Visually impaired shining on stage and in life
Shot by Dong Jun. Edited by Dong Jun. Subtitles by Cai Wenjun.
The Meiaironghe Art Troupe, whose members are mainly visually impaired, performs at Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital.
A special concert was presented at Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital on Friday night, when members of the Meiaironghe Art Troupe, whose members are mainly visually impaired, sang songs, played instruments and recited poems on stage.
In a break from cliched impressions that disabled people are usually introverted and poor in communication, these children and young people are confident, outgoing and happy.
They laughed and sang loudly, cheering up the audience. A female audience member even cried when five troupe members sang a cappella "Giving Me A Kiss." Their optimism, happiness and love impressed everyone in the room.
The charity concert was to raise awareness of eye health and vision protection, organizers said.
The hospital also made donation to the art troupe to support its development.
"I was deeply moved by these children and young people, who were enjoying themselves so much on the stage," said Li Qiuming, chief executive officer of Ai'er Eye Group Shanghai Region.
"Through this event, we want more people and organizations to realize the difficulty of visually impaired people in life, work and study, and give them more support like the set-up and maintenance of blind tracks, development of a special app for blind people and other friendly policies for blind people and guide dogs."
"The art troupe opens a window not only for the blind but also for others," said Li Minzhong, director of the Meiaironghe Art Troupe and a visually impaired person.
"Visually impaired people have limited social connection. Their disability and the difficulty in going out and in learning the latest information and skills due to blindness prevent visually impaired people from making friends and finding good jobs.
"So we established this troupe to give blind children and young people a platform to learn art and perform on the stage and for other people to know about us. It is not just a stage for art but a stage for life. We hope the troupe can serve as a bridge between blind people and the society."
Chinese lute and guitar are no difficulty for them while playing a song of Jay Chou.
