Nothing is impossible to a willing heart! The inspiring story of Jia Wenqi, 53, with no arms, and his blind friend, Jia Haixia, 54, is one of perseverance, environmental awakening and motivational for people who have excuses to do something in spite of being fully abled.
A once barren bank of the river Ye river in central China now has 12,000 trees irrigated by a small canal to prevent their village from flooding and improve the environmental surroundings. Thanks to these unlikely friends’ dedication from past 13 years despite being disabled. Unable to find job for themselves, they started planting trees as a venture with the goal of planting 800 trees per year but it later became a mission helped by the locals to improve the air and environment quality of the surrounding village famous for its stifling pollution than for its rolling hills.
The elder of the two, Jia Haixia 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 and Jia Wenqi was electrocuted at the age of 3 and both arms were amputated. Haixia believes fate brought the two of them together in 2000 so they could help each other to prosper, allowing them to fulfil work they couldn’t do alone. He suggested they could start planting trees and in time make enough money to support themselves and their families – they get a small income from the local government for their efforts. 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.
Good news is that these two people are recieving significant amount of attention from the generous people after their heroics went viral in China. And there is a possibility that Haixia’s blindness can be reversed through surgery. However he is determined to continue his work even after he regains sight, he says “Our tree planting may not have much substantial benefit for the present generation, but it leaves a green environment to the next one, We have this big dream in our heart to leave a stretch of green to our children.”
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