March 2013

The Gift of Pigs

long-yuan_web

In April 2012, CWEF’s Animal Gift program began in China’s Yunnan province with the first ten families from Longtan and Laziqing villages receiving ¥2,000 (US$325) each for the purpose of buying and caring for animals. In January 2013, these first ten families returned the funds, which were then transferred to the second group of ten families in January 2013.

Long Xuehua’s family is one of beneficiaries in the first group of ten families. Long Xuehua is 51 years old. His wife, Yuan Zhenhua, is 49 years old. They experienced great tragedy a few years ago when one of their two children died in an accident. The last few years, their financial hardship has been exasperating for them. Their daughter and son-in-law have been staying with them because of unemployment. In spite of financial hardship, they hold to their faith and values, and continue to practice generosity to their community.

Long Xuehua was hoping his family’s income might increase at least ¥1000 through the Animal Gift project. With the funds, his wife took good care of 14 piglets from their sow and bought nutritional supplements to make the piglets grow up quickly. Unfortunately, 10 piglets died and 3 piglets were given to their relatives; they had to buy another two piglets in August 2012. When we visited their home in January 2013, their remaining three piglets were fully grown. Long Xuehua showed us these pigs and told us that he would sell one pig before Spring Festival and two pigs would be slaughtered in February. These two pigs will provide enough meat for his family for the year.

Long Xuehua’s family made about ¥700 additional net income last year as a result of the Animal Gift project. He felt satisfied about it even if it was less than his expectation. When their piglets died, he didn’t ask for any financial assistance from the common risk fund, which was set up as part of the project, because he felt the pigs were his own responsibility. He is grateful and gives thanks to the donors and to his wife who always supports him in his service to their community and takes primary responsibility in caring for their pigs.

The Gift of Pigs Read More »

University Students Give Back

GngdgUni2013web

High school students in China spend nearly every waking moment preparing for the National Higher Education Entrance Examination, commonly known as the Gaokao. This includes Saturdays, long school days and almost no breaks from the end of junior high through the test date. What happens when they leave high school is determined by this test, which is mainly memorization-based rather than applied knowledge. What our REACH program does is try to provide social skills and knowledge that are not rote, but give the students confidence and joy in themselves outside the realm of  studying and school. Below is a story provided about the recent trip CWEF university students made to go back to their alma mater and encourage CWEF scholarship students to have hope. (Note: a grade 3 student is equivalent to a high school senior in the US.)

“A blur of green and white uniforms set against a grey sky makes its way uphill toward Xiangshan Middle School.  On this cool and rainy first of March, moisture is not the only thing permeating the air; tension bigger than any raincloud billows above these students.  The Gaokao is just 100 days away and a large, red banner hung across the entrance of the school leaves no doubt: the biggest test of their young lives is around the corner.

In a classroom on the second floor of the school however, the clouds of anxiety are dissipating and making way for rays of light in the form of smiling school girls.  Amongst the murmuring, laughter is heard and hope rises from the ranks of these Grade 3 EMBER scholarship students.  Seven EMBER University Scholarship recipients, and veterans of the Gaokao, are volunteering their time to come back to Xiangshan Middle School to counsel current high school scholarship recipients and REACH participants before the big exam.  Not only have these seven returned, but included in the girls’ counseling packets are scores of letters from almost every former scholarship recipient.  Some of these former recipients are in university and some are in the working world, but all have given advice and encouragement to their ‘sisters’.

And while the girls are excited to share in the insight of their counselors who have ‘been there, done that’, the seriousness in their faces does not waiver for long.  The difference, however, between these girls and a hundred other their age is clear: hope.  There is life after the Gaokao.  This life may be in a university or it may be in the working world, but wherever they happen to be these things they will remember: they are loved, their ideas are worthy, their lives are important.”

To have students come back to offer encouragement to those about to take the test is encouragement to us that we can help young students have confidence in themselves. To learn more about EMBER visit their website. To learn more about the pressure of the Gaokao test you can visit our Facebook page and find articles linked there.

University Students Give Back Read More »

Scroll to Top