8 year old Wang Fuman lives in Xinjie province in China.
Since his mom left him and his dad was forced to move to a big city to work, the boy has lived with his grandmother.
Wang Fuman would often walk the 3 miles to and from his school in horrendous conditions. The temperature would often plummet to -9 degrees celcius, and Wang only had a thin jacket to protect him against the cold and storms.
When his principal posted a photo of him with frozen head and hands after his treck to school, he attracted attention from all around the world.
Plucked out of poverty
One of the people who was outraged by the photos was the headmaster of private boarding school Xinhua Schoolin. He decided he wanted to help Wang. He spoke to Wang’s father and said that he wanted to offer the boy a place at the school.
But sadly, just this week the headmaster changed his mind and contacted Wang’s father to come and pick him up.
The reason? He can’t stand the media attention.
“At first I didn’t know, but later I found out that Wang had been identified by the Ministry of Education as a key figure to be helped in the government’s poverty alleviation efforts,” the headmaster explained.
“As a result, we received numerous requests from various levels of government departments to inspect us,” he continues. “Many media outlets also insisted on interviewing us. This was not what I wanted, so I had to tell Wang’s father to take the boy back to his original school.”
Consolation money
As a consolation, the principal promised to help them in the future if they encountered any problems, and gave Wang’s father $2,365.
But Wang is heartbroken over the decision.
“The teachers taught better than at my old school. Pupils don’t talk in class and everyone is focused on studying,” he said of the private school. “I lived there and didn’t need to walk a long way to get to school. I only needed to join running exercises every morning.”
He continues:
“I ate better, too. Unlike at home, when my granny is busy, my sister and I need to find food by ourselves. Because we don’t know how to cook, we just boil potatoes.”
It’s really tragic to learn that this little boy still can’t attend school and focus on studying like we were able to do when we were growing up.
ALL children deserve to learn and grow in a safe and comfortable environment, and it breaks my heart that so many children around the world still don’t have that luxury.
Share this story if you agree that NO child should live in poverty.