When the local government learnt of Anipa's philanthropic deeds, it decided to grant a monthly allowance of RMB 15 to each of the orphans. The sum alleviated some of the financial burdens that Anipa faced but not all, for she had also offered to foot the medical bills of the father Jin Xuejun, which piled up over the years. On his deathbed in 1989 Mr. Jin expressed his desire to be buried in the traditional Islamic way as a token of gratitude to Anipa. After his passing, the lady took his three boys into her nest, and expanded her family to 21.

Every Child Is My Darling Baby

Abibao's monthly salary of RMB 45 was far from enough to cover the costs of feeding, clothing and schooling for 19 kids. In her struggle to earn enough to keep the family going Anipa threw herself into anything that could possibly bring in a bit of extra cash. She scavenged garbage dumps looking for waste items she could sell; she scoured the fields for edible plants to eat, and took on an assortment of odd jobs. In one such job she cleansed sheep heads for local slaughterhouses, her hands soaked for hours in the icy river that originates in nearby snow covered mountains. This eventually led to her developing rheumatism.

For many years Anipa would leave for work before six am and not return home until midnight. Despite all the financial and physical challenges she insisted that all her children should have as much education as their intelligence allowed. Wang Shuzhen had never attended school until being adopted by Anipa, when she was already 14, so she felt timid about joining students half her age. Anipa comforted her: "Baby, you are supposed to build the country someday, how could you do that without learning?"

Wang Shuzhen later recalled: "Our family was poor, but happy. The kids played in groups or collected firewood together. There was always more laughter in our home than in any of our neighbors'."

In 1994, the family underwent their gravest deprivation at a moment of family joy. Just before the scheduled date of Anipa's Han daughter Jin Xuelian's wedding, her blood son Aben was tragically killed when a wall collapsed while he helped another villager build a sheepfold. The loss devastated the mother, but she managed to pull herself together to give her daughter a merry wedding as planned. In front of a big crowd of guests, Anipa planted numerous kisses on the cheeks of the tearful bride, and handed her a gold ring, the only jewelry the mother owned.

"In my eyes every child in the house is my darling baby. And all I wish for them is that they have nice families of their own and successful careers." All mothers, regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds, think alike.

We Are Family

The nine biological children of Anipa had their grievances. Their step siblings seemed to have greater privileges than they did in the house: at their parents' interference these "strangers" could always win a jostle over a new pair of shoes or yummy snacks – all considered luxuries in conditions of sheer destitution.