Boy Pursues Dreams After Quake

Chen Hao, a boy from Chengdu, southwest China, had a dream of becoming a basketball player. But it was shattered by the Wenchuan earthquake. Then, a very special phone call gave him now something new to pursue, and he's working hard to achieve it.

Running, shooting and laughing, this is Chen Hao's life now.

A huge change for Chen Hao since the devastating earthquake three years ago.

While saving one of his classmates, Chen Hao was severely hurt in the quake, his dream of being a basketball player shattered.

He then became depressed until picking a call from famous Chinese basketball player, Yao Ming.

Chen Hao said, "I've never seen such a phone number because it begins with number 0. I had no idea who it was. But when I picked up the phone, I found it was Yao Ming."

During several minutes conversation on the phone, Yao Ming kept saying one thing to little Chen Hao.

Chen Hao said, "He just asked me to have a good rehabilitation and go back on the basketball court after I got through it."

After his recovery, Chen continued to study in junior school with the honor of being a youth hero.

Chen's teacher has witnessed his positive changes in the three years.

Techer Yang said, "He is very out-going and enjoys playing with his classmates. Sometimes I would joke with him that if he did not have the honor of being a youth hero, he would be a very naughty student."

Basketball is Chen Hao's hobby now. His new dream now is to go to high school with good academic achievements, and become a sports journalist once he grows up.