A photo of a woman offering to sell her breast milk was captured on January 22 in Guangming New District, Shenzhen. Local media later reported that the two people in the image are a couple and that they were trying to raise funds to help pay for treatment for their seriously ill newborn daughter.
Their cardboard sign reads:
“Hello, I am 24 years old and healthy. RMB10 for one minute of breastfeeding (WeChat and Alipay accounts accepted). I gave birth to twin daughters, one of whom has a serious illness, and I need money urgently. I will provide breast milk on the spot regardless of the gender of the infants or quantity. Thank you for your support.”
The sad plight of the woman, a Guangxi native surnamed Tang, has been confirmed by district authorities.
READ MORE: Les miserables: Chinese beggars recount how they came to the streets
The picture of Tang with her husband and child went viral after being posted online and soon got the media’s attention. According to a report carried by TVS News, Tang gave birth last month to twin daughters at the People’s Hospital of Bao’an Shenzhen. Unfortunately, one of the infants was diagnosed with a number of illnesses, including neonatal sepsis. She is currently in stable condition.
In the report, Tang stated that after a few days of medical treatment, she and her husband had burned through their savings.
During an interview on January 27, Tang’s husband stated:
“We still owe the hospital tens of thousands of yuan and the doctor says further treatment will cost more than RMB100,000.”
In the time since that fateful January 22 image of Tang trying to sell breast milk was captured, aid has been provided by generous donors in Shenzhen and Tang’s hometown, as well as from Guangming New District’s civil affairs department.
[Images via The Paper]
This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family PRD. For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website, or follow the Urban Family WeChat account (ID: urbanfamilyprd).
0 User Comments