Blind massage therapist donates 4.54 million yuan to support poor students

Zhu Lihua, a 63-year-old blind massage therapist, has donated 4.54 million yuan ($690,884) to support 587 poor students over the past few decades.

Photo shows Zhu Lihua, a certified massage therapist in Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang province. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Zhu, a native of Jiaxing city, east China's Zhejiang province, began sponsoring poor students in 1991 after she learned about Project Hope, a Chinese program that aims to finance poverty-stricken students' education.

That year, she donated 140 yuan to support two students in southwest China's Yunnan province. Ever since then, she has continued to help more students by using her savings.

Li Wenxin, one of the recipients of Zhu's assistance, who is now a senior student at a college in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang, said she was able to continue her higher education thanks to the generous help from Zhu, who paid 8,000 yuan a year to Li for her four-year education.

Behind the therapist's good deed lies an arduous and noble struggle.

Zhu lost her sight before she was 20 years old due to accidental injuries and unsuccessful surgeries. She sank into depression until she learned the story of Zhang Haidi on the radio in 1983. Zhang, a wheelchair-bound woman, became a role model in China that year.

Zhang's story inspired her so much that she regained her self-confidence. Zhu attended the first traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) massage class for blind people in Zhejiang and became the first certified TCM massage therapist in Jiaxing city.

A client receives a massage from a therapist in Zhu Lihua’s clinic. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Zhu runs a massage clinic in the urban area of the city and employs blind massage therapists, a job that many blind people in China take up. Over the past 30 years, Zhu has helped relieve stress for more than 230,000 patients.

Zhu has also taught massage techniques to over 100 visually impaired people free of charge. She only coaches blind people who are willing to learn massage skills, and provides food and accommodation for her apprentices.

Photo shows a group photo of role models with disabilities in 2014 and copies of news reports about Zhu Lihua in her clinic. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Wang Quanrong, 70, the oldest massage therapist in the clinic, has worked for Zhu for over 20 years. Wang lost sight in one eye when he was young and was unable to earn much money as a farmer or a carpenter. After learning massage skills from Zhu, he was able to earn a decent income. Now, his wife also works in the clinic.

Wu Jianwei, another therapist, lost her eyesight when she was 10 months old. Wu said that she had never attended school or worked because of her visual impairment before meeting Zhu.

"Now, I bring home the bacon," Wu said, adding that she feels Zhu is a kind-hearted boss who is ready to help others.