Who named her Dongwen? Nobody knows.

How did she come to the welfare institution? Nobody knows.

Here is the story of Dongwen:

When I was in junior high school, one day my head teacher answered a phone call and asked me to go back to the institution. ‘A surprise is waiting for you,’ she gestured to me with a big smile. That day, I was thrilled to learn that I would be enrolled in a foster family (renamed Chunhui family in 2009) with loving parents and four siblings I could call my own. 

Since I joined that family, Chunhui mama Xie and dad Cen often visited me in the school and started to attend our school’s parents’ meetings. Dad Cen also taught my foster siblings and I drawing and sketching. Chunhui Children invited a dance instructor and delivered a dance class in the institution each weekend. I never missed anyone of them. 

Dancing and drawing enriched my life. I started to have opportunities to participate in dance competitions in Wuhan, Beijing and other cities. In 2013, on behalf of my school, I took part in a national dance competition for the disabled. After two months of consistent training, I won the third prize--300 yuan, which was really a handsome amount of money for me back then. 

As I couldn’t hear, I had to feel the rhythm of music by touching the vibration of the floor. Later, Chunhui Children provided me hearing aids, which gave me a great help.

Hearing impairment also posed a huge challenge to my language development. Now, I still can't pronounce clearly and mainly rely on lip language to communicate. One day, my welfare institution scheduled a performance, and my Chunhui mama asked me to prepare a nursery rhyme with my younger siblings. But it was so difficult for me that I just lost it and didn't want to rehearse anymore. Mama didn't give me up, but hugged me, took my hand, and taught me with more patience.

On the day of the performance, my siblings and I sang the song There is Nobody Like Mama in the World together. When we were done singing, mama hugged me tightly with tears in her eyes. I couldn’t believe I did it! This event had a great impact on me. I learned from my mama that I should never give up easily when confronted with challenges.

In 2012, I was admitted to the Special Education School of Changchun University. Since the School did not enroll dance majors back then, I chose to major in Chinese painting.

After graduating from university, I worked as a painter in a company of Shijiazhuang city. Two or three months later, Chunhui Children contacted me and asked me if I would love to apply for a job with a dance training organization in Shanghai, which might appeal to me more than the company I was working in. That organization once gathered people from all walks of life who had no knowledge about dance to create and perform a dance drama 37 Days. One of them, a blind man who had never learned dance before, did a great job after 37 days of training. Under encouragement of Chunhui Children, I quit my job in Shijiazhuang and went to Shanghai.

I was hired by that organization. Eight years have passed, and I still work here. I love dance and I am passionate about this job. 

In the organization, I have not only improved my dance skills, but also learned how to teach, how to operate our Wechat official account, and how to lead everyone in performances. And what I learned in university helps me a lot with poster design.

As I have trouble hearing, I put much more efforts into dance than others. While other teachers need half a day to prepare a lesson plan, I need three days. 

It has been years since I left Chunhui Youth program. But anytime Chunhui Children needs me on the stage, I try my best to dance, and I believe I am blossoming. 

Chunhui Children sowed a seed of love in my heart and made me who I am today. I want to say to everyone: Stay happy and grateful, accept your imperfections, and discover the beauty of life.”