Campaign aims to give disabled people dignity, independence

Home improvements and greater mobility are key to raising living standards and self-respect. Li Lei reports from Xinyang, Henan.

Ruan Guanqing called out instructions to her husband, who is blind and has a prosthetic leg, as he pushed her wheelchair out of their modest house via a gentle ramp so she could enjoy some fresh air.

The elderly, disabled couple said the installation of the ramp, which replaced a low staircase consisting of several steps, has improved their lives immeasurably.

Just a few months ago they were virtually prisoners in their own home because they could not negotiate the steps－Ruan's husband, 67-year-old Yang Chuansheng, was forced to bend down to feel his way, but that was impossible for Ruan, who is paralyzed from the waist down.

"I would tell my daughter that I didn't want to go out, just to save her the trouble of helping us," said the 63-year-old from Baiguoshu village in Xinyang, Henan province, who receives State benefits.

Ruan and Yang are among millions of people who have benefited from a campaign to promote accessibility in buildings, especially homes, in isolated villages and towns.

The campaign was launched in 2013 by the China Disabled Persons' Federation with the aim of eradicating domestic barriers and allowing disabled people to live dignified, relatively independent lives. So far, the central government has provided more than 1 billion yuan ($145 million) in funding.

The alterations－such as low-level cooking ranges, ramps, handrails, sit-down toilets and manual clothes horses－have cost little, but the impact has been enormous.

Beneficial changes

In 1984, when Yang was 33, he lost his sight and his left leg in an explosion while helping to build a bridge near Baiguoshu.

His injuries meant that Ruan had to become the family breadwinner, in addition to caring for her husband and two children. However, in 2004, she sustained a severe lumbar fracture when she fell out of a tree while picking chestnuts to sell. She has used a wheelchair ever since.