After the start of the previous semester, during their spare time from classes, the two girls continued to work part-time jobs and packaged toothpicks for people at home with their mother, earning only 5 cents per package.
"Originally, I was really at my wit's end. Thank you to all the kind-hearted people who have helped me!" Lin Shunde told reporters that he was often moved to speechlessness by seeing many netizens donating 2 yuan, 5 yuan, or 50 yuan on his fundraising homepage on Sina Weibo.
Lin Shunde's home is in Qiaozili Village, Longdu Town, Chenghai District, Shantou. In October last year, his wife Huang Kaizhi suddenly felt unwell, and by the end of December, she was diagnosed with uremia. For the Lin family, which relies on farming for a living, this news was like a bolt from the blue.
After verifying Lin Shunde's account, as of yesterday, Lin Shunde had received approximately 24,000 yuan in charitable donations.
The two daughters of the Lin family earn only 5 cents per package when packaging toothpicks.
Our official Weibo account forwarded the message, and Guangzhou volunteers visited the home.
Lin Shunde's wife suffers from uremia, and the family has borrowed 200,000 yuan.
In order to help his mother with her treatment, starting from last winter vacation, Lin Shunde's 12-year-old and 14-year-old daughters worked at a toy factory in Chenghai. They often worked from 9 am until 10 pm, and since they were paid by piecework, the little girls had to label toys as quickly as possible. Sometimes, they even worked overtime until 1 am. During the one-month winter vacation, the elder daughter labeled 6,000 tags, barely earning 600 yuan, which wasn't even enough for one dialysis session for her mother.
"After our reporter verified the information, please spread love and help Huang Kaizhi, who suffers from uremia." On December 7, Southern Daily's Tencent Weibo account forwarded the post, and within just two days, the information was retweeted 322 times. Many netizens shared, commented, and quietly sent donations to Lin Shunde.
With no other options, Lin Shunde turned to Southern Daily reporters for help, and the reporter immediately posted a Weibo update.
After learning about the situation through the reporter's Weibo post, the Guangdong Public Welfare Foundation for Assistance to Orphans and Students promptly dispatched Guangzhou volunteers to verify the situation at Lin Shunde's home in Chenghai and donated 20,000 yuan for medical treatment yesterday.
"In my spare time during the off-season of farming, I set up a small house next to our house to cut hair for the villagers, charging 6 yuan for adults and 4 yuan for children, earning at most 30-40 yuan a day. Our relatives are all farmers, and when my wife got this disease, we were all at a loss," Lin Shunde said. At first, when the villagers saw how serious Huang Kaizhi's condition was, they proposed raising funds, but Lin Shunde declined out of consideration for the debts he already owed to relatives, fearing he wouldn't be able to repay them.
After detailed inquiries by the leadership of the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, it was decided that the Guangdong Overseas Chinese Heart Charity Foundation would provide a total of 6,000 yuan in scholarships for Lin's two daughters, distributed by the Guangdong Public Welfare Foundation for Assistance to Orphans and Students through the "Treasure Plan" project.
"Let me tell you some good news. I've just received a donation of 20,000 yuan! My wife's dialysis expenses for the next six months are finally covered!" The person who called the reporter was named Lin Shunde, a follower of Southern Daily's Weibo account who may not be unfamiliar to readers. Recently, through the Weibo posts of Southern Daily reporters, the heart-wrenching story of the Lin family caught the attention of netizens. After nearly half a month of spreading love, as of yesterday, Lin Shunde, whose wife unfortunately suffered from uremia, had raised a total of 30,000 yuan, temporarily solving an urgent need.
"The current amount is still a drop in the bucket compared to the treatment costs. I hope more people can help him," according to the research report of the Guangdong Public Welfare Foundation for Assistance to Orphans and Students. Currently, Lin Shunde still owes about 200,000 yuan, and the treatment costs after six months are still unresolved. The organization's project director Liang Dongbin appeals to the public for help (Lin Shunde's mobile phone number: 15815326895).
Hopeful for collective assistance, aid continues.
For a year, due to seeking medical treatment everywhere, the Lin family has borrowed over 200,000 yuan from relatives and friends, and the weekly two to three dialysis sessions continue to put pressure on the family. Dr. Xiao Zaixiong, a nephrologist at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College and Huang Kaizhi's attending physician, stated that including medication fees, such conservative treatment requires at least 5,000 to 10,000 yuan per month. After deducting the reimbursement portion from rural cooperative medical insurance, the average monthly burden is 5,000 yuan. Although Lin Shunde knows that kidney transplantation is the best solution, he doesn't dare to even consider it.
Tagging 6,000 labels, barely earning 600 yuan.
Southern Daily reporter Lin Xuna