Not wealthy Yang Zhihua has persisted in donating money. After retiring from the army, Yang Zhihua, a disabled soldier from Linzhou City, donated 250,000 yuan over ten years to support 21 impoverished students. Currently, the students he has helped have found jobs and continue his legacy of kindness by sponsoring 69 underprivileged students.
Reading Prompt:
Yang Zhihua is 34 years old this year. In 1996, Yang Zhihua served in Huaihua City, Hunan Province. In mid-August 1997, while participating in flood control and rescue operations in Harbin City, he suffered serious head injuries, lost his left eye's vision, and was classified as having a Grade Seven disability. Despite not being wealthy and filled with love, he earned money through working to help others, even donating his annual disability pension. Over the past decade, he has sponsored 21 impoverished students, with a total donation amounting to 250,000 yuan.
A surge of love:
The sorrowful tears of a young mother on a train prompted him to embark on an unstoppable path of donations. Since then, whether on business trips or during travels, all became opportunities for him to sponsor education.
In September 2001, Yang Zhihua returned to his unit to handle affairs. On a train in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, he noticed a woman sitting opposite him crying continuously. Upon inquiry, Yang Zhihua learned that the woman's husband had just passed away due to poisoning, leaving her with two children, and her son had dropped out of school after completing the first year of junior high school due to poverty.
Yang Zhihua decided to help the woman's son return to school. He visited her home in Zhaiya Village, Pukou Township, Jingzhou County, Hunan Province, where he met her son Ma Weiping. Before leaving, he gave them 2,100 yuan and instructed Ma Weiping to definitely return to school. Ma Weiping followed his advice, studied hard after returning to school, and successfully entered Huaihua Normal School after junior high school. After graduating from the normal school, he became a teacher locally. To help Ma Weiping attend school, Yang Zhihua sent him money every month until Ma Weiping graduated from the normal school, totaling 27,360 yuan. Ma Weiping was Yang Zhihua's first sponsored student.
On March 5, 2004, Yang Zhihua went to Harbin City on official business. While checking his health at a hospital, he encountered Ma Yingchun, a teenager from Yichun City who was about to drop out of school because his father needed medical treatment. He immediately gave 10,000 yuan to Ma Yingchun's parents, repeatedly emphasizing that the money was to help Ma Yingchun continue his studies. After returning to Linzhou, Yang Zhihua sent another 8,000 yuan to Ma Yingchun's family on March 19th to pay for Ma Yingchun's father's medical expenses. Afterwards, Yang Zhihua sent money to Ma Yingchun every one or two months until Ma Yingchun graduated from university, totaling 81,300 yuan.
Ma Yingchun and Ma Weiping are not the only students Yang Zhihua has sponsored. Over the past ten years, he has sponsored a total of 21 impoverished students, with a total sponsorship amount reaching 250,000 yuan.
Continuation of Love:
The first month's salary of the assisted student was sent to their benefactor, but after the remittance was returned, the person who received assistance also began to help others. So far, the students he has helped have already sponsored 69 students after finding employment.
"Uncle Yang, your 80,000 yuan sponsorship allowed me to reach the forefront of society. I don't know how much hardship you endured for me. I will follow the path you have walked." On August 31st of this year, Ma Yingchun from Yichun City, who was once assisted, sent such a message to Yang Zhihua.
After graduating from university, Ma Yingchun found a job at a medical equipment factory in Nanjing. After receiving his first month's salary of 3,700 yuan, he immediately sent it to Yang Zhihua. Yang Zhihua returned the money to Ma Yingchun and called him saying, "I don't ask for your repayment. If your life is manageable, you can also help other impoverished students." Later, Ma Yingchun sponsored four impoverished students in Yunnan Province.
Liu Yulian from Beijing, after receiving her first month's salary at an art school, cried while calling Yang Zhihua, saying, "Uncle Yang, my parents gave me life, but it is you who gave me sunshine and love. I also want to help others like you do." The next month, she began sponsoring a disabled girl in Huairou District, giving her 200 yuan monthly. By the seventh month, she started sponsoring another student who had lost his father, giving her 200 yuan monthly.
Li Gang from Bajiwu Steel Plant in She County, Hebei Province, was also a student sponsored by Yang Zhihua. Although his initial monthly salary after graduation was only 940 yuan, he still took out 220 yuan monthly to sponsor an impoverished student.
So far, the students he has helped have already sponsored 69 students after finding employment. And the number continues to increase...
Love's Sacrifice:
With elderly parents above and young children below, relying on income from odd jobs to help others, wearing the same shirt for seven years, and even donating more than 7,000 yuan of his annual disability pension, Yang Zhihua currently owes 80,000 yuan in external debt.
So, where does Yang Zhihua's generous donations come from? Yesterday, the reporter visited Yang Zhihua's home. Nestled among lush trees, it is a simple farmhouse with red tiles and bricks, three rooms upstairs and downstairs each. As soon as we entered, we saw Yang Zhihua planting vegetables in the yard. Entering the living room, we found almost no furniture, just two beds and a few chairs. There was no television, only a standing electric fan. However, the house was very clean.
The village branch secretary of Yang Zhihua's hometown, Yuan Zhangsheng, said that after retiring from the army, Yang Zhihua worked in enterprises in Dingjiao Village, Yaocun Town, and later worked for others, successively serving as a laborer, machinist, and fitter, with average economic income.
Yang Zhihua's father is 65 years old, in poor health, suffering from cerebral hemorrhage, and only stopped working in May this year after surgery. His mother is also over 60 and still works on construction sites in town. His wife works in insurance marketing at an insurance company in Linzhou City, and they have a daughter in school. Their family's financial situation is not affluent.
Under these family conditions, if he did not help others or donate money, logically, his parents would not need to work and could enjoy their retirement. But to help impoverished students, Yang Zhihua has practically given everything he has, even donating his annual disability pension of more than 7,000 yuan. To save money, their family leads an extremely frugal life; a red shirt Yang Zhihua wore for seven years is still in use, and he currently owes 80,000 yuan to his comrades-in-arms.
Unending Love:
Donated 50,000 yuan to a school in Wenchuan, and plans to carry out other charitable activities in the future.
Yang Zhihua is not only enthusiastic about helping students but also dedicated to charity.
After the devastating earthquake struck Wenchuan in 2008, the shocking images and heart-wrenching days moved Yang Zhihua to tears multiple times in front of the TV. He decided to take action, using love to comfort the pain of the disaster-stricken compatriots and encourage them to move forward, especially the children growing up.
On June 17th of that year, he directly remitted 14,150 yuan to Yingxiu Second Middle School in Wenchuan County through the Linzhou Post Office. In early August 2008, he directly sent another 31,000 yuan to the school. On September 4th, 2008, he remitted another 4,000 yuan to the school through the post office. Driven by responsibility, his love surged, and he kept donating, accumulating a total of 50,000 yuan in donations to the earthquake-stricken area.
When talking about his future plans, Yang Zhihua revealed his intentions: he also plans to conduct the following charitable activities: before the Double Ninth Festival, spend 7,000 yuan to distribute rice or cooking oil to 65 elders in his hometown of Shuihe Village, allowing them to have a meal of meat and rice; identify 10 to 15 impoverished students in impoverished areas for sponsorship; sponsor a junior high school student in Qiyangcheng Village, Linqi Town, Linzhou City, who needs surgery due to injury...