I was browsing through youtube and I saw this video. It is about a video about a boy named Ke Yuan that is born without ears. He was abandoned a few days after birth and was left at an orphanage. The video shows the sad truth that’s happening in China. In the last 20 years, the number of birth defects has jumped by 20% with an average of 900 000 children is born each year with defects. Some were abandoned as there is little social security for the disabled in China. Therefore if they are born into a family that couldn’t afford the necessary expenses to provide a living for the disabled child, there’s a chance the child might be abandoned at one of these homes.

One reason why there is an increased amount of children born with birth defects could be due to air pollution. Air pollution could affect the growth of the fetus. Particulate matters that are in the mother’s reproductive organs could be the reason that affects the growth.

After watching this I feel sad. These children are innocent and they can’t avoid the situation they have been put into. Even their parents may be innocent too as they do not choose to breathe in the pollutants. However, if the reasons for air pollution were taken more seriously from the beginning and control measures were put in place earlier, these children may have a better chance at a normal life.

But thankfully there are orphanages that takes care of such children, there are also kind souls that helped these kids by adopting them and providing a family home for them. While reading the comments i came across a piece of good news about the boy.

The good news is that after a year from the video, a singaporean couple adopted the boy as seen in these 2 parts documentary, Part 1 Part 2.

References:
Environment and Reproductive Health in China: Challenges and Opportunities
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.1205117