Zhanjiang steps up to improve disabled's life

Over the past five years, Zhanjiang has taken strong steps to care for handicapped residents and build the city into a disability-inclusive society.

Assuming a critical role, the Zhanjiang Disabled Persons' Federation has strengthened its data management by tracking the basic information of the 109,876 disabled people living in the city. Its petition task force has received 6,500 letters, some 6,000 calls and 4,767 visits from the disabled to learn about and help solve their problems since 2013.

To maintain their basic living standards, the federation has strictly carried out the impoverished disabled living allowance and severely disabled nursing subsidy systems. In 2017, it distributed 180 million yuan ($28 million) to 51,570 severely disabled and 36,470 destitute disabled people in the city.

Meanwhile, Zhanjiang has designated 82 rehabilitation institutions to provide basic services for disabled people. More rehabilitation centers are under construction and will come into service by 2019. By then, the centers will be able to provide door-to-door medical service for 600 impoverished disabled citizens.

As for education, Zhanjiang has built nine special education schools. The enrollment rate for the nine years of compulsory education is up to 96.9 percent. More than 140 vocational training sessions have also been held since 2013 to empower 7,054 disabled people with job skills.

According to Feng Zhenhe, president of the federation, for life to be better for the disabled, it's best that they have their own jobs and income. That would also be a key step in giving people with disabilities a greater sense of well-being, happiness and security.

Of 68,953 disabled people of working age, 36,750 have been absorbed into the labor market. That's because 18 employment centers have been established and 27 job fairs have been held over the past five years to connect the disabled with job opportunities.