见她举步维艰，有关部门曾帮她装假肢，但却不合适。“装上假肢走路，双脚又痛又发炎。”胡凤莲苦不堪言，不得不继续跪着行走。2006年，胡凤莲来到龙胜县城打工。她说，她从来没想过去乞讨。她深信：“自己没有脚，但有手，有手就有力气，就能养活自己。” [CFP]
Local authorities once offered her prosthetic legs, but "the feet caused pain and inflammation," Hu said. So she kept on walking on her knees. She came to Longsheng County in 2006 to do odd jobs. The idea of begging never occurred to her. "I don't have legs, but I have hands. I can earn my bread with my hands," Hu said. [CFP]