scholarships

A Grateful Heart in the Midst of a Tragic Year

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written by Elena Semler, CWEF volunteer

Xuemei, a high school senior in Yunnan Province, has dealt with many hardships and feelings of helplessness during the past year due to COVID-19: 

“At the beginning of the school year, I failed to go to school for the first time. I had to stay at home and attend on-line classes… The price of everything was increasing, but the income of my family was decreasing. Living expenses became more expensive, and our debts were getting heavier and heavier.”

Like many around the world this year, Xuemei and her family struggled with increased living expenses and growing debts. It was then, in a time when she needed some hope, that Xuemei found it in the support she received because of your gifts.

“With your support, I didn’t feel so helpless. I felt warmth and saw light ahead of me.”

Xuemei with her classmates

Xuemei is a recipient of a CWEF High School Scholarship, which covers all school-related costs and provides student development support in crucial areas such as setting goals and making plans, managing emotions, teamwork, and more.

Although Xuemei’s family has struggled financially due to the pandemic, their decreasing income did not put an end to her education, thanks to your generosity. Once it was safe for the students to return to school, Xuemei was able to return as well. She is happy to share: “Now we are lucky to be able to go back to school again.”

Because of your generosity, Xuemei has not only been comforted amid a challenging time, but she has also received tangible help that, in her own words: “let me move forward and get closer to my dream.” With her renewed sense of hope for the future, Xuemei remains faithful to her goals and aspirations, “I will study hard and try my best to go to university.”

Xuemei and her family have lived a difficult life in rural Yunnan even before the pandemic. However, it is these difficulties that have given her a perspective that we should all aspire to have. In a letter to her scholarship sponsor, she writes, “Though I have never met you or seen you, I will still have a grateful heart.”

CWEF scholarships educate and equip bright young women like Xuemei to live a life of leadership and service. People like you make it possible for people like Xuemei, even after a global pandemic and a devastating year for her family, to have hope for the future.

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Yinlu’s Angel

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Written by Elena Semler – CWEF Volunteer

“You are an angel in my heart,” Yinlu writes to her high school scholarship sponsor of 3 years.

She is from a village in northeast Yunnan province and is a recipient of a CWEF scholarship, which provides financial assistance so she can attend high school. Hardships in life have given Yinlu an extra sense of purpose. “I am more mature than my peers. I think knowledge can change my fate. I studied even harder to enrich myself with learning and more knowledge. I want to be more excellent and capable.”

Yinlu has had to endure more than most people will ever experience, in a short amount of time. “My mother left us when I was 3. She could not bear the poverty.” Her father, now burdened with a larger financial load, took a job at a coal mine. Her grandmother passed away not long after. Then, it was only a mere two months after her father buried her grandmother that, “he [my father] also left us forever,” when he died in an accident at work.

With more and more tragedies piling onto Yinlu’s family, her grandfather, heartbroken, took in his two granddaughters, Yinlu and her younger sister. Her grandfather would travel to many places to find work in order to provide for the three of them, but it did not matter how far he went or how late it was, he always came home to them.

As Yinlu’s grandfather, now 74 years old, deals with the difficulties of old age and still tries to help out around the house, Yinlu was sent to a welfare home for a period of time. Although difficult, she acknowledges that she learned a lot from that challenging time. Yinlu reflects:

“I believe that God is fair to everyone. He closes a door for you and will open a window for you. He gave me a poor and seemingly unfortunate life, but He also let me recognize the reality [of life] ahead of time.”

Yinlu understands the power of knowledge and has asserted that she will use her education for good and that she “will try to help others and become a person who is useful to society.”

Your gifts to the CWEF High School Scholarship program provide bright young women like Yinlu scholarships and support, preparing them for a life of leadership and service to their families and communities. Additionally, student development programs equip students for life after school, including crucial skills such as: setting goals and making plans, managing emotions, working in teams, and more. 

Thank you for being an angel to Yinlu and many more like her!

Open a Door for a Young Woman Like Yinlu

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Yongjin’s Education: Blessing and Responsibility

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The aged woman looked at the infant sleeping in her arms and thought, “she’s as small as a kitten.” Yongjin was only a month old when she was abandoned by her father into her grandmother’s care. Her mother suffered from a mental disorder and was unable to care for her. Yongjin, now 16, was raised by her cherished grandmother in rural Yunnan province. “I feel sorry for my grandma, for the hardship she has been through.”

Yongjin, full of gratefulness, was awarded with a CWEF scholarship to cover her high school tuition and related costs. She reflects, “…your sponsorship allows me to continue pursuing my study without worrying about the tuition and living cost, which is a big expense for my family. Your help greatly released my family’s burden.” Yongjin’s grandmother was overjoyed when she heard the news of her educational assistance. “Your help makes me feel that I am not alone and that there are people in this world caring for us!” Yongjin shares.

Even though her life has been hard, Yongjin has persevered and is wise beyond her years. “I am not ashamed for what happened to me, in fact, these [hardships] have enabled me to gain some competencies that many people my age don’t have—cooking, seeing doctors by myself, being very independent. I’m confident and don’t think that I’m lacking anything compared to others.”

CWEF scholarships provide bright young women scholarships and support, preparing them for a life of leadership and service to their families and communities. Additionally, student development programs equip students for life after school, including crucial skills such as: setting goals and making plans, managing emotions, working in teams, and more. Yongjin shares, “The scholarship is precious to me, and I will make sure to use it wisely to optimize the value. Looking at it, I feel that I can accomplish my dreams and I’m very appreciative for that. It’s a blessing, also a responsibility. It motivates and stimulates me, and also reminds me that I’m not alone. There are also others like you and my grandma supporting me.”

According to the World Bank, the education of girls is central to breaking the cycle of poverty. Your support helps students like Yongjin realize a bright future with better earning potential and increased knowledge about health and nutrition. “I’m prepared to conquer the difficulties and hindrances in my life with grit and perseverance. I hope, in the future, I’ll be able to help others like what you have done for me.” Yongjin’s bold optimism embodies CWEF’s vision of a world of thriving communities, serving and inspiring hope in others.

Support Young People Like Yongjin

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Reflections from REACH teacher training

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At the end of May 2019, CWEF worked with two seasoned trainers from Hong Kong Lutheran Social Services (HKLSS) to run a REACH training workshop for 30 teachers at Leju High School in Zhaotong, Yunnan province. These are the teachers who work on a day-to-day basis to educate and equip the young women who are supported by CWEF’s High School Scholarship program at their school.

During this 3-day workshop, the trainers from HKLSS focused on concepts and methods related to experiential education, teamwork, cooperation, and adolescent psychology. The trained teachers will be able to use these new concepts and skills to enhance their support of CWEF’s High School Scholarship recipients.

Thank you for your generous gifts! You are making it possible for these young women to not only continue their education, but also to have their education enhanced through special workshop experiences like this one.

Below are some reflections about the REACH workshop written by Yang H., one of the participating teachers from Leju.

In the summer, Zhaotong’s weather is quite unpredictable. When Xiaohui and Bobo (the HKLSS trainers’ Mandarin Chinese nicknames) arrived in Zhaotong together with CWEF staff Maggie and Jenny, the weather was starting to get cold. The four teachers showed up wearing thin summer clothes and worked so hard to bring us the REACH training workshop about experiential teaching methods, which moved and inspired all of us teachers here in Zhaotong.

Allow me to share more of our experience with you:

Our principal Mr. Zhou began by introducing the trainers:

“Teacher Xiaohui has come from afar and has a new teaching method to share with us.There’s a new philosophy…”

Honestly, at the beginning, we were skeptical. We have been through a lot of training workshops before, and many of these lectures have started the same way.

Then we learned that Xiaohui and Bobo’s salaries are actually very low, but they have both been doing social work for ten years. And then Maggie and Jenny from CWEF said they also have been working in the social sector in Yunnan for more than ten years, too.

The weather was cold but their hearts were warm, and we were moved by their persistence and dedication. 

As the training program began, Xiaohui and Bobo first gave us an introduction to experiential teaching.

“Let’s forget our jobs for a moment and let go of those heavy burdens for a while.”

To be honest, it’s usually very hard for someone to touch your heart when you meet them for the first time. 

But Xiaohui started off with a series of interactive activities with fun, exaggerated behaviors and flamboyant expressions, and everyone was brought in quickly to this new world of experiential teaching methods.

At that moment, we put down the heavy burdens we carry with us all the time and realized:

Life is so beautiful. We can actually relax and enjoy it for a while.

During the workshop, Xiaohui and Bobo first led us to design our own team flag, team name, and slogan. Everyone came up with their own ideas and provided valuable input for the team. Before we knew it, the colleague you were just meeting has become a friend.

Throughout the activities, we feel bad for the team’s failure, and we applaud the team’s success.

When all the teammates stood in a circle and were walking laps together, all of us were united, all hands were afraid to let go. At that moment, all the heartbeats were quietly beating together.

We are united.

Only when a team is united can it go farther and see higher.

On the third morning of the workshop, Xiaohui and Bobo led the group together to design and organize games for each team.

There were disputes over design, conflicts of opinion, and corrections to the plan along the way…

There were team members’ collaboration, persistence, and efforts …

We learned how to design games for use in our teaching and what to consider when designing a game, and how these games can make our work with students more effective and engaging.

In the process of playing, Xiaohui and Bobo turned complex theoretical knowledge into a meaningful learning experience.

It’s a great lesson for us and it will improve our ability to positively impact the students we work with.

When the trainers come to Zhaotong next time, I hope the clouds will part and the sun will shine for them.

– Written by Yang H., Leju High School teacher

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Deqing Winter English Camp

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DeqingStudents2

December 28-30th, a group of 20 volunteers from Church of All Nations and HKIS went to work with CWEF scholarship students in Deqing, China. The Winter Camp provided English lessons to more than 50 girls. The scholarship recipients visited during this trip are all supported by EMBER. The following reflection was written by one of the volunteer trip leaders. 

“The highlight of the trip for most Hong Kong participants was the enthusiasm for learning that these girls exhibited throughout the 3-day camp. As soon as our lessons began, they gave us their utmost attention. Their palpable desire to learn confirmed that the scholarships are a wise investment in the girls’ future.

Given the challenging home situations these girls face, their acceptance to high school speaks of their persistence to learn. To enroll at either school where the girls attend – Xiang Shan or Confucius Middle Schools – students need to score in the top 1/3 of the country. As these are the two top schools in the area, the scholarship recipients are all high achievers.

In conversation with the girls, we were surprised to learn their daily schedule. Their first class is at 6:50 AM. They have about two hours in the middle of the day for lunch and a nap, and then they have afternoon classes.  After dinner, they have additional study sessions in their classrooms from 7-10 at night. They get back to their rooms around 10:15, and lights go out by 11:30 PM. They have classes all week; Sunday is the only day off for students. Our respect for the girls grew when we visited their dormitory. Each room has 6 bunk beds. The twelve girls in a room share one bathroom facility. The beds are planks of wood with no mattresses to sleep on. No lighting is available during the day, so reading a textbook during mid-day hours requires a battery-powered light. With a cold front bringing near 0-degree temperatures on Saturday night, staying warm is also a challenge for the girls.

Our English lessons focused on the theme of giving during the Christmas holiday season. Students read O. Henry’s classic story, ‘The Gift of the Magi’ in the morning. In the afternoon, the students learned about the tradition of Santa Claus. The key reading piece was ‘On Santa’s Team.’ Both stories emphasize the idea that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

In keeping with the theme, the scholarship girls and the Hong Kong group visited a local elderly home. The girls were just as attentive to the elderly as they were to our lessons. When we returned to their schools, they expressed how much they enjoyed helping older people, a form of learning that is not generally part of their education.

For the volunteers, the great gift of this Christmas trip was to meet such hard-working students who give so generously of themselves to us, to their teachers, to their fellow students, and to the elderly that we visited.”

Deqing Winter English Camp Read More »

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