The disabled men who act as each other's arms and eyes

Two disabled men, one blind, one a double amputee, have spent over ten years planting trees together in rural China. "I am his hands, he is my eyes," says Haixia. "We are good partners."

The elder of the two, Haixia, 54, was born blind in his left eye because of a cataract, and since a fragment of stone flew into his right eye during a factory accident in 2000, he has been totally blind. His colleague and close friend, Wenqi, 53, has been a double arm amputee since the age of three when he touched an unprotected electric cable lying on the ground and received a high voltage shock.

Haixia believes fate brought the two of them together again in 2000 following his accident so they could help each other to prosper, allowing them to fulfil work they couldn't do alone. "For me it is not complicated," Haixia says. "I'm disabled and don't want to be a burden on my family, so I plant trees. After ten years the trees will grow and I will get money." So far they estimate they have planted ten thousand healthy trees, and three thousand more which have died. While the work may not be fast, the three-hectare site is now covered with trees and attracts nesting birds.

Vocabulary:
Amputee, cataract