The provincial government says that it is trying to deal with the custody of these children and has policies to try to bring back migrant workers to start business and to make a living closer to home and expects the situation to be completely changed by 2020 through increased efforts.
But, continues Luo, "I have 17 of these left-behind children to look after and have a great responsibility," then points to a banner on the nearby wall which says, "Check all left-behind children in the village and their home."
The local government has policies for left-behind children that deal with their state of mind, guidance, care, and even job preferences for their parents. When Dandan is asked about an official named Xie Shangmeng who comes to check on her, she replies, "He comes every several days to where I'm living."
In Haizi township, as many as 87 parents have promised to stay home to take care of their children and 26 have had work recommended to them nearby. As for the 3,009 children left-behind for various reasons, orphanages, juvenile care houses, even village officers and teachers, temporarily do the best they can.
Since 2013, Bijie, one of the poorest regions in the province, has spent 170 million yuan ($26.6 million) on a left-behind child care fund to be used to improve education conditions and has built a kindergarten and care center. Every left-behind child is supposed to have a chance to attend a boarding school by 2016 and kindergartens should be available for all 3-year-olds or older, by 2017.
There's no doubt that the government's mission is huge and crucial in view of the underdeveloped economy and struggling locals and the Wumeng Mountain area has been classed among the State's most poverty-stricken regions, with a great many households in poor living conditions guaranteeing that young laborers will leave home for better life.
Experts say this matter is a serious social problem tied to education and employment and the limitations leave migrant workers no choice but to leave their children. Some try another solution, for example, the mother of 15-year-old Lili, who took her children along, but, "We encountered horrible problems when sending my kid to a public school in the city, but the private ones are unaffordable so we leave her at home."
Government policies have contributed to the lack of unbalance in the development of the backward interior and prosperous coastal areas. So, perhaps we need to take care of that and focus on child custody and government responsibility.
Fortunately, 5-year-old Kaikai is now closer to his faraway father after he got a job in a nearby city, and their relations appear to be healthier.
