Because of the growing number of left-behind Chinese children physically and sexually abused, China’s State Council issued in February new guidelines which spelled out the responsibilities of parents, society and government.
However, there are also a large number of the 60 million left behind who are not abused but live under difficult conditions because of the impoverish state of the relatives who care for these kids. One such child is seven-year-old Yang Yang whose photo cycling up a hill with fruits became viral on China’s social media, reported the South China Morning Post.
Yang Yang is being raised by her grandfather in Chongqing Province whose livelihood is to sell fruits. She was left in the old man’s care after her parents separated when she was three and then her father eventually left home.
Her grandfather was sick when the photo was taken, so Yang Yang volunteered to drive the bicycle with a wooden box attached to it full of fruit. A man was actually helping the young girl drive uphill with her load.
When her grandparents are well, Yang Yang helps them weigh the produce, compute the price and collect cash at their fruit stall. To help them save money, she goes to school alone on a bus and walks part of the way home for 30 minutes.
Netizens who saw Yang Yang want to help the little girl even if she is not an abuse victim. She, however, is still a lucky kid because she still have grandparents with her. In June 2015, four Chinese siblings left them alone to work in a different place committed suicide by drinking pesticide. Such incidents are not isolated in China where one-fifth of all children in the Asian giant are left-behind kids, noted China Daily.