BEIJING: A blind man and his armless friend together planted 10,000 trees in 10 years at Yeli village in northern China. Haixia is blind in both eyes while Wenqi armless.
Jia Haixa and Jia Wenqi embarked on their heart-warming partnership 10 years ago after finding they were unable to secure jobs due to their disabilities.
Haixia the 53-year-old was born with congenital cataracts which left him blind in his left eye and in 2000 he lost the sight in his right eye too in an accident. Wenqi also 53 lost both arms in an accident when he was just three-years-old.
In 2001, unable to secure work elsewhere, the eco-warriors leased a large stretch of the river bank from the local government in a bid to plant trees for future generations.
The proud pair also hoped to earn a modest income from their work from government funding and help protect their village from flooding in the process.
Haixia said,’I am his hands and he is my eyes’.
