. Adult classes, on the other hand, will have massage classes. Becoming a masseur can help visually impaired students to be financially and socially independent that will help them live on their own.
