Girl, 12, Saves 3-year-old Boy, Touches People's Heart

Zhou Meiling, a 12-years old girl who saved a boy from being run down by a truck, in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province. [Xinhua]

Zhou Meiling, a 12-year-old girl who saved a boy of three from being run over by a truck, has moved the hearts of local people in Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province.

On May 22, Zhou was strolling with her mother after supper when a truck full of sandstone sped towards a boy who was crossing the road without realizing the hidden danger.

Zhou rushed to the boy, pulled him back and hurled him to the road side. Despite a sharp brake by the driver, the truck kept moving and knocked down the girl.

After she was sent to hospital that evening, the doctors found that her left leg was seriously injured and required amputation. As her mother insisted on saving the limb, the girl went through four surgeries and finally retained her leg.

Recalling the thrilling moment, she said: "I didn't know where I got my guts. I had no time to think about it. Were I not to save the boy, he would lose his life. "

Hearing her deeds, Yi Lianhong, secretary of the Changsha Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), called on people to learn from her spirit of helping others and daring to sacrifice.

Many people from all walks of life visited the hospital voluntarily to see the girl themselves. Donations and greetings have come from all around the country.

As the donations mounted, her family began to refuse to take more, but they had no way to call off the kindness of people. They finally decided to donate the extra money so that it could help further people in need.

Later, Li Wei, secretary of the CPC committee of Wangcheng District, Changsha, suggested that the funds, together with other sources of money, be pooled into a Meiling Foundation, which could be used for helping impoverished students with good character and academic achievements.

Speaking of the little girl's deeds, Tan Huihui, president of Changsha Women's Federation, said, "The action of Meiling is not accidental, but a result of good family education and a good emulation of the 'Lei Feng' spirit."

Lei Feng was a young People's Liberation Army soldier in the 1960s. He became posthumously famous for his selflessness and modesty, and is often held up as a role model for Chinese society to follow.

In the eyes of her neighbors and classmates, Zhou is a caring and kind girl.

The girl was born into a humble family, with her mother jobless and her father as a migrant worker. The family lived in a shabby, single-story apartment without decent furniture. However, on the wall of the girl's room hang 26 certificates of merit, which marked how hard-working she has been in her school.

Her mother Hu Jinhua is not a woman who is widely read, but is known for her warmheartedness, said local villager Zhou Zhengxin. Her father is honest, diligent and willing to help others, he added.

"The girl was very sensible ever since she was young. She helps her parents do housework and tutors the younger kids in the neighborhood. The kids here all like her," said her neighbor Zhou Yan.

Zhou never applied for financial aid from Grade 1 to Grade 6, saying that the aid should be given to her classmates who are more needy of help, said her head teacher Zuo Lihui. She always tried to donate more money at the school's charity events and has recently helped a girl transferred from other places to catch up with the class, she added.

Hearing her story, Zhang Jiafeng, a former colleague of late Lei Feng, came to see Zhou. He donated his monthly pension to her and presented her with a photo of himself and Lei.

(Source: China Women's News&Xinhua/Translated and edited by Women of China)