Liqiu
was three months old when we found her. She is the unfortunate third
daughter in her family. Third daughters are routinely aborted or
abandoned in China, so Liqiu is lucky to be alive. Her grandmother
forced her pregnant mom to go to the hospital, where the grandmother
bribed the doctor to check the baby’s gender. (Checking an unborn
baby’s gender is illegal in China, but it is done frequently.) Luckily
for Liqiu, the doctor mistakenly concluded that she would be a boy.
When
Liqiu was born a girl instead of a boy, the grandmother was angry at
the doctor and demanded her money back. The doctor said it was not his
fault, because there is always a 1-in-100 chance of error. If he had
not made a mistake, we believe the grandmother would have pressed for
Liqiu to be aborted, just because she is a girl.
Liqiu
and her family live in extreme poverty. They are farmers, and their
allotment of land is not big enough to support all of them. For this
reason, after Liqiu was born, the grandmother wanted to give her away
to a relative. Liqiu’s mom loved her and wanted to keep her, but
Liqiu’s dad considered it for financial reasons. Liqiu was in danger of
being given away!
Fortunately
for Liqiu and her mom, our fieldworker heard about their situation and
reached out to the family, offering encouragement about the value of
girls, as well as a $25 monthly stipend for a year. Hearing this, Dad
agreed to keep the girl, because our program gave him encouragement and
provided essential financial support. Thanks to your help, our Save-a-Girl program saved Liqiu from being given away.
