Students attend lessons at Pengcheng Special Education School.

American-Chinese Doreen Chin-Huang, a former UNESCO administrative officer in Beijing, was key to the construction of the 1,140-square-meter building.

She immediately rushed to Xuzhou after hearing about the school's needs.

Chin-Huang turned to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, an organization carrying forward the spirit of love for children and their healthy growth.

Han's school has since become a model for other special education schools.

Pengcheng School's enrollment is more than Xuzhou's other three private special education schools combined.

But the school still has to turn down applications because its capacity is limited, Han says. It can't accept children with serious physical disabilities because it doesn't have professional doctors or clinics.

Pengcheng provides 13 courses, including speech therapy, paper-cutting, painting, dancing, music and computers.

Portraits of reform

"We hope to educate the students to become active and self-sufficient individuals and workers in society," says Han's daughter, Hong Xiaoyun, who went to work at the school for free the day she retired six years ago.

Among the graduates, 59 have found jobs and 29 have been transferred to schools for children without learning disabilities.

Zhou Yifan, who has been studying in the school for eight years, plays the electric keyboard so well that her father later bought her a piano. Her grandmother cried when she heard the song Zhou played on Children's Day.

Hong Dian, 32, has been working as a cleaner at a local factory for nine years, earning a monthly salary of 750 yuan ($120). He's friendly and passionate.

He often starts conversations with strangers by asking: "Hey, what's your name?"

Then, Hong asks which characters are used to write the person's name.

"He's talented at remembering Chinese characters and song lyrics," his mother Qiang Wei says.

Wings of aspiration

"He can easily remember cell phone numbers and recognizes almost all the Chinese characters in the dictionary."

But it might be harder for current students to do as well as Hong, given the financial strain the school faces.

Chin-Huang, the former UNESCO program officer, says raising money has always been a challenge.

One-third of the school's students come from families who live beneath the poverty line and don't need to pay tuition thanks to the Caterpillar and Hoglund foundations.

Other students must each pay 2,700 yuan a year, which is barely enough to cover their lunches and clothes.

Chin-Huang keeps the place afloat by constantly writing letters asking for financial assistance from friends, UNESCO, companies and foundations.

"Fundraising is really difficult," says Chin-Huang, who smiles when she explains that she calls herself "a professional beggar".

But, at least for now, Han's two children - Hong Xiaoyun, 61, and her 58-year-old brother - are taking care of the school.

"I'll work for the school for free as long as I can," Hong says.

Contact the writers through cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn.