As I stated in my last post, a few weeks ago, six high school students came to Kunming to intern for CWEF. They go to school at Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS) and are truly a fascinating bunch of kids. Last post I talked about the conclusions we came up with after interviewing several villages about drinking water projects. Here, I want to highlight the interviews we conducted with our scholarship students. Each year, CWEF gives out a handful of scholarships for middle and high school students. Without these scholarships, many students would be forced to stay at home and help with farm work.
Here are a few excerpts from the report written by Taylor Jurgens:
- When parents or guardians were asked about personal education levels, the most common level of education was elementary school. 6 of the 18 female guardians went to elementary school but didn't necessarily graduate; 1 went to middle school and only 1 graduated high school. 6 had no education at all and were completely illiterate. Of the male guardians 7 went to elementary school, 2 went to middle school and 1 graduated high school. 4 had no formal schooling.
- The average annual income for all families was roughly 4500 RMB which translates into about $680.
- On average the families eat two meals a day consisting of corn, rice, potatoes and other vegetables. About once a week, they will eat meat such as pork or chicken. Students are given money to eat a meal at school, though many of the students skip their midday meal in order to make their allowance last as long as possible.
- All of the scholarship students interviewed spent the school days living in the on-campus dormitories and went back to their village only on weekends and holidays.
- All of the families said that had they not received the scholarship they would have paid or tried to pay for their child to go to school anyways. Some parents went as far as to say that they would sell the house and all they have because they know the importance of their children's education.
- Students were also asked what their goals were for the future as well as what they wanted to be when they grow up. Many students expressed an interest in being doctors. The overwhelming amount said it was because they had a family member that was sick or in pain. Many also said they wanted to be teachers because they were inspired by influential teachers or the scholarship they had received. Other popular responses were lawyer, manager, government official and police officer. All students expressed a desire to use their education to first help their families and then help others who were in similar conditions.
- Many students were brutally aware of just how poor they really were. Throughout the interviews, most cried and had a hard time admitting their financial situation. Many family members were thankful for the scholarship because it gave their children an opportunity to go to school. Even though basically all the parents said they would pay for their children's education even without the scholarship, looking at their situation, this didn't seem likely. The scholarships have obviously had an enormous impact on their lives. They have given the students an opportunity to make the world a better place in the future. Many students looked up to the workers at CWEF and wanted to help others in dire situations like themselves. More importantly, the scholarships seem to have given many students the hope and self-confidence to reach for their dreams, no matter how mighty or seemingly impossible.
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