Girl from remote village in southwestern China turns up on stranger’s doorstep just before dark to ask for help with homework. She works all day on her family’s farm but little girl’s uneducated mother is unable to guide her through her books. — SCMP
The touching story of a little girl in southwestern China who undertook a lonely 40 minute-trek along a remote mountain road as darkness fell to ask a relative stranger for help with her studies has moved millions of people on mainland social media.
The stranger, a woman surnamed Ran, from Chongqing municipality in Sichuan province, has told how the unnamed little girl, in her third grade, walked several miles in a mountainous area as daylight began to fade, Feidian Video reported.
Ran, who had only met the girl – thought to be nine years old – once before, said she was shocked when the youngster turned up on her doorstep.
“When she arrived it was getting dark. I was very surprised to see she had managed to come all that way to me alone,” Ran told Feidian Video.
When she discovered that the girl had made the journey just to ask for help with her homework, Ran was overcome with emotion.
The woman did her best to help the little girl but had to enlist the help of her younger brother.
“She likes learning very much,” said Ran.
Ran said she was impressed with the determination of the little girl and was deeply aware that children in remote mountain villages must work harder to access education.
She said the girl works on her family’s farm during the day and studies at night. The news report did not disclose details of the girl’s father but said her mother had not been educated to a level at which she would be able to teach her daughter.
In the video clip Ran said she was worried the little girl would make the trek again, possibly in the dark, and warned her gently to call ahead next time and tell her family what she was doing.
“Yes, yes,” the girl answered, before Ran’s father escorted her back home.
The girl’s story has melted the hearts of millions online, with many encouraging her to keep learning.
One said: “Her eyes shows a strong desire to learn. I hope she can keep it up.”
“She knows that knowledge can help her walk out of the mountain to see the world,” said another.
Stories about children with independent and positive attitudes often gain traction on mainland social media.
Last week, a five-year-old boy from China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region who herds livestock, cooks, and does repairs around his family’s farm went viral.
In August, a nine-year-old girl from Zhejiang province in eastern China who cooks three meals daily for her mother while home during the school holidays also trended online. – South China Morning Post
