Little Red Scarf: Story of Hong Yan (1) -- Met Little Red Scarf

Little Red Scarf is in Lanzhou, Gansu province and provides financial support and encouragement to children suffering from congenital heart disease. In addition, they provide families with post-operative care and help the children sustain a healthy lifestyle.

(The surgery was successful. With love and supports from so many people, Hong Yan is looking forward to her future. The article is about how LRS met Hong Yan. Looking back, expectations and concerns were rewarded. Thank those who have a loving heart. Thank Hong Yan who was brave and thanks for the answer of God. )

“Little Red Scarf, we could not afford to treat the child. This is the poorest family I have ever seen. Please visit the family and help the child.” Since we receive the text, Little Red Scarf connected closely with Hong Yan.

Hong Yan is a 7-year-old girl with sever Tetralogy of Fallot. She could not even sit. She tended to squat anytime. Most of time, she had to be on the back of her parents. As other children with congenital heart disease, she had to wait because the family was not able to pay the treatment.

The first one to contact us was Hong Yan’s cousin. She sent us text and we had been concerning about the message. On February 24, we visited Hong Yan according to the address provided by Hong Yan’s cousin.

Hong Yan lives in a remote village of Gansu province. It is a drought village with poor communication. We took 4 buses and walked half an hour to get to Hong Yan’s home. It was located on a barren hill. We saw a shabby house with a gate on the verge of collapse.

On stepping into the gate, we were moved to tears by the scene in front of us. An old man of over 80 was standing in the middle of the yard, holding a child of 6 or 7 on the back. The child looked purple in the face and fingers. She is Hong Yan.

Hong Yan’s father passed away when she was 5, leaving 20000 yuan of debts. It was a great hit for the family. Her brother was 14 who had to quit from school and work as an apprentice. Her mother had to work in the construction team as a man in order to earn more. The child’s situation became more serious. When could earn enough for the surgery? Helplessly, her mother thought of finding a husband to pay for the surgery, but who would like to be the step-father of the purple child. Her mother was too concerned to fall asleep at night. She kept asking: who could save my child?

From 2 mud rooms of Hong Yan’s family, we could see the sky. We could not even imagine how they live in such a shabby hut. We saw there’s a plastic film covering the roof. Hong Yan’s cousin said when she visited the family last year, it was raining hard and the roof leaked heavily. She gave the family 50yuan so that they could buy a piece of plastic film to cover the roof. The family was too poor to afford a piece of tilt for their shelter, let alone the treatment costs of Hong Yan.

Knowing these, we decided to provide maximum help to Hong Yan. Hong Yan’s surgery needs a big sum of money with high risk, so American team of Little Red Scarf held a money raising activity for her. We would give kind donors in the USA feedbacks every day.

With simple packing, Hong Yan, her mother and cousin set out to the city. The only man of the family, Hong Yan’s brother carried her on the back and walked to the bus station. The staff of Little Red Scarf contacted the hospital and arranged the bed for her.

Though it’s a tough way, it’s full of hope. With people’s loves, we hope Hong Yan and other children with congenital heart disease can be cared and helped. 

Original article written by Ying Guan, translated by Maggie Li, and edited by Yanyan Zhang

Hong Yan’s home was located on a barren hill. A shabby house with a gate on the verge of collapse.

Hong Yan could not walk due to her illness so her grandma had to carry her on back all the time.