Girl brings toddler to school

Girl brings toddler to school

Unrelenting media attention has brought hope and also a lot of disturbance to a 10-year-old Chinese girl struggling through a difficult life.

Long Zhanghuan won widespread sympathy after a photo went online showing her carrying her two-year-old cousin to school.

Long and her five-year-old brother - from Haoyou village in Central China's Hunan province - have been living with their grandparents since their parents divorced five years ago.

Her father has custody but has not been home for three years.

The grandparents are raising eight of their grandchildren, all left behind by parents seeking jobs in other places.

Long's grandfather Long Wanting, 59, is suffering from a long-term illness and her 54-year-old grandmother's workload is too demanding.

Throughout the week, reporters from newspapers, magazines and TV from across the country have been flocking to her school, said Wu Yansheng - principal of Shanjiang Primary School.

"Initially I wanted more people to know about students in similar difficulties, but it quickly got too aggressive for the girl and I had to cancel further visits.

"She is too young and inexperienced to deal with such enormous media exposure. She broke down in tears after repeated interviews," he said.

Long's hardship as a left-behind child is very common in Fenghuang county, where 52.4% of the 46,207 primary and secondary school students are facing the same fate.

The children often take on the role of an adult at home, doing housework and taking care of smaller siblings, whom they sometimes bring to school to ease the burden on adults.

Although the media exposure has disrupted Long's normal life, it brought her unexpected help from philanthropists.

Last week, a charity group arrived and donated 30 pairs of shoes to kids in disadvantaged households, including Long.

According to the group, a philanthropist offered to donate 2,000 yuan (RM982) a month for five years to Long’s family so they could hire a helper and ease the children's burden.

Wanting was grateful for the offer and thanked the media for exposing their plight. - China Daily

Published Nov 6, 2011

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