Despite teetering on the brink of an AIDS epidemic in the mid 1990s, China has been able to limit the rate of infection to only 0.1% of its population – one of the lowest rates in the world – according to the latest data.
The story wasn’t always so positive, and China’s government has a history of ignoring the issues or covering them up. Up until 2002 the official estimate for national cases stood at only a few thousand, but this was revised up to 1 million in a single day once the authorities decided they could ignore the disease no longer.
Against this backdrop, the story of a young schoolboy from Harbin in northern China really brings home how much one individual can do to make a difference in a society that had long refused to acknowledge the suffering of AIDS patients.
In 2005, Sun Huixi was just 10 years old and a student at Xiao Hong Middle School. Sun learned that an orphanage was being built in Henan Province – thousands of miles away – which would be home for children who had lost their parents to AIDS. Henan Province was one of the areas in China that was hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic.
Touched by the plight of these orphans, Sun donated his savings at the time – a total of 222 yuan (or about $30 USD). However, feeling that he could do more, Sun decided to really try and make a difference and raise more funds for the orphanage.
Over the next two years, Sun started to collect plastic bottles from his neighborhood and surrounding communities. What makes his story remarkable is how many bottles he was able to collect – an estimated 160,000 over that two year period, which raised 20,000 yuan ($2,700). To put that into perspective, Sun’s parents combined monthly wage only totaled $270.
Sun’s mother was worried about her son’s health collecting all these bottles, and told him that he should put the money towards something for himself. However, the selfless young man told her: “I want to buy games and socks, but they are not necessities for me. But for those orphans, the money could help them buy food and go to school.”
Sun donated the total sum of money he had raised from his bottle collecting to the orphanage, and his act won him an award for his contribution to the national anti-AIDS campaign.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Sun explained: “I just want to give the AIDS orphans some warmth and love… They won’t feel lonely if everyone shows some love towards them.” In the years that followed, Sun continued his fundraising campaign, collecting more bottles and also donating books to the orphanage.
Sun’s story serves as an inspiration to other AIDS campaigners within in China, and proves that an individual can make a difference. China’s target to fully eradicate AIDS in the country by 2030 remains ambitious, but the goal appears far more realistic now than it did ten years ago.
I_like_forks on January 6th, 2018 at 01:53 UTC »
Reminds me of this one kid I know who asked for donations for his 10th birthday to give a school in Jamaica a new playground. This kid went all out too. He started his own charity thing with Sandals (a travel agency resort thing) called "[his first name]'s Playground Project" and wanted to raise $10,000. According to a local news source he raised over $1,000 by his 10th birthday, and I think he is still raising money. For his 12th he gave everyone in my scout troop info about it. He's a good kid.
kayjay25 on January 5th, 2018 at 20:05 UTC »
I found twenty bucks outside a Walgreens around Christmas when they always have those Salvation Army people out front. As hard as it was, I decided it was a nice opportunity to set a good example for my daughter. So we went inside, bought twenty bucks worth of Laffy Taffy then went home and ate it.
FancySack on January 5th, 2018 at 20:00 UTC »
Someone get this kid a game and some socks.