“Everybody look this way, okay, click! The camera shutter was pressed.” On May 5, the first "Sunshine Class" of 52 students graduated in front of the gate of Guangxi RTVU. When I approached this special group of students, I could appreciate how different their college lives were from the rest — how difficult and yet how brimming with optimism and confidence.
In the autumn of 2009, with the active help of China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF) at multiple levels, Guangxi RTVU established the first open associate degree class for disabled persons. The two programmes available are social work and digital media design and production, and most of the tuition cost is financed by the government. With CDPF's strong support and the suitable study environment provided by Guangxi RTVU, disabled persons can enjoy a warm atmosphere and increase their independence and confidence in study.
“You are my eyes and I am your walking stick.”
After attending the graduation ceremony on the morning of May 5, Song Duohe, a student with a disability in his right leg, shifted backward and put his right hand on Tao Jin's left shoulder. The two walked forward in step. When they needed to turn left, Song Duohe twisted his hand towards the left on Tao Jin’s shoulder. Tao Jin understood and turned left. “Watch out. Go downstairs,” Song Duohe reminded his friend more than one meter away from the steps.
Classmates for more than one year, Tao Jin and Song Duohe dubbed their special partnership, “You are my eyes and I am your walking stick”. In fact, many teachers and classmates were Tao Jin’s “eyes”. Every time class was dismissed, Tao Jin’s classmates voluntarily accompanied him back to his home.
48-year-old Tao Jin is the chairman of Guangxi Blind Persons' Association. He was born blind. When he became the first blind student for the “Sunshine Class” last autumn, he composed a unique song called “You Are My Eyes” with his teachers and classmates.
In class, since Tao Jin can hear but not see, the teacher will read aloud the contents of slides whenever using PPT courseware. When interpreting images in psychology class, the teacher will explain the image orally, helping Tao Jin indirectly "see" the image. When filling out forms, the teacher will read aloud the items on the form one at a time and then fill out the form according to Tao Jin’s choices.
“To be a leader for my hometown.” When Song Duohe limped towards me in a pair of old-fashioned sandals and spoke poor Mandarin, I had difficulty imagining him as a writer. Song is disabled due to polio, but through hard work became one of the first contracted writers in Nanning. “I have practical goals, because I want to be a leader in Nanning's Sanjiangkou community,” Song Duohe replied frankly. “Not only a cultural and thought leader, but also in an administrative sense.”
In 2009, Song Duohe began to study social work at Guangxi RTVU, and was delighted to find that the programme was of great help in turning his fairytale into reality. He hoped to use what he had learned in urban community management in the suburbs, and integrate medical treatment, assistance, education and birth control between urban and rural areas. His graduation thesis on the topic "Discussion on Community Social Management of Urban Areas of Nanning", received a school award for excellence.
Song Duohe explained that Sanjiangkou, his hometown, has beautiful scenery, a rich cultural heritage and great potential for tourism development. Culture is the soul of tourism. Thus, under the influence and guidance of experts and scholars, he collected legends and folk stories from the villages and back alleys of Sanjiangkou. His full-length novel, Broken Love, is full of descriptions of the scenery and traditions of Sanjiangkou.
A college dream
Many students in the “Sunshine Class” are limited in mobility due to their physical disabilities. However, no amount of difficulty can block the way forward in their pursuit of education.
White shirt, white pants, white shoes…, the all-white outfit formed a sharp contrast with the dark skin of Huang You. The amputation of his left arm seems not to have left any dark shadows on this man's strong face; in fact, he is quite serene and composed. He went from vagrant garbage scavenger to president of a company with its own brand. Huang You believes that “there is no such thing as a hopeless situation in this world.”
Huang You lost his left arm at the age of three. After experiencing hardships such as dropping out of school and being homeless, he struggled to change himself and finally established a company on his own. He works in inspiration training and became the “one-armed inspiration master”. He has now completed his college education from Guangxi RTVU.
Huang You came from a remote mountain village in Cenxi city. On his first day of school at the age of 7, his mother put a sweet potato in his pocket for lunch. However, he could not reach it. When he raised his hand, his clothes would go up as well. Amidst the jeering laughter of his classmates, Huang You cried and ran back home. He decided not to go to school any more. “My son, you are a disabled person. You have to study. I cannot support you for your whole life.” His mother’s words planted a university dream in Huang You’s heart.
In Huang You's third year of middle school, his father was injured and could no longer work. Huang You dropped out of school and, carrying only 15 RMB, went to Guangzhou to find work. He ate porridge during the day and slept on the street at night. He visited more than 30 factories, but none of them would accept him. In 2010, Huang You registered at the “Sunshine Class” of Guangxi RTVU. His university dream finally came true, but having left the classroom for more than 10 years and having skipped high school, the English class was totally Greek to him. Other than the 26 letters of the alphabet, he understood not a word. Huang You could only borrow notes from his classmates and study them over and over again. He also asked his employees for help when he could not understand.
“A disabled person can do whatever a healthy person can do,” Huang You said. He never treats himself as a disable person when it comes to work or study. He studies and works more than 15 hours per day and works at least 6.5 days per week. He also gave over 100 inspiration speeches in more than 30 cities and districts. “As long as I don't have a speech, I never miss class.”
Study hard to achieve outstanding results.
There is an abundance of talent in the “Sunshine Class”. Tan Jianyong, a police hero, Liu Weiwei, a Paralympic swimmer, Yu Xiangnan, the leader of the “Light of the South” art troupe, Li Guangbian, a model of personal strength, Mao Qiwen, silver medal swimmer at the 10th Atlanta Paralympics and the 11th Sydney Paralympics…
Liu Weiwei, who won multiple gold medals in swimming at the Guangxi Paralympics, is a shy boy who doesn’t speak much in front of strangers. When he finally received his university graduation certificate after taking supplementary examinations again and again, however, he shed tears because he would have to part with his good friends at the university.
23-year-old Liu Weiwei lost his right arm at the age of 5 when touching high voltage while playing. Writing thus became his worst headache. “After writing over 50 characters, the little finger of the left hand becomes numb,” Liu Weiwei said. Since he writes extremely slowly with his left hand, his foremost goal during examinations is to get to the end of the examination paper—a goal that has never been reached. Usually when he has finished one line, his classmates have completed one page. After he has painfully completed one page, the others have already handed in their papers.
After 7 hours of intense physical training, he drags his tired body onto the bus to attend class for two hours. It is very difficult. “I often fell asleep in class,” said Liu Weiwei. Many times, his teammates with aching backs would fall asleep while eating, no matter how noisy the surrounding was. Then, he would have to grit his teeth and go to class. Several times, he missed the bus stop because of falling asleep on the bus.
No pain, no gain. Liu Weiwei told me that because of long-term physical training, he could not even find the power button on a computer before going to college. To play computer games, he had to ask people around him to open the program for him. He also needed help to apply for a QQ account. After a few years of study at the RTVU, he now can use a computer skillfully with his left hand.
The “Sunshine Class” also has a large number of full-time community committee members, workplace staff and freelancers. They contribute to society at the workplace, receive professional training at the RTVU campus, and demonstrate their talent on the stage of life.