A life saver
It was not easy for the government to find Xiao Feng a teacher. Since his story had been published and broadcast later by the media, most were afraid to teach him. Wang Lijun, the boy's teacher for the past seven years, is the fifth teacher that the village authority managed to recruit.
"At the beginning, when I was informed by the authority, I agreed to teach the child," said Wang, who was a retired teacher when he heard about Xiao Feng. "But it was not because that I am a savior, but because I knew that it can be prevented." In 2003, Wang had seen publicity materials on how to avoid becoming infected with AIDS.
"Although my wife, at the beginning, refused to let me teach the child, finally I persuaded her," said Wang. On November 20, 2004, Wang began his journey with Xiao Feng. In order to make the boy feel like a normal student Wang does as much as he can, such as providing music classes, PE and spring outings.
The boy is well aware of the reason for his isolation, but says he is not afraid of death. He also takes pains to avoid behavior that will worry the villagers, such as coughing or spitting, and assures them that without special contact the illness will not infect others.
The last survivor
In 2008, Xiao Feng's mother and his father died one after the other. The death of the child's parents brought him endless pain. At the beginning, none of his relatives would take care of him, but later when the government promised to provide subsidies to the boy, a relative stood up to adopt him.
Now he lives with the relative, although sometimes he is not treated well, says Xiao Feng. However, he knows that it is his last family member, and told the relative that "if someone tries to bully you, I will cut my hands and pour the blood onto his body."
"Xiao Feng is kind and is grateful to the people who have treated him good," said Wang. Although his future is doomed, the boy lives a simple life and now has a friend from the neighboring village who is not afraid of the illness.
