On December 12^th, an opening ceremony was held in Beijing to raise social awareness about cerebral palsy. The campaign was initiated by One Foundation, the China Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University, and other nonprofits.

The groups have, so far, made an appeal for social-welfare legislation to help families coping with cerebral palsy. China has about 6 million cerebral palsy patients, which includes as many as 1.2 million children under the age of six.

At this time, treatments and rehab for patients with cerebral palsy can cost up to $1600 a month in China, and these treatments are often excluded from medical insurance coverage, according to Shang Xiaoyuan.

Zhang Dakui, 31,said that he was grateful to his parents and stepmother for his recovery from cerebral palsy. Now a doctoral candidate in computer science with the Beijing Institute of Technology, Dakui developed cerebral palsy after an infection in infancy.

As Yang Peng, secretary-general of One Foundation said, “In the past years, the government and society have made big progress in helping children in need, but there is still much to do.”

The Ministry of Education has also stepped up, issuing regulations to guarantee special schools for disabled children.   As Yang said, looking to the future, “If the country legislates to guarantee welfare of families with CP children, it will be much more efficient and beneficial to them than the weak support from charities.”