Single parenting

Luo Xin told Xinhua that the divorce rate in the region is very high. Single parenthood is acknowledged as an important stress factor for families.

"Zhang Rong" is a single mother. There are over 80 one-parent families in her community. She confesses that the everyday burdens of her life  make her depressed, and she sometimes loses control and vents her bad moods on her son.

"Very regretful," said Zhang when asked to describe her feelings after beating her son: "Sometimes my boy cries. So do I."

With the help of the program and local authorities, single parents like Zhang formed a team named "The Single Wing Club" to share their difficulties and learn how to take better care of their children with the help of social psychologists.

"Many parents have changed their attitude and learned how to transform depression into confidence," said Yuan Ping, a psychology volunteer on the program.

As poverty is one of the premier problems of single-parent families, the community is also considering further training to enhance single parents' work skills and calling for more loans.

Prospects

"We really hope that the ACWF model in Yuxi can be upscaled across the whole country," said Gillian Mellsop, UNICEF's Representative to China.

According to UNICEF, more than 60,000 children, parents, teachers and other welfare workers have benefited from its projects in China since 2005.

Tong Lihua, lawyer and founder of ChinaChild.org, a nonprofit legal aid website for child victims, spoke highly of the program for providing proper information and training to all sides. He also want to see amendments to the criminal law to provide special sanctions for crimes against children.

When Xiaogang was first sent to school by his aunt last year, the school headmaster was reluctant to receive "the truant boy". Then, on Nov 4, UNICEF Ambassador, actress Maggie Zhang walked into Xiaogang's home and told him to get back to his studies. By the end of last month, Xiaogang finally returned to school with the help of many wellwishers.

When he was asked about his favorite course, he suggested mathematics, with a hint of a smile.