Dubai: A blind man and a double amputee have overcome their disabilities and spent more than 10 years planting thousands of trees together in a small village in northeastern China.
Together, Jia Haixa and Jia Wenqi have created their unique way of working that has allowed them to transform a three-hectare stretch of barren riverbank into a growing forest, according to The People’s Daily.
In 2001, unable to secure work elsewhere due to their respective disabilities, the eco-warriors leased a large stretch of the river bank from the local government in a bid to plant trees for future generations. The pair also hoped to earn a modest income from their work from government funding and help protect their village from flooding in the process.
The two went to school together as children in the small village of Yeli, according to the BBC.
The elder of the two, Haixia, 54, was born blind in his left eye because of a cataract, and since a fragment of stone flew into his right eye during a factory accident in 2000, he has been totally blind, the BBC reported. His close friend, Wenqi, 53, has been a double arm amputee since three when he touched an unprotected electric cable lying on the ground and received a high voltage shock.
Each day the dedicated pair leave their home at 7am armed with only a hammer and iron rod, says the Daily Mail. To get to their plot, Wenqi leads the way through a forest, guiding Haixia, who holds his empty jacket sleeve. When they reach the river, he gets on Wenqi’s back in order to cross the fast-moving water without falling.
“I am his hands, he is my eyes,” says Haixia. “We are good partners.”
When Haixia went blind, he found it very difficult to adjust to life without sight. “At first I felt very depressed,” he told BBC, “and I just sunk to rock bottom.” At the time his son was four, his wife couldn’t work due to illness and, as Haixia could no longer work at the factory, their only source of income was lost.
Wenqi told the news channel that he was so young when he had his arms amputated that he has no memory of life with them. “Growing up I just used to play normally with the other children in the village,” he says. “Whatever they did I followed them. I swam with them, I tried to do work with them.”
Wenqi has adapted to life without arms or hands. At work he uses his neck and shoulders to hold a plough, and at home he writes and does needlework with his feet.
They are both passionate about the environmental benefits of what they do, but are aware that their disabilities limit the opportunities they have for employment. “For me it is not complicated,” Haixia told The People’s Daily. “I’m disabled and don’t want to be a burden on my family, so I plant trees. After ten years the trees will grow and I will get money.”
Their task is to grow as many trees as they can. It is a lengthy process which involves taking suitable cuttings from pre-existing trees, also planted by them, that have been growing over the last decade. Wenqi climbs on Haixia’s shoulders to reach the best cuttings higher up, a task which requires trust that they’ve built up over a lifetime. “When we work together, two become one,” they both say.
When they began working together on the project, other villagers were cynical, Haixia says. “They didn’t believe what we were doing was possible,” he says, “the whole riverbank had been bare for years and there were hardly any trees.” But after a few years the trees grew, the area became greener and the villagers changed their attitude choosing now to assist the two men. “They help us to fix our tools, water the trees and trim the weeds,” Haixia says. “They even bought us saplings to plant.”
So far, Haixa and Wenqi estimate they have planted 10,000 healthy trees, and 3,000 more which have died. While the work may not be fast, the three-hectare site is now covered with trees and attracts nesting birds.
“Though we did not accomplish much in a dozens years, we recognise our effort,” said Haixia. Wenqi added: “We stand on our own feet. The fruits of our labour taste sweeter. Even though we are gnawing on steam buns, we find peace in our hearts.”
