In 1985, former union worker Meng Weina, 57, selected Guangzhou for what would become the nation's first NGO serving mentally disabled people. Today that organisation, Huiling, has chapters in 11 cities helping more than 1,000 people. But despite the success and relative fame of Huiling, Meng says her NGO still faces many challenges, and that services needed for those with mental disabilities are still in short supply.
What prompted you to start an NGO serving the mentally disabled?
I had just turned 30 and was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I had worked several years with the union of a state-owned furniture factory and had seen the needs of many families. I realised I wanted to help more people, and then, by chance, came across an article by Deng Pufang , the son of Deng Xiaoping [who was crippled during the Cultural Revolution]. It stressed humanitarianism and the need to help disabled people. The article moved me greatly.
I started telling friends I wanted to do something for disabled people, and a colleague said I should meet her mentally disabled child. I went with them to see a doctor, who was very excited to hear about my intentions. As a famous 'when all else fails' doctor, he said he had at least 500 mentally disabled people sent to him, but there was nothing medical science could do for them.
I hardly knew what mental retardation meant at the time, but I asked for help from my friends, and we started getting in touch with the families of the 500. Within days, dozens came to me, crying, kneeling on the ground asking for help.
Meanwhile, another friend helped me get in touch with charities in Hong Kong that had experience serving the mentally disabled. In the end we picked Caritas as a partner, which gave us not only financial support but also invaluable training and advice. But we soon developed differences in opinions: as a highly professional organisation, they said we should accept only 30 students in the beginning, but on the opening day of school we had 96. When parents are crying and begging you, what can you do?