The finishing school

Persistence

But she soon realized she could not help many people only by herself, and then began to use the internet to search for funding when she saw how convenient it was to use in 2005.

In 2010, she established her own website and formed a team of volunteers, including government officials, teachers, lawyers and accountants among others to help her in her charity work. Team members received no payment since Liu wanted to pass on all the funds from the donators to their beneficiaries, and volunteers used their own money to cover their expenses.

In the beginning, Liu encountered a lot of difficulties. Many people thought she had set up the organization to seek fame, and some even used bad language to insult her online. Her husband also thought the charity work was unnecessary and urged her to devote more to their family.

Faced with such problems and a heavy workload at home in 2007, she also considered giving up on the charity altogether. But when she thought of the 200 students relying on the charity's assistance at that time, she was afraid that abandoning the cause would have an adverse effect on their lives, so she persisted.

Liu has never regretted helping the students, saying: "I am a mother and a teacher, I can't bear to think that students would have to drop out of school because of family difficulties."

Her family members were also moved by her efforts and supported her in her venture. Her husband and son have also joined her team to help the students.

Liu has won much glory for her contribution and was elected as a deputy of the 13th National People's Congress in 2018.

"Some people use the internet for fun, some use it for fame, but Liu uses it to collect benevolence from all over the world," the organizing committee of Yichang's Top 10 Selected News Figures said of Liu during their awards ceremony in 2010.

Some of the students Liu helped later returned to make donations to help others, or became members of Liu's team. But she has never tried to contact any of them proactively once they have grown up as adults who can support themselves.

"Some students may feel grateful to us, but they would not like to talk about it as they would rather forget their painful childhood. We totally understand this. At the end of the day, we don't seek their gratitude. As long as they work hard and make a contribution to society, that's enough."