Barefoot social workers bring hope to China's children(2)

In remote rural regions, some parents are ignorant about getting their child a birth certificate or a residence identity document that will ensure their education, vaccinations and access to other social benefits, Wang says.

The village child welfare director, or "barefoot social worker," who lives in the community, serves as the frontline contact with the child and the family to help identify needs and link them with social services or assistance, says UNICEF project officer Xu Wenqing.

Their tasks vary from area to area. In the southwestern province of Yunnan, where drug abuse has resulted in the spread of HIV/AIDS, the priority has been disease control.

In the central province of Henan, where parents have flooded into big cities, the children left behind are the focus of their work.

In other places, their tasks are more distinct. In autonomous prefecture of Sichuan where child marriage is rampant, the barefoot social workers instruct villagers on its destructive consequences on their children's health, education and social development, according to Gao Yurong, an expert at the China Philanthropy Research Institute.

Since 2010, barefoot social workers in the pilot areas have helped 3,350 children apply for residence identity documents, 6,649 orphans to apply for allowances, 8,083 impoverished children with subsistence allowances, and 708 disabled children with subsidies for medical kits. The school dropout rate has fallen from 5.3 percent to 1.8 percent in these areas.

An electronic database of personal and family details of the 80,000 children in pilot areas has been set up to hold information from the barefoot social workers. "The Ministry of Civil Affairs can now have real-time updates on children's conditions in remote regions," says Xu.

As well as offering welfare assistance, the barefoot social workers provide emotional support.

Ranagul Usman, a barefoot social worker in another pilot village of Yining city, talks to the children who should be at school, but are wandering the streets. She also talks to parents who spank their children.

"Gradually the kids begin to trust me and they often come to confide in me," she says.

In a room filled with skateboards, books, blocks and dolls, decorated with children' s art works in Yining' s Donmav village, 6-year-old Almira Turamamat says she wants to be a barefoot social worker one day so "I can play games with my little friends here every week."

Barefoot social worker Mavhaba Abdumigit introduces the place as the "Children's Home," similar to others in every pilot village.

The barefoot social workers - on a monthly allowance of 800 yuan (130 U.S dollars) - have similar backgrounds to the kids. "They are educated, can speak both local dialects and Mandarin and above all, they love children," says Chen Zhihua, vice director of Yining's Civil Affairs Bureau. "With regular training provided by the program, they are doing impressive work."

"What they give outweighs what they gain," says Xu Wenqing. "They contribute to the building of an inclusive child welfare system in China, which protects children's rights and gives support to those in need of help."

Xiao Xiao is old enough for school, but he has a new problem.

"He was rejected by special education schools as he cannot walk by himself, and regular schools refuse to accept him for fear that my accompanying him in class will affect other students," his mother says.

Getting him to school is the family's biggest wish. It's also a wish of Qi Fengwei, who has informed the government of Xiao Xiao's problem.

"Very soon, I believe, Xiao Xiao will go to school," Qi says.