BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Disabled Persons' Federation is offering more support through the citizen hotline to the physically disadvantaged residents who encountered many unexpected troubles amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
Feedbacks of poor information reception were brought up by many blind people as the epidemic broke out since most of the materials on epidemic prevention and control are in written form.
The federation provided 24-hour reception for those with feedback or information via various channels, including the hotline's official account on WeChat and Sina Weibo, as well as on mobile apps.
"When requests come in, we make timely responses," said Han Shuqin, director of the city's center for the protection of rights of the disabled.
Cao Jun, deputy chair of the Beijing Association of the Blind, developed an online mini-program that includes an audio manual for epidemic prevention know-hows.
To help the disabled keep abreast of the news and relevant policies on epidemic control, the federation also called up a group of special education teachers to work as sign language interpreters on press conferences.
"Sign language broadcasting works better with lip reading, but it is difficult for the hearing-impaired people to understand when a broadcaster is behind a mask," said Leng Xinxue with the federation, who came up with the idea of using transparent masks self-made of standard ones and plastic.
The epidemic also caused the disabled some inconvenience in rehab training and the purchase of assistive devices, since rehab centers across the city carried out closed-off management to avoid crowd gathering.
"We suspend face-to-face activities of the disabled, but not our service for them," said Wang Jingkui of the federation.
According to Wang, non-gathering and non-contact events have been held in 522 rehab facilities in the city, with purchasing agent services provided for the disabled facing special difficulties to get daily necessities and medicines.
More than 860 rehab teachers in Beijing have given remote training courses to over 2,600 disabled children, Wang added.
Ren Zhi and Li Na, a blind couple who owns a blind massage parlor in Chaoyang District, were happy about reopening their shop after the business had been closed for more than a month.
"I didn't expect that our regulars had worries about visiting due to the epidemic," Ren said. "We ran at a loss when the parlor was closed, and it is hard for us to disinfect and take body temperatures for our customers since we can't see."
Ren dialed the hotline on one morning and was helped out of the troubles that afternoon. Community workers came, making registrations and taking body temperatures for customers when Ren called the community at their arrivals.
"It is very kind of the community to have someone come over several times a day since they are already short of manpower under such a heavy workload of epidemic prevention and control," Li said.
To help the handicapped find employment, disabled persons' federations at both municipal and district levels in Beijing have organized 56 online recruitment fairs, working with municipally-administered enterprises to help 658 disabled people get employed, as well as over 500 others, work at home, according to Gu Jinrong, head of the city's social security and employment service center for the disabled.
Ma Yanqing, physically disabled, is one of the beneficiaries who found a job as a phone clerk at a local tech firm and is now working at her home in Tongzhou District in the eastern suburban area of Beijing.
"I've found a sense of social identity, and I'm now more confident to integrate into and repay society," she said.
