One of the prominent signs of the comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society is the significant increase in the average standard of living of the people of all ethnic groups in the country (it is generally believed that the per capita annual income should reach three thousand dollars). This is a daunting task for the disabled, who account for nearly one-twentieth of the country's population. In the face of this ambitious goal and this difficult but promising road, what should the disabled masses do? Should they be passive and do nothing, or should they pull themselves together and work hard? I think we should not hesitate to choose the latter, to speed up the pace of follow-up, not to drag the country to build a moderately prosperous society.
There are 8.77 million blind compatriots in China, the vast majority of whom live in rural areas. Since the reform and opening up, with the significant development of the cause of the disabled and blind massage in China, blind massage has become the main channel of employment for the blind in cities and towns, and batches and batches of blind medical massage workers and blind health care massage workers have been trained in various places. To date, there are more than 20,000 blind massage practitioners engaged in medical services, and more than 40,000 blind people engaged in health care massage services. "After the Tenth Plan, the total number of these two categories of blind massage workers is expected to exceed 100,000 people. Engaging in medical or health care massage is indeed one of the best channels of employment for the blind.
A vast majority of the blind people practicing tui na medical and health care massage services have seen a fundamental change in their economic situation and quality of life, which impresses other categories of disabled groups. According to incomplete statistics, it is common for a blind massage worker to earn about one thousand dollars a month; those with good skills, or blind massage practitioners who are engaged in massage and tuina services in big cities and the Guangdong and Shenzhen areas earn more than two thousand five hundred dollars or three thousand dollars a month. These leading blind people have taken the lead in meeting the living and income standards for building a well-off society.
Despite the fact that blind massage work has brought a bright side to the employment of the blind, it is, after all, a very small fraction of the total number of blind people in the country. There are still a large number of blind people, especially in the rural areas, who are still under great pressure and encounter all kinds of problems in employment. How can we fully mobilize the enthusiasm and motivation of blind people of all cultural levels, physical conditions, and living in different regions, and how can we effectively tap the strengths and potentials of blind people of all kinds to meet the employment needs of the blind people? I personally believe that we can analyze and discuss the issue of how to further broaden the employment channels for the blind in the future according to the needs of each individual and location. First of all, I would like to talk about the first level of employment for the blind, that is, knowledge-based employment:
After the blind massage and tui na massage, there has been another form of employment with great potential for development in recent years, which has entered the ranks of knowledge-based employment for the blind, which is piano tuning for the blind. As a matter of fact, piano tuning itself has a long history as a form of employment for the blind. In Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, as early as the 1930s, a blind man named Liu Tianchuan was sent to England by the Church of England's School for the Blind to learn piano tuning and piano repair techniques. After returning to China, he brought out several blind piano tuners in Fuzhou. Mr. Liu Tianchuan brought out several blind piano tuners in Fuzhou, such as Li Bolin, Chen Zhongliang and Liu Tao. These blind piano tuning lawyers in the middle of the last century and the 1960s and 1970s in Fuzhou piano tuning market enjoys a good reputation, even those who are blind tuning lawyers in the business and the level of these blind people compared to the feeling of inferior.
Later, the blind engaged in piano tuning this job market is indeed some shrinkage, this aspect of the blind practitioners are less and less. At the end of the last century, under the active advocacy and organization of Mr. Li Renwei of the Beijing School for the Blind, and with the enthusiastic support and assistance of the leadership of the Beijing School for the Blind and all the parties concerned, a college class on piano tuning for the blind was declared to be established. Over the past few years, the piano tuning class of the Beijing School for the Blind has produced 100 percent of the blind tuners who are employed, and the demand even exceeds the supply for many employers. Some of the blind tuning lawyers have been working for just a few years, and they have obtained the middle and senior titles of piano tuning profession because of their excellent work and exquisite skills. With the deepening of reform and opening up, more and more pianos are entering the homes of ordinary people as their living standards improve. We can expect that the future piano tuning market for the blind will be full of vitality.
Skill-based careers
In addition to the two more familiar and highly maneuverable skill-based employment avenues for the blind, there are three more successful skill-based careers for the blind. These three types of knowledge and skill-based careers are certainly not something that most blind people can get involved in, but it would be helpful to talk about them so that blind people can increase their self-confidence and understand their own potential.
Computer Software Development
One of these is computer software development. This career requires a high level of personal intelligence and, of course, a solid knowledge base. Some typical blind people who have succeeded in this field are as follows: Zhu Shuangliu from Shanghai, who first designed and developed the Braille input method software, which enables the blind to input Chinese characters on the computer directly by using the Braille dot input method; Wang Yongde from Guangdong, who started to get in touch with computers in April 1997, developed the DOS system database for the blind in October, and then designed and developed the "Windows System" for the computer in the end of 1999; Wang Yongde from Guangdong, who began to get in touch with computers in April, and then developed the database of the blind system for the computer in October. At the end of 1999, he successfully designed and developed the "Yongde screen reading voice software" for Windows system, which opened up a barrier-free way for the blind to apply computers for database operation, editing articles, sending and receiving e-mails and browsing on the Internet; Wang Zhiyuan from Hunan Province successfully designed and developed another database operating system for the blind and a set of massage management software for the blind through computer research; Wang Zhiyuan from Anhui Province successfully designed and developed another database operating system for the blind and a set of massage management software for the blind. Wang Zhiyuan from Hunan Province, through computer research, successfully designed and developed another database operating system for the blind and a set of massage management software for the blind; Wang Shilong from Anhui Province, who lost his sight halfway through the year, was undaunted and carefully researched Chinese character computer input technology, and succeeded in developing the "Fangyuan categorized hieroglyphic code (Dragon Horse Chinese character input technology)", which has been awarded a national patent. We believe that talents in this field will continue to stand out in the future and become a bright landscape of knowledge and skill-based employment for the blind.
Translation
The other type is Chinese and English translation. A number of higher quality blind people have participated in the free English correspondence study at the American Hedley School for the Blind, Fuzhou, China. A considerable number of these blind students have greatly improved their English cultural quality and level through English study and have begun to make their first appearance in English translation. Some of them translate scientific and technical information from foreign magazines into Chinese and publish it in domestic newspapers and magazines, thus earning remuneration. Of course, there is still a big gap for this to become a profession with stable income and able to support their families. However, Chen Xiajiong, a Shanghai student at the branch school, has found a new way of employment by utilizing his knowledge of English, which is indeed a new inspiration for people. A few months ago, Chen Xiajiong learned from the Internet that a translation company in Shanghai wanted to recruit text translators, so he boldly contacted him by E-mail to apply for the job. Through the trial translation of several English letters, the employer was very satisfied, and immediately decided to hire Chen Xiajiong as the company's translator. Chen Xiajiong only needs to work at home every day, receive Chinese and English letters sent by the company through the network, and then translate them and send them back to the company through E-mail. This home-based work allows Chen to earn a steady income of 1,200 dollars a month. Can this not also set a better example for other blind people who have this kind of specialization and condition in terms of knowledge and skill-based employment?
Operating a school
There is another kind of school or class. The running of schools and classes mentioned here refers to the running of schools by social forces, which belongs to the category of private education. The conditions of this knowledge and skill-based employment or entrepreneurship depend largely on the strong level of professional knowledge and personal entrepreneurial courage possessed by the blind themselves. I would like to cite two specific examples of students of Haideri School for the Blind Fuzhou Branch who have succeeded in applying for running schools and classes in English:
One of them is Gao Lu from Dunhua, Jilin. He was one of the earliest students of the Hedley School for the Blind, Fuzhou, China. In 1989, he began to use his English knowledge to teach English tuition to the blind and primary school students in the neighborhood, which had already achieved good social and economic benefits at that time. After years of practice, summed up a lot of teaching and organization of teaching experience, Gao Lu finally succeeded in embarking on the road of a formal school. 2000, he founded the "Chunhua English School", Dunhua City Education Commission officially issued a license to run the school. Gao Lu's Chunhua English School has opened more than a dozen classes, English remedial levels, including elementary school, junior high school and high school, in the students **** up to more than seven hundred people. Gao Lu not only purchased the school building, but also purchased all the teaching equipment needed in the teaching process. Isn't his entrepreneurial success worth learning from?
Another success in running schools and classes is Huang Xixiang of Gaizhou, Liaoning. He also had a good academic record at the Haideri School for the Blind in Fuzhou, China, and in 2001 he applied to set up an English language course for blind and primary school students in the area. This English tutoring organization, called "Future English Course", now has more than 80 English tutors for primary and secondary school students. Huang Xixiang also gained both social and economic benefits.
The above mentioned categories of knowledge and skill-based employment channels for the blind, some of which have developed quite well, and some of which are in the process of further improvement and gradual expansion. In fact, there are many more knowledge-based jobs available to the blind. In the case of writing, there are a number of blind people who are quite capable of writing. Some of them regularly publish poems and essays in newspapers and magazines; some are quite successful in writing novels. However, whether the blind can turn writing into a profession with stable income and how to realize this goal in concrete terms need to be explored more and more research on feasible solutions.
Motor repair
There is another intriguing success story of a blind person engaging in motor repair. Anhui has one such blind person, in this regard, wrote their own legendary experience. The blind man has been interested in fiddling with motors since he was a child, and often learns about motor repair from his brother. Once, he repaired a broken pump motor in the eyes of skeptics and became famous. Later, the blind man opened a motor repair service department, which was quite prosperous and famous. Motor repair has literally become a permanent profession of knowledge and skill for the blind man. From this example, is it not possible to further inspire us: there is nothing we can't think of, nothing we can't do, and the same applies to the blind. It seems that there is a lot of potential to be tapped for broadening the mindset of the blind in terms of employment. At this level of knowledge-based employment for the blind, I would like to conclude by raising two more points for discussion:
The first point is
Can the blind become legal advisors and psychological counselors? Theoretically and logically, this is not a problem. Many blind people are characterized by natural intelligence and have very impressive memories. If there are conditions for these blind people to study and further their professional knowledge in law or psychology, why can't they become experts in this field? I think that if, on the one hand, our universities can create conditions for the admission of blind people who have chosen to specialize in this field, or if the Self-Study Examination for Higher Education can open up a green channel for the blind, and if, on the other hand, the legal departments and psychological counseling agencies can update their concepts and absorb these qualified specialists to practise in this field, then it will be possible to cultivate, as some developed countries have done, our own blind legal practitioners and psychological counseling workers. The main key to the success of these two kinds of work is that they can be done well. Because the main key to the success of these two kinds of work lies in the human brain and IQ (and human memory, comprehension, logical thinking ability and the ability to judge right and wrong, etc.), and many blind people are gifted in this respect.
The second point is
Can the rural blind engage in mushroom cultivation? Mushrooms and other edible fungi are tasty, have high nutritional value, and can prevent and fight cancer, making them a favorite table food for most people. Since rural areas have more space, unlike urban areas where homes are small, it is easier to solve the problem of space for cultivation of edible mushrooms. On the other hand, mushroom cultivation is a static operation, unlike raising chickens and ducks that run around, it is dynamic and not easy for the blind to control. Therefore, if the blind people in rural areas can learn and master the cultivation technology of edible fungus and can form a smooth sales channel, then edible fungus cultivation may be a better channel for the blind people in rural areas to get rid of poverty. Personally, I think that if this is a path to be considered and tried in the future, preparations must be made in the following three aspects: firstly, the Disabled Persons' Federation should be the organizer of this employment, and it must designate a person to be in charge of this project, invite professionals to conduct classes and demonstrations on the ground; secondly, it should put forward a part of the funds from the Employment Guarantee Fund of the Disabled Persons to buy fungus for the blind (or to give loans to them to buy fungus), and organize and guide the production. ), and organizing and guiding the production; third, contacting the purchase and sales market, and doing a good job of logistical services for the blind.
Assistance from a sighted person
It should also be noted that the feasibility and success rate of this knowledge-skill-based employment will be higher if a sighted person is available at the blind person's home to assist him/her in the implementation of the process of cultivation of mushrooms from seeds to seedlings.