China

you paved my path out of the mountains

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This year CWEF held a ceremony for its new scholarship recipients in Yunnan, and Bangmei, the student representative, gave this speech with gratitude for your support:

Hello everyone! I am Bangmei from Class 515, Grade 10. I am honored to stand here, still trembling slightly as I hold the microphone. I know that the light before me is the result of countless warm hands pushing aside the clouds for me. The ability to calmly share my dreams today is because you have paved my path out of the mountains with love. Please allow me to first bow deeply to all the caring individuals from the CWEF and Kunming Yixing Public Welfare Development Center — thank you for making dreams come true. 

I used to be a child struggling in poverty. My family’s financial difficulties were like a heavy yoke making it hard for me to pursue my studies. Watching my father work day and night to cover my tuition and living expenses, seeing his growing white hair and bending back, I asked myself countless times: Must my educational path be forced to end like this? Must my small dream be shattered by reality’s cruelty? In my confusion and helplessness, your support came like a warm ray of sunshine, bringing me hope and strength. 

It is you who, with selfless love and generous support, have allowed me to study in bright classrooms and pursue my dreams without distraction. You have shown me that there are many people in this world who care about poor children like us, making me believe that as long as we do not give up, we can overcome difficulties and move towards a better future. 

Thanks to your support, I can devote more time and energy to studying, read more books, participate in more activities, help more people, and pursue my dreams. 

When it comes to dreams, I have always held a firm belief: I hope to become a people’s teacher, using my knowledge and love to nurture more children, so they can go out to see the wider world and find their own value. I hope to become as warm-hearted as you in the future, illuminating the path for more children to realize their dreams. I know this road will be full of thorns and twists, but I firmly believe that faith will guide me to my ideal destination. In future studies, I will work harder and stay grateful, passing on your love so that more people can feel the warmth and care of society. 

Finally, I want to say again: Thank you! It is wonderful to have you! 

-Bangmei

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Did you know that most of the scholarship recipients you support live on less than 20,000 yuan (less than $3,000USD) per year?  That most of them come from single-parent homes or homes where a primary caregiver is disabled or chronically ill?  Many of them spend nearly half of their modest income on educational expenses. Your generosity is relieving tremendous burdens and bringing light and hope to these young people and their families.  Thank you for giving CWEF the honor of your partnership!  Thank you for giving education and hope to girls from rural China!

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a picture showing three adults speaking from a desk on stage to an auditorium of students.

Seminar: what to expect in Adolescence

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On June 3rd, your generous giving through CWEF supported a unique lecture for students on coping with the physical and emotional changes of adolescence. The presentation aimed to help adolescent girls understand themselves as well as improve their mental health and life skills.

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  • Time: June 3rd, 2025 
  • Venue: Wumeng Township Central School 
  • Participants: 100 girls in Grades 4-6, Teacher Shao Jiafang, Principal Li of Wumeng Township Central School, and the teaching team 

Main Events

1. Principal’s Speech – The principal emphasized the significance of mental health in adolescence. He encouraged students to actively participate in solving the problems they face, and to approach adolescent changes with a confident and healthy attitude. 

2. Teacher’s Lecture – kindly explained common changes in adolescence:

  • Physical changes like breast development, appearance of pubic and armpit hair, the patterns of a menstrual cycle etc.
  • Psychological changes like causes of emotional fluctuations, developing a positive self-image etc.

3. Interactive Q&A: students overcame their shyness and became eager to ask questions.  

4. Guided simulations: students practiced coping skills through simulated conversations / scenarios

5. Growth Oath: Students participated in an oath to accept physical and emotional changes and strengthen their self-identity.

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Results

  • Questions that were previously too embarrassing to ask were answered.  Students learned how to cope with adolescent changes. As one student mentioned, “After the lecture, I know how to face physical changes, and the stone in my heart has finally dropped.”
  • Students gained a more scientific understanding of adolescent physical and psychological changes, reducing ther fear and confusion and teaching them how to have the right attitude when coping with challenges. 

Summary 

This lecture provided valuable knowledge and reflections to girls at Wumeng Township Central School in Yunnan, China. The activity not only provided scientific knowledge but also emotional care.  Students will face the changes of adolescence more confidently.

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classes you gave to migrant children in kunming

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Due to rapid urbanization, the population of migrant children in Kunming has increased significantly. Most migrant parents hold temporary jobs, leaving them little time to care for their children. The lack of family education has led to numerous challenges. These migrant children lack necessary daily care. This imbalance often leads to parent-child conflicts which causes children to struggle in other relationships as well. More seriously, some children do extreme things like drop out of school or run away from home.

This is why, through your generosity, CWEF supported life education classes for 250 students and 20 teachers at Bohua school in Kunming City during 2024.   Here are some examples of the many topics covered in the class: 

1. “Stereotypes” 

Target Group: 5th grade students 

Content: 

  • Through riddles and interactive discussions, students learned to recognize and distinguish stereotypes. 
  • The course aimed to help students understand the impact of stereotypes on evaluating others and learn to avoid stereotypes based on gender, region, and other characteristics

Key Quotes: 

  • “Stereotypes make us overlook individual differences, forming preconceived notions.” 
  • “Do not judge others’ abilities or personalities based on gender, region, or other characteristics.”

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2. “I Am a Media Assessment Expert” 

Target Group: 5th grade students 

Content: 

  • Through interactive questions and video screenings, students learned to assess media information and avoid succumbing to bad influences
  • The course aimed to improve students’ media literacy and cultivate their ability to think independently. 

Key Quotes: 

  • “Media information is everywhere; we must learn to identify the values in it.” 
  • “Do not blindly follow media propaganda; learn to think independently.”

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3. “Your Special Value” 

Target Group: 2nd & 3rd grade students 

Content: 

  • Through a picture book about tomato plants, students learned that everyone has unique value and strengths. 
  • The course used questions and interactive games to guide students to reflect on their own unique qualities and encourage them to have confidence.

Key Quotes: 

  • “Both tall and short tomato plants have their own strengths; everyone is unique.” 
  • “No matter what kind of person you are, you have your own value and deserve respect.” 

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THANK YOU for your heart for migrant children in China and for supporting the mental and relational health of both the children and their parents through your generosity!!  250 children are better equipped to face the big wide world BECAUSE OF YOU!

Want to stay informed on opportunities to equip young people from disadvantaged communities in China and Cambodia? Sign up for updates from CWEF here.

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Yingping, CWEF high school scholarship recipient from rural China, standing in front of a wall framed by flowers

She’s Now Determined to Get Ahead

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This letter is written by Yingping, one of CWEF's high school scholarship recipients in China.

Dear Donors:

Greetings to all of you!

Thank you very much for the attention of the state, the school, and the donors to us poor students and for giving us practical help. We can’t express our gratitude in person, but we can only express our deep gratitude to the school and all the people who care about us and help us poor students.

SCHOOL-RELATED EXPENSES ARE TOO HIGH

Society is developing. For a poor family, educating a student is not easy. Besides, my family doesn’t only have one student to provide for, but I also have a younger brother in junior high school.

The distance from home to school is quite far for me, traveling back and forth costs 90 yuan.  So sometimes I stay at school overnight.  

MANY FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE CHRONIC ILLNESSES

When my parents were young, I didn’t have a lot of pressure.  But now my parents are slowly getting older. In the blink of an eye, they are more than halfway to 100 years old.  Their bodies are not in good shape.

My father has bronchitis.  He takes medication all year round.  My older brother and younger brother also suffer from bronchitis. 

When I was a child, my brother fell ill, and we had to spend the family’s savings on his treatment. My parents often say that their bodies hurt, but they refuse to go to the hospital for checkups because they are afraid of spending money. 

In a year, they cannot afford to buy one pair of shoes. All their clothing was given to them by relatives who did not want them anymore. This makes my heart ache deeply.

YOU PROVE THAT YOU CARE

Under such circumstances, the state and the school allowed me to have better study conditions, in part, by providing me a CWEF scholarship.  Thanks to the state and the school for not forgetting us poor students.

In the school, the teachers prove that they care for us students by their actions. Thanks to your help I have the heart to work hard to get ahead.

“Thanks to your help, I have the heart to work hard to get ahead.”

Yingping, CWEF Scholarship Recipient from China

I will try my best to finish my current studies and be ready for my future studies. Thank you to the country, the school, the leaders, and all the donors.

Yingping

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THANK YOU to all of you who have demonstrated your caring heart for young girls from low-income families in China through your giving and volunteer work! 

You are making it possible for Yingping and many others like her to pursue higher education. Your generosity through CWEF is raising up hundreds of Chinese students to become strong servant leaders in their own communities!

Love the work of CWEF? Get connected with us! Receive our updates and newsletters by clicking here.

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A profile picture of CWEF high school scholarship recipient, Keyu.

Your Support is the Greatest Help: Scholarships for Chinese Girls

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Excerpts from a Letter Written by Keyu, who received one of CWEF’s high school scholarships for Chinese girls made possible by the generous gifts of CWEF donors like you:

“My name is Keyu. I’m a 17-year-old high school student. My father died in an accident when I was 14 years old, which was a heavy blow to me and my family. There are six people in my family.

HOW CHINESE EDUCATION HAS CHANGED. I was born in a poor family, but also in a beautiful society. When my parents grew up, they could not afford books, which led to the end of their education in primary school. Now, the national compulsory education gives many of our children the opportunity to enjoy too many educational resources. I am very lucky to be born in this era, when education can change my fate. 

Inside Keyu’s Family Home

THE FUTURE KEYU DREAMS OF. I often fantasize about my future life and hope that my mother will live well. I want to be a very successful person. Even though I am ordinary now, I still want to grow up and become different.

MEMORIES WITH DEEP IMPACT. My father was always a person I admired. I think that I learned to drive a car mostly because of my father, who passed the driving license when I was very young. His driving skills made me feel very safe. So I always wanted to be like him. My father was sometimes meticulous and serious, but he would use the only money left in the house to buy a few kilograms of mutton to eat at home in the winter. Many memories have a deep impact on me.

The Outside of Keyu’s Family Home

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR HELP!  I am very grateful for the precious opportunity given by the foundation. Thank the country and society, Thank you for the kindness that this golden age has also given us. China is a country with warmth. Poverty makes our starting point backward, but I believe that as long as we persist, we will achieve what we are pursuing. 

Finally, I still want to thank my motherland, thank you! Your support and love are also the greatest help and encouragement to me. Here, I would like to thank you with respect for everyone who is helping with the “development of youth education.”  I sincerely thank each of you, thank you! Thank you for your help. I am very grateful! I also wish you all the best!” ~ Keyu

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BECAUSE OF YOU and your generous donations through CWEF, Keyu’s family received extra financial support so she could finish her high school education. Now she dreams of attending college, succeeding in her career, and giving back to her family. You are helping fulfill Keyu’s dream that someday her mother will live well. THANK YOU for sacrificially standing in the gap for Chinese girls like Keyu!

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four girls students sitting at desks listening to CWEF supported mental health class lectures on bullying

How to Prevent Toxic Bystanding and Bullying

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How common is school bullying? Over half of the 36,000 participants in a school-bullying survey conducted by Tencent reported being bullied at school. Whereas one-fourth of survey participants admitted to bullying others. 

Because of the generosity of people like you who donate to our programs, CWEF and its nonprofit partners can host mental health classes for students in the Chinese province of Yunnan. In the hopes of protecting more students from the distress and dangers of bullying, the teachers of our mental health courses taught students all about this important issue!

The instructors shared real and heart-breaking stories about children that had been so badly bullied at school that they considered killing themselves. Through these stories, students could feel the deep and sometimes irreparable pain their actions can bring to someone else. 

From there, the teachers talked about all the types of bullying: physical, verbal, social, and gender-based; and they gave the students clear examples of what these different types of bullying look like. Finally, they educated the students on how to protect themselves by avoiding playing alone far from other people, for example, or by telling someone in authority about the bullying when it occurs.  

In all of this, the teachers emphasized how watching someone get bullied but doing nothing to stop it is just as harmful as being a bully yourself. Students were admonished to take courage, do the right thing, and stand up for others in need! Through this course, students gained a deeper understanding of school bullying, grasped concrete ways to protect themselves, and realized that they should not ignore bullying but stand up against it.  

THANK YOU for caring so deeply for the children of China! And THANK YOU for demonstrating that heart by giving generously through CWEF to make life-changing classes like these possible for children from rural areas. You are equipping young people to become strong servant leaders in their own communities! 

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Children entering the gate to Shigang Primary School in the mountains of Yunnan, China

A Primary School In the Mountains of Yunnan

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Students in the courtyard of Shigang Primary School, Yunnan, China

Shigang Primary School

Shigang Primary School is located in a rural area of the mountainous Chinese province called Yunnan. There 178 3rd – 6th grade children attend classes. Twenty-five percent of them are ‘left-behind children.’  This means that their parents work full-time in other cities and possibly only come home once or twice a year.

Students using 1 of the 10 water purification systems you provided

The Children Didn’t Have Clean Water

Shigang Primary School had a great need for cleaner water as well as more health education for its students. Because of you and your generous support, CWEF was able to provide 10 water purifications systems. Now all the children can have plenty of clean drinking water during the school day. CWEF also offered robust safety and health education classes. At the beginning of the class, as many as 40% of surveyed students were not regularly washing their hands. In the health education classes, students were taught all about germs.   They also learned the importance of washing their hands and brushing their teeth. Your generous giving also provided the students of Shigang Primary School with very practical items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and towels to help them practice what they’ve learned.

Students receiving the hygiene gifts you gave them, like toothbrushes and towels

Check out this beautiful view from the school basketball court!

Because of You, These Children Will Live Healthier and Happier

Through these health education courses and hygiene-related gifts, students grew in their knowledge and understanding of disease and how to prevent it. Now they will be able to share their new knowledge with their parents and families, creating a ripple effect throughout their community. Because of their access to clean water and deeper understanding of hygiene, students will suffer fewer sick days and benefit from increased participation in school helping them to grow up to be healthier happier adults.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND CARE FOR THE CHILDREN OF RURAL CHINA! Your generous giving through CWEF is bringing greater health and happiness to hundreds of Chinese children.

See more of your impact on the lives of children in rural China – follow us on Facebook!

Expand your impact!  Become a CWEF monthly donor today to help even more children grow up to be servant leaders in their own communities!

Students attending an education class about on-campus , off-campus and food safety

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You Were There for Her

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Hello CWEF Family!

Your giving is, in part, helping to support mental health at Bohua school in Yunnan. Xiaodie, a fourth grade student there, is very grateful for all your help!

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In the eyes of her teachers, Xiaodie was a diligent well-behaved student. However, in the eyes of her parents, Xiaodie had become rebellious. Why the stark contrast?

To find out, staff members accompanied Xiaodie home from school one day. Xiaodie’s family of eight lives in a small one room house.The room has a single table which is always covered with things; so Xiaodie completes her homework kneeling by the bed.

Due to the epidemic, Xiaodie’s parents have no income. In fact, Xiaodie had to take a leave of absence recently because she wasn’t getting enough to eat. When our staff learned about this, they helped the family acquire 500rmb in funding to get through this difficult time. 

Xiaodie is usually confident. However, as our staff discovered during their visit, her family’s struggles had caused her to feel inferior to her classmates. At the same time, her parents lack education and cannot help her study. Xiaodie responded to her parents’ authoritarian methods by talking back to them and leaving home without permission.

The counseling staff met multiple times with Xiaodie and her parents. During the counseling sessions, Xiaodie described various family dilemmas, friendship crises, and mental health problems she was experiencing. Under staff guidance, she was able to express and examine her own feelings. Her behavior changed, and she came to understand her parents and try to help them. During one counseling session, Xiaodie gave a beautifully crafted note to the accompanying social worker, expressing gratitude for all the ways they had helped her during this difficult time.

THANK YOU to each of you who gave generously through CWEF so that children like Xiaodie could have experience extra love and support during their time of need!

Read more about your impact on the lives of children in rural China by clicking here.

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photo of Dan, CWEF high school scholarship recipeint

A Happy Life Every Day

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Hello!  THANK YOU for your generous support of education for girls from rural China! 

Please enjoy letter excerpts from Dan, a CWEF high school scholarship recipient:

Working for a better life. “At home, grandma and mom and dad tell me to study hard; so that I can get into a good university. It is only after I graduate that there will be more employment opportunities for me. I know this because my parents have struggled to earn a living and have often not qualified for job interviews because of their limited education. Since I started going to school, I always remember my parents’ expectation has been for me to enter the best school in our county, and I have been fighting for it. 

I’m more of a home body. During my 14 days of summer vacation, I busily study and work on the farm. I have little free time; but for hobbies, I like to sing – not only Chinese-style songs, but also some English songs. I like that, in the song, I can experience a different world, feel the singer’s emotions, and expand my English vocabulary.  

The exterior of Dan’s home in rural Yunnan

Facing failure. The most impressive thing for me this year was my parents’ response to my academic focus. I initially chose to study science with great anticipation. I listened carefully in class. Afterwards, I rigorously completed the homework. And yet even though I mastered the class material, my grade on the final exam was too low.

One time my grades really dropped. I felt a little scared. When I went home, my parents saw that I was tired of studying and cautiously asked me if I was okay. At that moment, I couldn’t hold back all my stress, and I told them that I couldn’t keep up with my studies. I didn’t know what to do. Dad was silent for a while and then asked me if I was only struggling with physics, chemistry and biology; or if I felt that I couldn’t keep up with the calculations. My father let me switch to the liberal arts, which focus on accumulating knowledge so that learning will be easier for me.

The interior of Dan’s family home

Living a happy life every day. Now my grades are keeping up. In school, I live a happy life every day. Through CWEF, people can give love and help to others. Included in this educational support, there are living supplies, which make the lives of poor families less strenuous; school supplies, which make studying easier for children that can’t afford school supplies; food items, which improve the quality of life in poor families, and charity grants to help people recover that have suffered major accidents.

Doing charity work is a very meaningful thing. I want to join in. And what I can do at the moment is volunteer. I will participate when I have the chance.“

You have provided pivotal support in Dan’s life.  Many children from rural areas of China are never able to graduate high school because they cannot afford it. But through Dan’s determination and your generosity, she now has the opportunity to graduate high school and pursue college!  Your kindness inspires young Chinese girls like Dan to not only excel academically but also to pass the kindness on to others! 

Would you like to help more young people like Dan finish their education? Partner with CWEF by making a charitable gift today!

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children from the luoyan kindergarten center

Look Who’s Excited to Play on Dry Ground

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For the children of rural China that attend Luoyan Township Central Kindergarten in Yunnan, standing water often accumulated and surrounded the school grounds. When the kindergartners ran outside playing they would frequently slip and fall on the slick ground, and the standing water interfered with the children’s physical education and playtime activities.

In partnership with CWEF and made possible through your generosity, the Luoyan kindergarten recently constructed beautiful suspended outdoor floors to serve as a physical education space for all the children. It is hoped that through this new space the children will improve their athletic abilities, increase their self-confidence, and develop an enthusiasm for sports.

 

On March 30th, 2023 the school hosted a kindergarten-wide physical fitness competition called, in part, “Waiting for the Flowers to Bloom.” The children expressed great excitement and anticipation for the competition! Please enjoy the included photos of this event!

Thank you so much for caring and giving generously to the children of rural China! Because of you, these sweet children are able to enjoy these gorgeous new facilities and experience improved physical fitness and overall health.

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