Chen Shaoli: pursuing a career despite leg paralysis

Chen Shaoli's legs were paralyzed after contracting polio, taking from her the ability to walk. Her disability makes her experience significant ups and downs, but this doesn't stop her thirst for knowledge, nor traveling. She learned of the Guangzhou English Training Centre for the Disabled at Guangzhou RTVU’s Haizhu Campus by accident. She heard that the university would refer graduates to a job and decided to take the university’s entrance exam. She told her family about it and, at the beginning, everyone opposed her idea because they thought Guangzhou was too far away from her home. But she is stubborn. Once she makes a decision, no one can stop her. Unfortunately, she was turned down by the school, as this special school requires that students be able to take care of themselves and manage their daily life. The tutors at the university said to her, "Even using a crutch to walk, as long as you can stand up by yourself, our school will welcome you at any time." In order to realize her dream to go to university, she decided to seek treatment, hoping that she would be able to stand. At last, she managed to stand, although relying on a crutch. In the summer of 2008, she returned to the training centre. This time, she was finally accepted to the school. After entering the university, she wanted to try everything that she had never done before. She interviewed for the school’s radio station, DV team, and news team. Fortunately, she was accepted by all of them.
In February 2012, she finally found a job in client services and photo editing at a women's fashion and clothing wholesale shop in Guangzhou. But the job was not her long-term dream job. In December 2012, she joined the Guangzhou Branch of Shanghai Shangri-la Hotel Management Co., LTD. as a client sales representative and has been working there since. Over the past three years, she has worked hard and striven to improve her professional knowledge. Due to her excellent work performance, she gained the trust of company leadership as well as coworkers, and was selected as one of the trainees for directors’ training. This is who she is. Her favorite motto is "Everything is possible."

                            Liu Haigang: working at the Disabled Persons' Federation to serve the people

In 1997, with a level-4 physical disability, Liu Haigang, through amazing perseverance, overcame various difficulties to be admitted to the Management Cadre Institute under the Ministry of Civil Affairs . During his time at the university, he studied hard and achieved great results. He has strong organizational skills, and was recommended to work as an intern at the China Disabled Persons' Federation. In order to gain more knowledge, he registered at the Open University of China’s Zhoukou School for the Disabled. He currently works at the Henan Shenqiu Disabled Persons' Federation.

At work, he treats every disabled visitor with sincerity and honesty, helping resolve their problems. He also goes to the countryside to visit every disabled person’s home, helping resolve their daily life issues. In recent years, Liu has received and processed thousands of petition letters. For example, one of his visitors, Mr. Du, who suffered severe disabilities in his legs, provided for his family by repairing shoes. But a few years ago, due to rheumatoid arthritis, his hands suffered from deformities, making him unable to repair shoes. Since then, his life took a turn for the worse. His wife could not endure the hardship, and deserted him and their two young children. The sudden blow put him on the verge of suicide. He called Liu Haigang and cried. Liu Haigang came to him and brought him RMB 500. He comforted him with great patience, making him give up the notion of suicide, and helped him regain courage- such cases are numerous. In his spare time, Liu Haigang actively engages in grassroots support, investigating the situation of disabled persons, getting to know their ideas and needs, actively communicating with relevant departments, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of persons with disabilities, and exploring departmental policies. While serving the public, he sought more preferential policies for disabled people. He has published many articles, such as Hard Journey - For the Undertakings of the Disabled, Discussions on Social Work for the Disabled, Speed Up Undertakings for the Disabled and Promote Harmonious Development of the New Countryside. He has also been selected as to join the talent pool of the Henan Disabled Persons' Federation.