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Paralyzed young man fulfills dream in solo concert

By Wu Jin: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, September 5, 2012

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"I have never known where I came from," 23-year-old Yu Deshui sang on stage outside a shopping center in Beijing last month in a strained, but harrowing voice. Below him sat an audience of nearly a hundred admirers, most of whom were choking back tears.

It was Yu's first vocal performance, yet probably his last. Gaunt and frail, Yu suffers from a degenerative condition that has left him paralyzed from the waist down since he was an infant. Over the years, Yu's condition has worsened, bringing fears that he may be near death.

Yu Deshui [center front] and his sponsors stand on the stage for his concert.

Yu's stage performance perhaps comes as an epilogue to his short but incredibly difficult life, exacerbated by a troubled upbringing. He was abandoned by his parents due to his disabilities; he was raised by his grandmother until age 13, when she suffered a stroke. Unable to continue raising Yu, she was forced to relinquish custody of Yu to his father and stepmother. This scenario proved to be a nightmare ― Yu endured constant beatings from his abusive stepmother. After his father deserted the family a second time, Yu ran away from home at age 17, becoming a vagabond.

After wandering the streets homeless for over a year, Yu was fortunate enough to be rescued by strangers who sent him to the Light and Love School in Dajiangwa Village in Beijing’s Shunyi District.

Paralyzed young man Yu Deshui sings in his solo concert.

Shi Qinghua, schoolmaster of the Light and Love School who was also formerly homeless, has been Yu's custodian since he was rescued. Like Yu, Shi became a tramp after suffering a family tragedy. Inspired by the familiarity of Shi’s story to his own, Yu started taking classes at the school, improving his computer skills at a rapid place. Slowly, Yu regained his confidence.

"[The school] is only a temporary shelter for each kid here," Shi said in a live video interview, accompanied by Yu, on Sina.com.cn. "The ultimate goal is to lead you to work with your own hands and stride eventually out of the school gate."

"I want to embrace the world outside to encounter coldness and denials, because I know, without [experiencing] certain failures, you have no way to success," Yu reportedly said.

Although Yu's skills were improving, his health has deteriorated. Fearing that he might not have much time left, Yu told Shi of his ultimate wish ― to sing in a concert and reunite with his family, despite his painful childhood.

Despite his childhood miseries, paralyzed young man Yu Deshui expresses his wish to reunite with his family in the concert.

Shi took it upon himself to oblige Yu’s request. Shi and Hong Boguan, a southern Beijing shopping center for mahogany furniture, Chinese wood carving, jewelries, porcelains and potteries , arranged for Yu to appear at solo concert last month in the square in front of the center. Shi's acquaintances and the media were invited to help spread Yu’s story.

"Let [Yu's] family and the whole hometown see the indomitable spirit inside Yu via his growth and changes," the press release for Yu's concert proclaimed. "He shows his gratitude to all who have assisted him and dedicates his songs, full of the love he received, to you all."