What an inspirational father!
Let’s all agree to extend an early Happy Father’s Day to this Chinese dad who will do just about anything to give his son with disabilities every opportunity in the world.
Yu Xukang, 40, a single dad from the Sichuan Province in China, walks 9 miles every day with his son, Xiao Qiang, strapped to his back so that the boy can get an education. The 12-year-old has a disorder that has caused his arms and legs to become twisted and his back to be hunched over, and there is no public transportation available to take him to class, Central European News (CEN) told The Huffington Post in an email.
To support himself and his young son, Yu works as a farmer, according to China Daily. Since last September, Yu has woken up every day at 5 a.m., prepared a lunch for his son and then secured Xiao Qiang — who is about 3 feet tall — in a basket that he attaches to his own back.
The pair makes the 4.5-mile trek to school across the rugged terrain, then Yu walks back home so that he can work. The devoted dad then returns to pick his boy up from school and carries him all the way home –- an 18-mile round trip, according to CEN.
The single dad estimates that he’s walked about 1,600 miles since he started taking his son to school.
“I know that my son is physically disabled but there is nothing wrong with his mind,” he told CEN. “However, I couldn’t find any school here with the facilities to accept him and was constantly rejected.”
Once Xiao Qiang was accepted to the Fengxi Primary School, Yu vowed to do everything in his power to make sure his son would get there every day.
His dream is for Xiao Qiang to one day go to college.
After word of the father and son’s daily journey got out, authorities decided to step in to help the two. They agreed to provide a small room near the school for them, according to CEN.
Xiao Qiang has already climbed to the top of his class.
“I know that he will achieve great things,” his father told CEN.
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Tags: China Disability Rights, China Disabled Children, Dad Carries Son 18 Miles, Disabled Children China, Greatest Person of the Day, Parenting, Yu Xukang
Topical Teaching 
March 18, 2014 at 4:15 am |
Reblogged this on Adventures in Education and commented:
This is why I love what I do…EVERYONE deserves an education and that happens when parents, students and educators work to make that happen.