Due to family circumstances, Hsu Fang-yu, a fourth-grade student at Chiayi Municipal Ta-tung Elementary School, lives with her grandmother, who makes a living from collecting items for recycling, and her great-grandmother. Hsu likes drawing. By chance, she found some wax crayons among the things her grandmother had collected for recycling, learning by herself, she found something she was very good at. In the third grade at elementary school, she was admitted to a class for artistically gifted children. On Sept. 19 she received a commendation as an “angel in adversity” from the Chiayi Cheng-huang Temple’s charity foundation. Hsu attended the prize-giving activity along with her grandmother and took along a drawing she had done of her whole family. The story of how she has made advances in spite of adversity is quite moving.
Hsu says that her mother looks after her two younger brothers, who are late developers, on her own in Taichung, so she, her 56-year-old grandmother and 93-year-old great-grandmother have to depend on one another. Apart from a military pension, their household income is supplemented by her grandmother’s earnings from recycling. Hsu helps with collecting and sorting things for recycling, and the stationery and drawing materials she uses are picked out from among the recyclables.
The girl’s grandmother, Wang Ching-chung, says that when Hsu gets home she helps by hanging clothes out to dry, bringing them in again and sweeping and mopping the floor. When her great-grandmother goes out, she always walks along with her and gives her a helping hand. Although she lives in a poor household, Hsu is resilient and hardworking, and she is very respectful and obedient. They are lucky to have such a well-behaved little girl, says Wang.
(Liberty Times, translated by Julian Clegg)
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者丁偉杰
嘉義市大同國小四年級學生許芳瑜，因家庭因素，跟著從事資源回收的祖母以及曾祖母同住。她喜歡畫畫，無意間從祖母撿回的資源回收物找到蠟筆，靠著自學，畫出一片天，小三考進美術資優班，九月十九日接受嘉義城隍廟慈善會「逆境天使」表揚，許芳瑜與祖母一起出席授獎活動，還帶來一幅「全家福」畫作。逆境向上的故事，讓人感動。
許芳瑜說，因媽媽在台中獨力照顧兩個發展遲緩的弟弟，她必須跟五十六歲祖母，及高齡九十三歲曾祖母相依為命；家裡生活開銷除領榮民撫恤金，另由祖母從事資源回收補貼家用。她會幫忙回收、分類，所用的文具及畫具都是從回收物挑選而來。
祖母王敬忠說，芳瑜放學回家會幫忙曬衣服、收衣服、掃地、擦地；阿祖外出，一定跟前跟後，攙扶阿祖。雖然家境清寒，芳瑜刻苦努力，十分孝順，非常難得。
（自由時報記者丁偉杰）
A: Apart from megahit “KPop Demon Hunters,” what else is worth watching? B: The new shows featuring four top-tier actors – Xiao Zhan, Wang Yibo, Yang Yang and Li Xian — are all popular. A: Yang’s TV drama, “The Immortal Ascension,” is definitely one of the summer sizzlers. Some praise it as the Eastern edition of the glorious “Harry Potter” series. B: Yeah, the costume fantasy drama is about a young man’s journey to immortality. All the magic powers and magical tools in the show are just stunning. A: Let me go stream it now. I wanna
An automated human washing machine was one of the highlights at the Osaka Kansai Expo, giving visitors a glimpse into the future of personal hygiene technology. As part of the event, 1,000 randomly selected visitors were given the chance to try out this cleansing system. The machine operates as a capsule-like chamber where warm water filled with microscopic bubbles gently washes away dirt. The 15-minute process also includes a drying phase, removing the need for users to dry themselves manually. Equipped with advanced sensors, the device monitors the user’s biological data, such as their pulse, to adjust water temperature and other settings
Britain’s National Gallery announced on Sept. 9 that it will use a whopping ￡375m (US$510m) in donations to open a new wing that, for the first time, will include modern art. Founded in 1824, the gallery has amassed a centuries-spanning collection of Western paintings by artists from Leonardo da Vinci to J.M.W Turner and Vincent van Gogh — but almost nothing created after the year 1900. The modern era has been left to other galleries, including London’s Tate Modern. That will change when the gallery opens a new wing to be constructed on land beside its Trafalgar Square site that is currently
Firefighters might face an increased risk of developing “glioma,” a type of brain cancer, due to certain chemicals encountered on the job. A recent study analyzed glioma cases and found clear connections between the genetic patterns of affected firefighters and their exposure to these harmful substances. The study found that firefighters exhibited significantly higher levels of specific mutational signatures in their glioma cells compared to individuals in other occupations. These signatures — unique patterns of genetic changes in DNA — help scientists trace the source of mutations. Earlier research has associated these mutations with certain chemicals found in fire
RSS