A volunteer (center) with the Fujian Anti-Poverty Charity Association helps a child suffering from leukemia wear a face mask. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The dark cloud of novel coronavirus has not been dispersed, yet. Apart from those suffering directly from the outbreak, other patients need help as well.

Those suffering from severe illnesses who have to visit the hospital to receive treatment urgently need masks to arm themselves, especially children with leukemia.

Low immunity makes it easier for these young patients to get infected by the virus.

Lin Bin, secretary-general of the Fujian Anti-Poverty Charity Association, saw the challenge and stepped up to it.

Lin has successfully collected enough KN95 masks, which can block at least 95 percent of very small (0.3 micron) particles, for more than 300 children suffering from leukemia in the past month.

Children with leukemia need to go to the hospital frequently for treatment. "These children are fragile, and they need masks with the strongest protective capabilities," Lin says.

The first 1,200 of KN95 masks came from Jiangsu province. The manufacturer originally planned to sell them to countries overseas for about 20 yuan (US$2.9) each. But after the manufacturer found out that Lin was buying masks for these children, the unit price of the mask was reduced to 13 yuan each.

When the masks arrived in Fuzhou city, the capital of Fujian province, one of the 10 boxes containing the masks was lost. Luckily, the express company later found it and sent it to its correct destination.

On Jan 28, parents of children with leukemia applied for masks online. Three days later, registered parents came to the office of the association in Fuzhou to collect five free masks for their children. On top of this, 380 masks were also donated to children with leukemia in Xiamen and Zhangzhou cities, in the same province.

The second batch of masks came from Japan. A friend of Lin found a volunteer to bring back seven boxes of masks back to China, 490 in total. On Feb 11, the association received a donation of 2,000 masks and distributed them.

Wei Zhuangwen from Nanping, Fujian province, has a boy named Wei Weihao. The 8-year-old boy was diagnosed with leukemia in 2015, and he almost recovered fully when he was 7. Unfortunately, in September, he suffered a relapse so he had to come to Fuzhou for treatment again. Wei Zhuangwen said he learned of Lin's association through other patients. Three months later, the association sponsored the child's bone marrow transplant.

On Jan 17, Wei Weihao left hospital. According to the doctor, in the next three years, he will require nursing and the whole family will need to wear masks, even at home, to prevent infection. After learning about the child's condition, Lin personally sent masks.

Lin, 40, established his charity association four years ago and says that devoting himself fully to charity is a major undertaking. There are many consequences, not least financially. He only gets half of the income that he used to earn. He used to work at a listed IT company in Hong Kong but quit after he had heart surgery in 2011.

"Luckily I'm not driven by material desire, living a simple life is just fine for me," Lin says, adding that the association's capital comes mostly from donations.

"We raised 17 million yuan last year. For each child with leukemia, we gave out 10,000 yuan to cover their medical expense. But it isn't enough," he says.

Lin recalls that the association raised enough money for a little girl named Shi Huayan to receive a bone marrow transplant. She was brought to Fuzhou by her grandmother in January. Lin discovered that Shi was wearing a crumpled adult-sized mask. Staff from the association provided a new professional-standard mask for children, and her grandmother immediately went down on her knees to show gratefulness.

"Grandmother loves the girl so much, but that mask didn't fit," Lin says. "That was the best she could get."

Each year, the association offers help to more than 200 children with diseases including thalassemia, congenital heart disease and cleft lip and palate. The association also hires professional medical social workers to take care of the children and provides hospice care.

Lin says during the novel coronavirus outbreak, the association has conducted online training for volunteers.

The training includes public protection and prevention guidelines, the latest development of the epidemic, the use of disinfectants, how to provide psychological support and care to patients, and precautions when returning to work, all based on documents released by the National Health Commission and Fujian Medical University Union Hospital.

The association has invited three guests to give lectures from Feb 1 to March 4. The lecturers are Fan Pingyu, a professional advisor to the Hong Kong Social Worker Development Association, who got a master's degree in Social Work at the University of Hong Kong; Ye Lizhi, who has five years social working experience; and Su Xiqing, deputy director of the Research Center for Social Work Practice and Mental Health at Hong Kong Baptist University.

Contact the writers at xuhaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn