Back-To-School In China
In China’s
remote Gansu Province many children must drop out of school and work alongside
adults to scratch out a living. Attending school is a dream made possible
recently for 417 grateful students. Meet Han and Sun to see how caring friends
like you helped change their lives forever!
On a Chinese mountainside a thin
child groped through the pile of discarded items belonging to a dead man.
Picking around, his hands found a pair of worn shoes. Han clutched his prize,
looked around to see if anyone noticed, then ran back to the village.
No Money, No Education
Han loved to study but he was forced to drop out of school. His family
couldn’t pay the annual $100 school fee. Troubles began when their
grandfather died from liver cancer in 2001. The grief, looming debt, and
four years of severe droughts forcing lost crops caused Han’s mother
to suffer a mental breakdown. This drove the family into further poverty.
Only meager government welfare helped them to survive.
Determined to succeed in the midst of his depressing circumstances, Han
read any book he could get a hold of after doing his daily chores. News
of his dedication reached officials at his former school. They were moved
enough to award him a full scholarship! But he had nothing to wear to
shield him from the freezing temperatures. Han, then in fifth grade, received
more rewards for his hard work when representatives from OBI’s China
office visited the school last fall. Still dressed in rags and wearing
the shoes of a dead man, he was given winter clothes. A grin stretched
across his face. OBI also helped the poorest students pay their school
fees.
Skipping Class To Dig
Han probably will never meet Sun, but they share the same passion for
learning and both come from poor farming communities. Sun’s love
for school was clear to everyone. So his elementary teacher became concerned
when he asked for a week’s sick leave in advance. She soon found
out why. Times had been tight for Sun’s family. While in first grade
he became the head of the household. He cared for his bedridden mother,
went to school, and did chores while his father worked in the city to
make enough money to make ends meet. Soon the boy’s health began
suffering. Thankfully his mother’s health improved as her son began
the fourth grade.
Soon after, Sun’s twin sisters were born. Tragedy struck a couple
of years later when his sisters were both injured in a traffic accident.
Desperate, his parents borrowed from everyone they could think of in order
to pay for the needed hospital stay. This need for money drove Sun out
of school into the mountains to dig herbs and sell them in the village.
Last winter OBI China was able to lift some of the pressure off of Sun’s
shoulders. When he was given new clothes and shoes for both him and his
family, the little boy’s body shook with thankful sobs. After a
short time he was able to express his thanks with words. Later during
the Back-To-School event, OBI staff saw a peace rest on his small frame.
Sun said, “I want to share the love I received with others just
like you, so more people can get hope from love.”
Please help children like Han and Sun prepare for school this year. Your
gift of $25 or more will help more dreams come true! School starts soon
so...
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