‘Money isn’t important to me’: Chinese man sells recyclable materials to fund the education of more than 100 children
- Wu starts every day by collecting and selling paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and old appliances to make money
- In the last 18 years, he has donated over 80,000 yuan (US$12,700) to support school children in rural China
Collecting recyclable materials from households near his home from 8am every day and selling them at scrap recycling centres by 2pm has been a daily routine for 71-year-old Wu Qiyun for the better part of the last two decades.
Since 2004, Wu, from Nanyang, Henan province in central China, has used the money he has earned from selling paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and old appliances to support more than 100 junior school pupils in rural areas.
“Every year, I donate at least 2000 yuan (US$317), almost a month’s income,” Wu told the South China Morning Post.
So far, Wu has donated over 80,000 yuan (US$12,700) since he began collecting recycling material.
Wu lives in two rented rooms totalling roughly 20 square metres with his wife and two grandchildren, aged five and 13, while his son and daughter-in-law work in Guangdong province in southern China. He doesn’t even have a chair at home because of limited space.
“Money isn’t the most important thing; I did what I wanted to do, so I have no regrets,” Wu said.