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Sick China scavenger boy earns US$1.4 a day to help ill uncle captivates 8 million online

  • Teenage boy who has suffered tragedy throughout his young life has been helped by caring mainland netizens moved by his plight

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A 13-year-old boy in China who suffers from kidney disease and has to scavenge to feed himself and look after his sick uncle has broken hearts on mainland social media. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin
Fran Luin Beijing

A 13-year-old boy in China, who scavenges for less than 10 yuan (US$1.4) a day to support himself and his sick uncle, has been diagnosed with kidney disease, breaking many hearts online.

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Yuan Liushou, from central China’s Henan province, was born with only one kidney in 2011.

He was diagnosed with late-stage uremia, a fatal condition caused by a kidney that cannot filter waste from blood, in 2019.

Yuan’s father died when he was six. His mother abandoned him the next day.

The boy, whose circumstances have meant he has developed a maturity far beyond his age, said he never blamed his mother, as she “has epilepsy and could not take care of herself well”.

The youngster survives and helps his ill uncle by picking up what he can find on the street. Photo: Douyin
The youngster survives and helps his ill uncle by picking up what he can find on the street. Photo: Douyin

He went to live with his uncle, who is now 65.

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