Journal

Every so often Jo will keep us updated as to what is happening with the schools, the grannies and the children. Keep watching this space!

Children of Lou Gu Po

29 September 2008

 

Hello from hot and humid Xichang.

National day holiday is happening this week and there are people everywhere. Now that Xichang is a designated Tourist destination holidays makers are coming from other parts of Sichuan, and from Yunnan, to see the scenery, taste the food and observe Yi culture.
Actually, what they usually do is arrive in Buses, drive up to Louji mountain one day, around the lake the next, then back to their hotel, sleep, then dinner while watching the entertainment then next day back on the buses to return home.

They really should go into town because this is the time when people from the mountains come down to gather with far flung relatives, so it is a very good opportunity to see them in their colourful traditional costumes, chatting, eating and having a good time.

Everyone is talking about the tainted milk scandal and are extremely worried about the towns children's health. Word has it that Numbers one and two hospitals offered free medical checkups for all infants under two years of age and they were swamped with worried parents. I had been using dairy products made by the main offender but since the scare have stopped doing so. At the moment I would love a smoked salmon brown bread roll to eat as it seems to be more and more difficult to find 'safe' foods these days.

Kristin and I had a very busy weekend meeting some of the new girls we are going to support this year. Sadly, even though we are always being asked to help severely disadvantaged girls, for the time being these will have to be the last we can help. We just don't have the funds or the people to look after any more.
Even though I love this part of our work and enjoy spending as much time with the girls as possible, I believe it to be very important that we care properly for those we are now supporting rather than to spread ourselves to thinly. But I have to admit, it is very difficult to have to say No.

Not much work will get done this week but hopefully next week we should see work begin on Happiness Village school. ( Fingers crossed, this being Xichang time is very elastic)!

Driver Li told us an entertaining story as he drove us up to Lou Gu Po. Going past a little village snugly nestled into the side of a hill, he told us that the ladies from there were very naughty. That caught our attention!
Asking him to explain further he said how some of the younger women went to the large coastal cities in search of husbands and once each had identified a suitable candidate, agreed to marry him. Then came the sad story of how her family was very poor with not enough to eat and grandparents needing medicine etc. She then asked for money from the prospective groom. Once she had the money she hi-tailed it as fast as her little feet would carry her back to the village with her ill-gotten gains. What she didn't mention to her victim was that she was already married and she did this twice a year to earn easy money. How about that. I believe it is still going on!

Never a dull moment in the mountains.

Jo

18 September 2008

 

Happy Mid Autumn Festival.

Here in Xichang families are celebrating with most of the Hot Pot restaurants fully booked. In the town square there is dancing and singing in the evenings and everyone having a good time. The small bakeries and supermarkets have been selling an amazing array of moon cakes this past week, some at astonishingly high prices.

Kristin and I went shopping for some goodies for the children but as it is a tradition for the schools to distribute moon cakes to each student, we chose some other cakes that Chinese children of all nationalities seem to enjoy.

We have visited all of the children we are supporting at the two minorities middle schools and those at Lou Gu Po and Si He centre schools.

I was very pleased to see that all had returned safe and well, some even having put on a little weight! All have grown which means that new jackets, clothing and shoes will be needed for the coming winter.

We farewelled Jennifer, another of our girls who is heading off to university this year. Her home is the furtherest from Xichang, high up in the mountains of Muli from where it takes her nearly one week to reach school.

When I first met her she was in Junior 2 at the minorities middle school and her parents had borrowed heavily to pay for her fees. They couldn't borrow any more and Jennifer was to return home at the end of the term. She was distraught at the thought of having to give up her dream of going to university and one day being able to help her family and her village. How could I refuse to help her?

Once she became a Charles foundation girl, we took her shopping for some new clothes. There were another two of our girls with us and all three were quite excited at the prospect of actually buying something new for themselves. Each time we tried to buy something for her Jennifer kept refusing saying it was too expensive. In the end Kristin just bought her some things and gave them to her.

While all this activity was in progress, I noticed a stirring in the ally outside the shop and wandered out to investigate. There I was horrified to see a young boy of about 14 without hands and unable to walk wriggling along the ground pushing a cardboard box in front of him with his head. Inside the box was a small, terribly deformed baby. It was a cold, bleak, rainy day and neither of these two children wore much clothing, the boy only a pair of shorts the little baby something skimpy.
A crowd had gathered around to stare at this tragic sight, but nobody helped or gave money. Suddenly, from inside the shop Jennifer appeared, took in the situation in a glance and emptied her pockets. She is the poorest of all of our girls and yet she gave the most. It was less than 1 yuan and all that she had, but she gave from the heart. I will never forget her action and how it moved me to tears. Once she gave it made other people ashamed and they put some money in the baby's box.

Jennifer is now off to study environmental science so she can help her people. She is a very special person and we all love her to bits.

Some good news, this week we have been given donations that will enable us to support another 13 girls.

Last Thursday, Kristin, her mother and I went to visit one of our old grannies, Grannie Zhang. We had last visited her in April and gave her rice, oil, food, bedding, clothing etc. We also gave her 10 small chickens which grew into nice plump little hens.

When she saw us she grew very upset with tears streaming down her lined, careworn face. She told us of how, last month, when she went to the village well to fetch some water, someone broke into her house killed her little dog and stole all of her hens. We were shocked that someone would do such a cruel, unkind thing to someone as pitifully poor as old Grannie.

We went to the nearest village and purchased more rice,oil, food and clothing for her and returned to give it to her. Kristin's mum is going to buy some more chickens this week and Kristin is going to the dog market to see if she can find a small yappy dog to replace the one that was killed.
Then we will buy a big padlock and have the gate repaired of Grannie Zhang's house.

Happiness village is going a little slowly at the moment as our Architect miscalculate the number of children who will eventually attend the new school and has had to add an extra staircase to the plan.

One thing I have learned in Xichang is that things happen slowly and it is wise to cultivate patience!

I am off to the market to buy some fruit. Mangoes are still available so will enjoy them while I can.

Busy days ahead
Jo

30 August 2008

 

Hello from very wet Xichang.

Things are back to normal with last week being one of many surprises, some happy and some I would prefer to do without.

Understanding how important it was to register my arrival here in town, on Monday I went to the powers that be and ended up spending most of the day at 3 different police stations.

Because I had had to wait for Ah Fu to return from the mountains to accompany me ( it is his department which is sponsoring me) , I inadvertently broke Chinese law by registering 4 days late. Ah Fu's absence was not accepted as a valid reason -rules are rules- so I had a statement prepared for me by a high ranking police woman, then photographed and fingerprinted. The icing on the cake of this little comedy of errors was when the chief of the 3rd station personally lectured me for half an hour on my misdeed.

Kristin wasn't spared either she was really "criticized" for not taking me to register earlier.
After this we all gathered together for a friendly photo!

Ahh welll, these are sensitive times.

On Tuesday I met Headmaster Wang and Teacher Chang from Lou Gu Po school to see about employing another carer as we now have 33 children in the dormitory. They were very pleased to see me and had worked out a solution which will benefit all concerned.

Our present carer. "Auntie Luo" is doing an excellent job of looking after the children's welfare, and has even given her time to sit in the library in the afternoons so that all of the students at the school can enjoy the books more often. She loves what she is doing and is very happy to do more, if she can employ a "Little sister" to look after her baby who is now nearly one year old. I thought this to be an excellent idea. We will raise her wage to cover the cost of the babysitter and her extra hours. It is a win win situation. She will come down to Xichang this week and together we will buy bedding and other requirements for the 6 new children this term.

On Wednesday three carloads of us visited Happiness Village. With us were Architect Her, Surveyor Chen, Accountant Pung, several assistants and Engineer Jack. At the village we were met by Bu Ha, the Headman and village Elders. There followed much discussions on soil suitability (99.9% suitable but one more test to complete), Placement and colour of the new school, drainage and wind funneling etc. Then it was time for a belated lunch of boiled potatoes, boiled chicken, soup and rice.

It was a good day with everyone satisfied with the outcome. Architect Her is a bit of a character, rather vain, tall and powerful with flowing black locks and droopy mustache he resembled a villan in an old Chinese movie. He really know how to work the crowd, but suffered a severe loss of dignity when he slipped on loose stones and landed hard on his bum!
While we were there we were happy to learn that Bu Ha's wife is expecting their third baby.

We sat around the courtyard for a belated lunch of boiled potatoes and chicken then headed for home.

friday and saturday were spent stretched out on the sofa with an upset tumm. I had to make certain I was only a short sprint from the toilet.

This week we will be paying school fees and touching base with all of the children.
Busy days ahead.
Jo

25 August 2008

 

Hello from shaky Xichang.

Yesterday there was another of those little surprises that occurs in the Liangshang. While I was sitting on my sofa having a quiet cup of tea at about 4.30pm, the whole building seemed to take on a life of it's own. The floor was shaking and the curtains swaying and I realized that it was an earthquake.. Rushing to the window I saw people streaming out of the surrounding buildings and on to the road so I decided I had better join them.
Word went around the crowd that it was measured at 6.1 with it's epicentre was just down the road at Pan Jui hua here in the Liangshan. This is very close to home and extremely scary! The whisper was that there were some fatalities but nobody was very sure about anything really. Phoning Kristin, I found the mobile lines were cut so I couldn't contact her to find out or let her know I was safe.
Today I read on the Internet that there were 22 people killed and many are missing. Thankfully, the earthquake was very deep do didn't strike with the same force as the one in March.
Overall we have had 4 quakes, 2 smaller ones before the big one, then a 5.? one in the middle of the night. This is pretty scary stuff!
It will take a few days for the facts to unfold then we will check to see how our schools in the mountains fared.

On a lighter note, it never fails to amaze me how many people can squeeze onto a bus in China. I went to the market early this morning to buy some meat and vegetables and caught a bus back to the apartment. When I got on it was half empty but by the time we had stopped three times it was packed tighter that a tin of sardines, with elbows and handbags in faces, and bottoms and other body parts pressed hard against the windows. Luckily I had grabbed a seat so avoided the crush.

Last Tuesday, Auntie Lou from Lou gu Po came down to town to help buy 8 sets of bedding at the market for the new girls going into the dormitory. I asked her to make the selection by herself and Kristin and I would assist. She is a shy, gentle, careful young woman who took her time, checking several shops to get the best price and quality. She and her friend were driven to town by Mr. Li who owns a little roadside shop in the village not far from Lou Gu Po. He also is the proud owner of a rather battered, small silver people van which he has fitted out to carry people as well as goods.. Before arriving at the market he had donated blood at the Number 1 hospital and was looking distinctly off colour. After resting for a short time he decided that it was to be his task to make certain we weren't cheated with any of our purchases.

Although he has a heart of gold and is extremely kind, he flitted around us all morning like a large, fuzzy bumble bee that smells a good picnic. Something that you'd really like to swat but don't have the heart to do so..

After 4 hours of hard bargaining it was time to have a late lunch at a nice little eatery that serves excellent food at reasonable prices. I asked Kristin to order food that Yi people like, and something bland for me. This is after all Sichuan, home of super spicy food. Mr. Li was feeling quite revived after his busy morning and ordered for himself a huge plate of chili pork spare ribs. Hotter than hades and according to everyone, quite delicious.

Sarah,one of our scholarship girls joined us for the meal. She was one of the first girls we helped, her father wanted her to leave school and get married to one of her cousins when she was only in junior 2 at middle school. She really wanted to stay at school and go to university. Now she will realize her dream. We are very proud of her as she has passed her exams with such high marks that she has been accepted into a very good medical university to study western medicine.

All in all a very good day.
Jo

18 August 2008

 

After a very eventful few months I have finally made it back to Xichang and how nice it is to see the town looking cheerful, with lots of flowers blooming in little pots along many streets.
Ah Fu and Engineer Jack are both up in the mountains somewhere and out of contact,so I await for their return to get things moving and shaking.
Kristin and I have nevertheless been getting things organised in preparation for the busy days ahead and plan to visit to our senior students when they return to school next week.

This year my goal is to spend more time with our children, having afternoon tea once a month with the older ones and lots of visits and hugs with the littlies. This past year has unfortunately seen us spend less time with them, finding ourselves instead focusing our attention elsewhere. As the welfare of our children is our number one priority I believe it to be very important that we return to the Foundation's primary purpose.

The event of Margaret Ling Ning having to leave us unexpectedly in February this year owing to her husband's ill health, has found us without an extra pair of hands.
Although Kristin and I have been searching for a suitable replacement,it is difficult to find someone with the skills we need in this region. Someone who can help us to ensure the continued smooth running of the Foundation.
As always we will focus on our true purpose and attract the right person in due course.

Good news. Plans for Happiness Village school are well under way!
When received, an up to date assessment of the situation will allow construction should begin.

With the clarity of distance, and after much soul searching, I have decided that this will be the only construction we will undertake at the moment. We do not have the resources to take on extra projects and I firmly believe that it is better to do the job properly. To attempt to do too much may result in not achieving a successful outcome.
We must be patient and thorough in re-building Happiness Village School as it will impact on the lives of many, both in the short and long term.
Busy days ahead.
Once again , many thanks to all of you for you support.
It gets the job done!!

Jo

15 June 2008

 

Hello from Jo,

After a very eventful week I have arrived safely back in Australia and have begun fund raising for the earthquake relief fund.

This morning I had the incredible luxury of walking along the white sands of Currumbin beach here on the Gold Coast, and while splashing my feet in the most beautiful blue sea,I thought how very fortunate I am.

I also took time to contemplate all that is happening in Sichuan and how best to proceed.

The situation appears to be changing daily as the enormity of the devastation is revealed.

Before I left Xichang I asked you for your support in helping those poor souls effected by the earthquake and you have responded magnificently. An enormous THANK YOU for that.

There is much to be done in the earthquake effected area and the way events are unfolding, rebuilding will take a long time.

There will be many things to take into consideration, such as how many of the towns and villages will be rebuilt or have to be relocated elsewhere.

Roads and utilities must be supplied before any construction can begin.

How many projects will be funded by the Central Government.

Availability of building materials and construction companies to undertake such massive reconstruction.

We may not be able offer assistance as soon as we had hoped, but must go "Step by Step"as Sarah in Shanghai so wisely commented! These things will take some time and enormous patience.

In the meantime our attention should remain focused closer to home because while we were not in the epicentre, the Liangshan is experiencing severe aftershocks which experts have predicted could continue for a month or more. These aftershocks, the last being yesterday, can cause considerable damage.

Bu Ha has reported that there has been some cracking in the dam above Happiness Village and there is now concern about the children's safety. While the damage has been repaired, It would be a terrible tragedy should the dam not hold and the children perish in the resulting flood, while our attention was focused elsewhere!!

Reports have come in that in the counties of the Liangshan closest to the earthquake area, some schools were so badly damaged that they are now unsafe and will be demolished. I have also been told of fatalities in some villages.

Since the terrible events two weeks ago, I have checked on the condition our schools and children, and have been told that all of the schools we have constructed are in good condition and our children are well, if somewhat shaken by the severe aftershocks they are experiencing.

However, we will continue to monitor the situation as things could easily change over the coming month.

I would like to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to each of you and will continue to regular updates as they occur.

Warmest regards

Jo

15 May 2008

A Big Hello To Everyone. I am back on line at last. As you can imagine, communication has been a little erratic these past few days.

Thank you so very much for your concern for the safety of all of us here in the Liangshan. Yes, we are safe and well, if somewhat shaken, and our schools are still standing strong and solid.
We are about 200 Ks from the epicentre of the earthquake so were spared the dreadful events that occurred at Wenchuan and Beichuan villages. Thankfully, no major damage has been reported in our area even although some of the older buildings have cracked under the strain. There have been several nasty aftershocks with more expected within the next few days.

Shaken and stirred are the dominant emotions for all of us at the moment but when I look at the images coming from the disaster area I feel extremely distressed to see all those poor people who are suffering.
Sitting here drinking many cups of tea and having a big think about what best to do, I have reached the conclusion that we MUST help those poor souls in the best way we can.

I would therefore like to ask each and every one of you, and anyone who would like to financially support our endeavour, to help us help those in need. The Foundation may be small but we are efficient, and together we can move mountains!

The time will come within the next few months when the communities of Wenchuan, Beichuan and surrounding villages will need assistance to rebuild their lives.

We are one of the very few NGO's on the ground here in Sichuan who have the ability to help at grass roots level.

During this time, the large NGO's and Governments will enter the stricken areas to rescue trapped people and slowly begin to rebuild the the infrastructure of the main towns. Small towns and villages will be lower on the list of priorities. There will become a time when an assessment is made to what is needed, how many central schools to be built and communities assisted. This is when we can be of use.

Here is why we can be of use.

• We are a local NGO with local knowledge, close at hand.
• Have excellent relationships with government departments in Sichuan
• Have an excellent track record of getting things done, quickly and efficiently
• All funds go to where they are needed and every yuan is controlled directly by the Foundation. There is no middle third party.
• All funds are accountable to the Donors.

Here is how we can be of use.

• Rebuild smaller central schools
• Get food, clothing and essential necessities to those who need them
• Assist widows, orphans and exceptionally disadvantaged children
• Identify problems in the field and deal with them immediately
  

Although it is too early to be of any direct assistance, I have begun to investigate when and where are the most suitable places to direct our aid when the time comes.

Together we can make a difference, so please help if you can. We'll gather as much money as we can to help those who need it the most!

Big Hugs from the great cool shaky mountains.

Jo

5 May 2008

Hello from Xichang.

I can't believe that it is May already! Where has the time gone?
The shortened May 1st holiday has come and gone and this year it was special as my son Chris is visiting me for 10 days.

Last week Kristin, Chris and I went to Lou Gu Po and had a lovely day. We gathered all of our children together and were very pleased to see that they are looking well. The girls were given the little bears which were sent by Dulwich College in Shanghai, and their faces lit up with their huge smiles of delight. The boys were given small backpacks which made them sit up straight with pride.

They have all grown. Many of the bigger girls wearing clothes that are too small and tight for them, so we are eagerly awaiting the next delivery of bags of clothing and shoes from Shanghai and Beijing.

I was very happy when I walked into the lovely library and saw all of the new books filling the shelves. The room looks wonderful, full of brightness and interesting things, the students from Dulwich College did an amazing job when they decorated it last year.

The new man, Headmaster Wang has big plans for the school and has gently asked if we could help them dig a well as the water supply to the school is inadequate. I explained to him that we were planning to construct a new school at Happiness Village so I am unable to help at the moment. Perhaps when we have completed the new school, we might consider it.
He also asked if we would plaster the outer wall along the main highway and paint a mural on it representing the 51 minority groups of China. His plan is that everyone would admire the centre school as they pass by.

Last saturday we went to Happiness Village and again had a very nice day. Since then I have been pondering the task of raising such a large sum of money and am looking at how best to proceed. I am considering the option of separating the project into two parts, the same as we did in Muli.

First build the teaching block, then next year, proceed with the teachers accommodation.

Recently, after reaching tipping point about living conditions in the school, where the drains are a health hazard and prepubescent giggling schoolboys snicker nasty things at foreigners, I decided that for my own health, I should find somewhere else to live. This is not as easy as it sounds in rural Sichuan but at last I think I have found an apartment. I should be able to move in next week, but on past history, I won't celebrate until I actually have the keys in my hand and the furniture moved in!

Never a dull moment in Xichang!

Jo

19 April 2008

Life in Xichang is interesting at the moment. Blossoms are out on the fruit trees in the orchards, the bougainvillea is looking magnificent in full bloom and the rice is ripening in the fields. Kristin is happy as her favourite fruit, the cherry, is appearing in the market. She says they will still be too sour to eat and we must wait a week or two before the most delicious ones are ready.

It is now a week since I returned from my fund-raising visit to Shanghai and I can't believe how fast time is passing. I really enjoyed saying say hello to old friends and meeting new ones and although the days were extremely busy, I had a great time.

Some very good news. Sarah Manning, who is our main point of contact in that city, has agreed to officially become our Co-ordinating Director in Shanghai. We are all really happy about this as Sarah is an extremely kind and caring person who generously gives us her time and support. I will add her photo and details to our website as soon as possible.

Yesterday, I formally received the legal documents for the purchase of land at Happiness Village where the proposed new school will be built. This means that there should never be any dispute over who actually owns the land. Given the amount of discord over rural land in Sichuan these are an extremely important documents. Hopefully, we will begin construction in September but I still need a lot more help to reach the target of one and a half million Chinese RMB.

Next week we will visit the village to take more clothing, bedding and rice to widow Zi and the two old grannies. Bu Ha told me that he will get a carpenter in the village to build a large bed for Widow Zi's two little boys and hopefully it will be completed by the time of our visit. Perhaps I will look at repairing the roof of the hut where they sleep as well.

It will also be an excellent opportunity for me to meet three more ladies and decide if they are suitable candidates for the Chickens and Pigs programme.

Warmest regards
Jo

30 March 2008

This past week has been one full of activity with lots of interesting things happening.

On Tuesday Kristin Ah Fu and I went to Happiness Village to see what is happening there and also to talk to the Government Department that is in charge of village land purchases in Mian Ning. Bu Ha was really pleased to see us again as were the Headman and the villagers. We have Legal approval to construct the new school on the block of land we chose earlier in the village, and are now waiting for the documentation showing that their survey showed that the site is safe from landslides and flooding, which we will receive next week. This is very important as it will prevent any disputes in the future.

We took some bedding to Widow Zi and the children and she was very happy and excited with our gift. There was only room to take bedding for her family in the car so we shall have to take the things for the old Grannies when we next visit. We will also deliver extra rice, cooking oil and clothing for each of them.

On Friday it was time to go to Lou Gu Po and check on our children and I was extremely pleased to see them all looking clean, well fed and happy. Carer Luo is doing an excellent job of looking after them. It was sad to learn that littly Poppy's grannie died recently and that her grandfather can no longer care for her. This has meant that the little girl has been removed from school and gone to live with members of her extended family who live in another district. It is our hope that she will be well cared for and loved in her new home.

At the beginning of the new term there has been a major rotation of teachers which occurs every five years in the Liangshan. The change means that we must now establish a new working relationship with each school, similar to those we have developed in the past.

Happily, Headmaster Wang, the new man in charge at Lou Gu Po is a delightful man, who at his last school, established a special class for girls and also encouraged all of the students to learn English. Deputy Zhou is also very nice so I believe we will continue to co-operate well together. Good news indeed!

Headmaster Zhang asked us if we would consider helping three children at the school. Their father died very recently and mother has been ill for a long time and cannot do outside work. The family sold most of their possessions to pay for father's medical expenses so have only the very basic necessities in their crumbling, rammed earth home. After meeting the children, two girls and one boy, and seeing the fear and grief on their faces I said we would certainly look after them. Sooo, three sponsors are urgently needed.

This afternoon Kristin and I, with the help of eight of our senior girls, sorted through bags of clothes ready for delivery to Happiness village and the new children at Lou gu Po. It was good to catch up with the girls and have a chat They were all willing workers, happy to help the village children and the task was done in much less time than usual. Must do this again next time.

On monday we will go to Si He and see the situation there.

Actually, it is very heartening to see how much our young ones have grown and how well they are developing. Three of our senior girls are suffering from "Puberty Blues" so we must pay particular attention to them at this difficult time.

Am busy preparing things for the visit to Shanghai for a week from the 6th-12th April.

After recent events, all is quiet in the mountains of Sichuan.

Bye for now.
Jo

4 March 2008

Changes in Xichang.

There has been a major change recently to our situation in Xichang.
Our wonderful Margaret Ling Ning will no longer be able to help us as her husband, who has been suffering from rheumatism for quite a few years, now needs further treatment that is only available in Beijing. Margaret and her husband He have decided to go and stay with their daughter who lives in that city and will be absent from Xichang for many months.

I am very sad to see her go and will miss her very much. Things will be very different from now on as she has been like a sister to me, smoothing out many of the difficulties we have encountered over the past seven years.

Kristin will now shoulder much of the responsibility of managing the day to day running of the Foundation in Xichang and is seeking a suitable candidate to assist her.

While we are adjusting to these changes, our focus will be on the children at Si He, Lou Gu Po and the scholarship girls. For the time being, visits to our more remote schools will have to be put on hold.
Planning for the new school at Happiness Village is advancing at a satisfactory pace and the changes taking place should not have any effect on it's progress.

Our children have all returned to school following the new year holiday so there is much to be done.

Never a dull moment in the Liangshan!
Jo

4 February 2008

HAPPINESS VILLAGE PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Through education comes knowledge, through knowledge comes empowerment.

The purpose of the Charles Foundation to assist disadvantaged minority children, especially girls, in remote mountain communities, to attend school.
We consider the welfare of the children of paramount importance and to ensure this we consider all possible ways to enable each child to remain within the security of their family.
We also believe that it is in the child's best interest to keep her or him in familiar surroundings within their own community, culture and language.

One of the ways we have successfully achieved this is through the construction of village schools.

Proposal for a new primary school at Happiness Village, Mian Ning County Liangshang Prefecture.

HISTORY

Approximately 15 years ago a Yi community decided to move from their home high in the mountains to an area of land that was unclaimed, near a dried up riverbed. .

Slowly, the villagers cleared the land of it's enormous boulders and rocks and created fields in which to grow corn and potatoes. They also built themselves small rammed earth dwellings and established a new home which they called Happiness Village.

At that time they received no government support as they were considered stateless. This meant that their children could not attend school at either of the two schools nearest to them, so some of the villagers sent their children to live with relatives in larger towns where they could receive an education.

10 years ago, a young man named Bu Ha who had left the village to go to school, returned home for the summer holidays when he had completed class 9 of junior middle school. While at home he was saddened to see the little ones without any schooling, so he set up a class for 6 children in a cow shed and began his lessons.

At the end of the holidays he didn't return to school, choosing instead to remain in the village and continue teaching the children. In this endeavour he was supported by the community.
Slowly the number of children grew and the cowshed became too small, so the young man went to demolition sites around the county and asked for any unwanted bricks and wood so he could build a bigger school. With the help of the villagers he managed to build a very basic little school on the dried out flood plain that no one else wanted. He chose this land because it was flat and there was plenty of room for the children to play..

When visiting the village recently, I and was deeply impressed by both Bu Ha and what he has accomplished. He now has 262 students and 6 teachers at his ramshackle school.
There is no glass in most of the windows, and the doors are mainly nailed together planks of wood. Many of the desks are in a poor state of repair and the rest are just sheets of wood propped up on bricks.
Although the village has now become a legal entity and the villagers given identity cards, the status of the school is that of a private enterprise and it does not receive any form of assistance from the Education Department of Mian Ning County.

Believing that Bu Ha and the community at Happiness village would benefit from, and greatly appreciate a new school, I have recently conducted a feasibility study into it's construction.

FEASIBILITY STUDY

My investigation revealed several areas of concern.

My main concern was that the existing buildings are constructed on the flood plain, and although I was assured that no flooding had occurred in the past 100 years, I was not prepared to take a risk with the safety of the children.

Ah Fu and Jue Fang, the two young men who first approached us to help the village are from the Yi minority cultural group. They are personable young men who care for their people, and have offered to assist us with this project. On our behalf they visited the village to investigate the possibility of a more suitable site being found for the new school. With the assistance of the Headman and village elders, a block of land situated on higher ground some distance from the flood plain has been identified as the most suitable location for the school.

This land is currently owned by several families so a purchase priceof Y50,000 is being negotiated with them.

My second concern was that this will be a private school, built without government assistance, therefore, what would be it's Legal status.
It has now been confirmed that we will have legal certification from Local, Prefecture and Provincial Governments to construct the school.

My third concern was; who will be responsible for maintenance of the school in the future.
Although there will be some assistance from the Mian Ning education department for this, for the most part it will be the responsibility of Headmaster Bu Ha and the local community.

A meeting has been held with the Director and two Vice Directors of Mian Ning County Education Department; the Headman, Accountant and two village Elders of Happiness Village; the Engineer of the construction company; and myself, Margaret, Kristin and Ah Fu representing the Foundation.
The outcome being that owing to central government regulations, the education department is unable to financially assist in the constuction of the new school at Happiness village. However, in the spirit of friendship and co-operation, they are happy to offer other support such as teacher training and some classroom equipment, and any assistance we may require.

Bu Ha and the education department expects that the number of students will exceed 400 to begin with, and Vice Director Nan from the department, herself from the Yi minority, has promised that we can expect up to 60 girls from surrounding villages to also attend. This is very good news indeed as these girls currently are not going to school.

HAPPINESS VILLAGE SCHOOL

The school will be a two storied structure, using the same design as the beautiful school we have just completed at Peach Orchard Village in Muli County. It will be a reinforced steel and brick structure, build on a solid foundation and able to withstand earthquakes.
There will be a large, concreted playground with seating areas and a small garden. The school will be surrounded by a high brick wall.

Accommodation for six teachers is required and again, the same design as that at Peach Orchard school will be used.

The Foundation will use the same construction company which did such excellent work for it at Lou Gu Po centre school. Following further consultation, It has been agreed that the same person, engineer Jack Fan Yong will manage the project on our behalf, and on behalf of the education department, a suitably qualified engineer to monitor the building's progress will be provided.

Slight variations are currently being drawn to the original plans, enabling the building to blend harmoniously with the new site.

As I would like to take an holistic approach to this project and involve the whole community, I will instruct the engineer to employ some of the young men of the village as apprentices so that they can learn some of the basic skills involved in construcion.
While the villagers have offered their assistance, I would like the company to employ some of them as labourers for the project. This will benefit the village financially.

There will be 7 classrooms for students from classes 1 to 6, plus a kindergarten class. A Teacher's room is to be included, and accommodation for 6 Teachers will be incorporated into the design.

When completed, it is estimated that 400 children will attend the school, with a higher number in the future.

This will be a large project for our Foundation and the costs considerable.

As we are in the initial planning stages of the project, an accurate costing is not yet available. However, following a recent meeting with the Engineer, an approximate cost of around Y1,100,000 was mentioned. This is more than the Muli project owing to the price of materials incresing sharply over the past year, and lack of financial support by the education department.

It is hoped that work will commence in September 2008 providing funds become available.

JO

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29 January 2008

Happy Chinese New Year.

Here in Xichang the weather is beautiful, warm days and cool to cold nights. It's hard to believe that it it snowing in Chengdu.
The local people are gearing up for Spring festival and there is a quiet buzz of excitement in the air. Happy families mingle amongst stall holders who are selling bright decorations and fire crackers, or crowding into the many shops that are having sales.
For me, I prefer to stand back quietly and avoid the crush.

At the Liangshan minorities middle school, the children have finished their exams and gone home for the month long holiday.

Before the exams I visited all of our scholarship children and gave each of them a red Hong Bao envelope with the New Year gift of Y50, on behalf of their sponsors.

For the little ones at Lou Gu Po and Si He, there were gifts of clothing and beautiful hand painted rubber boots which were crafted especially for them at the Christmas Fair in Shanghai. The children were beside themselves with excitement as they have never seen such wonderful boots. They went away clutching their treasures as well as some fresh seasonal fruit, with wide smiles on their faces. A happy day indeed.

While at Lou Gu Po, I wanted to find out what would happen during the holiday, to our children who are at risk. Through discussions with Headmaster He, I have arranged for those who don't have any close family members to look after them to be cared for by other relatives.

Recently I was approached to assist in the construction of a new primary school at Happiness Village in Mian Ning County. Following a visit to the area, I believe that this is a worthy project and am conducting a feasibility study into how we are to proceed.

Jo

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8 October 2007

Last night I slept the sleep of exhaustion.

The past five days have probably been the toughest I have experienced since arriving in Xichang. I had planned to spend the National Day holiday relaxing and reading as there are so many people on the move at this time that to hibernate seemed a good idea.

However, as Kristin had the whole week off and had never been to Muli, and as the Education Department of the County were not taking a holiday, Kristin and I decided to sieze the opportunity to go up to there to visit our new school being built at Peach Orchard village. It is nearing completion and needed to be inspected personally.

We set off at 9am for the 7 hour journey with the car packed with clothes and goodies for the children of the village, stopping along the way for Driver Wang to buy a sack of Sichuan chillies. After 4 hours we approached the town of Yan Yuan which is set in a beautiful valley surounded on three sides by high mountains and as we did so, were entranced by what met our astonished eyes. Flowers! Wild flowers of every colour were growing everywhere. Along the road where tall poplar trees were turning gold in the sunlight, was a swaying, dancing mass of colour. Needless to say we took many photos and just sat and admired the view.

Onward and upward even higher to Muli.
Following a night at the very basic hotel in Muli, we began the journey to Old Muli. We had been warned that the road was bad and it could take 5 or 6 hours to arrive at our destination, but we were not prepared for what lay ahead. 10 hours over the most dreadful roads I have ever been on, and I have been on quite a few! There is a new road under construction to a massive dam being built in the furtherest part of Muli County and trucks taking materials to the construction site have churned up the existing dirt road. Kristin and I amused ourselves by watching how many vehicles became bogged in the sloshing mud, or taking little bets on which one would make it and which wouldn't. Our own car was a late model 4 wheel drive, and with Driver Li we felt quite safe as he has been up and down that road many times.

We stayed at the lovely little Tibetan guest house where I have stayed before and after a wonderful meal, went straight to be and slept a dreamless sleep.

Up early next morning we ate our breakfast sitting beside a blazing fire, before heading out to Peach Orchard village. It is only a short drive of perhaps 40 mins to the school so we made a stop at the Muli Monastary on the way. Living Buddha wasn't there, but the Pan Chu Lama who is the administrator of the Temple met us and accompanied us around the Halls.

Peach Orchard school is nearing completion and apart from one or two minor corrections all is well and I am very pleased with what has been done. I can now fully understand the reason for the delay in completing the project, but the good news is that the children will move into their new classrooms next week even though the playground and walls are not finished. Normally It would not be advisable for this to happen but allowances have to be made for the weather and other conditions.

In the original plan I had asked that repairing the Teacher's accommodation to be included in the costs of construction, as their housing is pretty grim and getting worse. So far nothing has been done and there is a question mark over what is to happen. When we began the project the then Director Wang was in charge, but earlier this year he was promoted and we now have a new Director Wang. Yes, there are many Wangs in Muli!
The result is that New Director Wang had not been fully informed of what is happening at our school. He has promised to look into the situation and get back to us.

On leaving our school, Driver Li went to fill up the car and found that the town had run out of petrol. This unexpected turn of events meant that we now had to drive another three hours in the opposite direction to find the closest fuel. Finally we ended up in a miserable small town perched on the side of a mountain. By the time we had eaten luhch it was past 3 oçlock and a debate raged as to whether to make the journey back to Muli or stay the night. By this time I was feeling very tired so it was agreed that we spend the night in the town's only guest house. One look at the room which displayed signs of a very hurried departure of the previous occupant and Kristin and I decided to sleep in our clothes. Nobody slept much that night. The town came awake after dark and the noise level rose as the hours passed. Silence came at 3am, bliss!

Up and on the road at 6.30. Over breakfast, Driver Li told us the terrible news that shortly after we had left the monastary the previous morning, 4 of the monks to whom we had just been talking, were driving down the same road we had travelled and had gone over the edge of the cliff, killing them instantly. We were all stunned.

Setting of in a pall of gloom, nobody said anything for a while, then, perhaps to cheer us up, Director Wang asked if we would like to return to Muli by a different route, this time following the path through the high mountains that Joseph Rock had walked in the 1920's. Although 60 kilometres longer, he assured us that the road was in better condition and the scenery spectacuar.
I thought, Why Not, so off we went up along the Shangri La road, and what an amazing adventure it turned out to be.

Joseph Rock was an American botanist who based himself in Lijiang, Yunnan, and explored the mountains of western Yunnan, SW Sichuan and the SE tip of Tibet, mainly in the Khama Tibetan region. Some scholars belive that his articles for National Geographic Magazing influenced James Hilton to write his famous novel, Lost Horizon.

Sitting in the car as it slowly wound it's way upwards we had a lively discussion on where Shangri La was and what it means to different cultures. The conclusion being that people everywhere wanted their world to be a Shangri La. The road, most of which was at 4000 metres, took us up over high passes, past thundering waterfalls, towering cliffs, small logging camps and glorious autumnal forrests.

Time few past and after 6 hours we stopped at the home of an extended Tibetan family to have lunch in their home. The Father, who had killed a fat calf in our honour, turned out to be the Headmaster of a centre school which was 5 Kilometes down the road. Mother had a beautiful serene face and was so pleased to see us she beamed the whole time we were there. Their home was the wooden cabin style of the high mountain Tibetans, with wooden floors and ceilings with the main living area centred around a large cooking stovethat in another life had been the frame of a car engine. Cosy and warm, sitting there eating large quantities of tender beef cooked by the muli talented Driver Li, eating yak cheese and drinking yak butter tea, we watched as Mother prepared the constant stream of scalding tea by pounded the all of the ingredients in a narrow bamboo tube

Before we left Kristin and I asked where the toilet was and were told that the house didn't have one, but never mind, the daughter of the house would show us the best place to squat.
Following her down the path though the yak enclosure, we admired bushes that were a riot of autumn colours as we stepped gingerly through the mud. Proudly the little girl told us that this was the best spot then proceeded to stare in fascination while we relieved ourselves.

We all agreed it was very hard to leave such kindness and comfort for the hard road but time was slipping by and we still had a lake to visit. Again at an altitude higher than Lhasa we continued our journey to the lake which was small but lovely, then began the descent to Muli, arriving there at 7pm, tired but very happy. It was an adventure few foreigners would have had and I felt very honoured that I had had the opportunity to meet real mountain people in their own homes and seen such beautiful scenery.
After we arrived at the hotel in Muli, Director Wang asked if we would like a massage for our aches and pains so we said "Yes please" and he took us to a little place near the hotel where we had a wonderful massage, then it was time for yet another meal then back to the hotel for bed.

Another long day on the road followed and we arrived safely back in Xichang just in time for tea.

Jo

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27 August 2007

Update from Xichang.
Well,,,, wot an adventure! After arriving in Hong Kong just in time for the Typhoon shutdown and spending a couple of rather wet, but interesting days, Beijing was a pleasant surprise in that for the first two days it wasn't too polluted.

Came time to depart and had one of those Chinese adventures I would rather do without! It took nearly 24 hours to get to Xichang from Beijing and what an exhausting time it was. Our plane to Chengdu was delayed because of a mechanical fault and this being China, chaos reigned.

The flight was due to depart at 12.55pm, but after everyone had checked in, we were told the plane would leave in 3 hours. Time ticked by slowly, then it became 11 hours. We finally left Beijing at 2.30 am, 13 1/2 hours late, arriving in Chengdu at 5am. We hadn't been placed on alternative flights because they were all fully booked.

When we finally arrived in Chengdu at 5am, exhausted and frustrated, they told the four of us who had a connection to Xichang that we had to wait until the 6.30pm flight.

By this time I had had enough and when I get pushed too far and am angry. Playing the drama Queen, I waved my pills in the face of the airline representative saying my heart wasn't very good and this would look bad for the official Olympic airline. Miraculously, we were given seats on the 8am flight to Xichang!

Margaret and Kristin were very happy to see me and we had a little chat, following which they left me to unpack and settle in. I slept for over 12 hours in a wonderfully soft bed which was bliss.

As I had to leave the other apartment because the new owners wanted to move in, our clever Kristin negotiated an excellent "Old friend " rate for me in the oldest building at Qiong Hai hotel. Last night I was invited to share a Yi cultural show at the hotel which was fun, I really like this place with it's beautiful gardens and clean air.

Margaret has told me that the cost of many items of food has doubled here in town, which will have a flow on effect for all of the children''s fees, and the economic situation of the mountain people. We must now analyse this situation and other changes that have occurred over the past few months, to see how these will influence the Foundation's decisions.

She also mentioned that there is a new road being built up to the centre school which is on the way to Red Star. This means that it will be extremely difficult to get up there for the time being.
On the bright side, it will make the drive there much easier for part of the way. The second half to Red Star will still be a white knuckle ride.

I heard on Radio Australia that there is a particularly virulent strain of swine fever in 23 provinces. It is in one of the remote counties of the Liangshan, but this area has been quarantined, and the good news is that so far the disease has been contained. The high price and scarcity of pigs could possibly delay our Grannie starter kit programme until things settle down.

We will visit the children once they have all returned to school, and are now busy preparing a schedule for the next few months.

Peach orchard school in Muli is progressing very well although there have been some delays due to the rainy season. We hope to get some photos of it very soon.

Jo

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6 July 2007

Summer holidays have arrived and nearly all of our children have returned to their villages until August or September. Most of them will spend the two months break helping their families harvesting rice, caring for animals or looking after younger siblings. The orphans without any relatives will remain at school to be cared for by teachers who live nearby.

Margaret, Kristin, Margo and Louise have had an extremely busy few months, monitoring our projects and overseeing the welfare of our children, grannies and widows. Our carer at Lou Gu Po is a wonderful "Äuntie" to our little ones in the dormitory, who are blossoming under her care.
Saffron, our oldest girl there, is due to start middle school in September and we are trying to get her into the Minorities school in Xichang where we can keep an eye on her wellbeing. We are very happy that all of our children are now healthy, well fed and safe.

The Lou Gu Po project is completed, with everyone very pleased with the result. We have popped some photos on the project page under Lou Gu Po.

Peach Orchard village school is progressing satisfactorily. Louise, Margo and Director Wang of the Muli Education Department, recently visited the village to inspect the construction site and were very pleased with the quality of work being undertaken. We hope to have the school finished before the new school term in September, weather permitting.

The support we have had from our friends in Beijing and Shanghai who have sent clothing to us for the children has been tremendous. Most of the clothes have been distributed amongst the orphans, and children with single mothers or grannies, in the villages where we have built schools. Some of the clothing was selected to be given to people who are affected by Leprosy. These people dwell in isolated, high mountain villages and are the poorest of the poor. They have nothing and live in abject poverty, so the clothes were received with great emotion and tremulous thanks.

My plan is to return to Xichang early in August to prepare for the new projects we are planning to undertake once the rainy season finishes in October.

Busy times ahead.
Jo

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18 May 2007

A series if unexpected events.

It has been a little while since I last updated my journal as there have been a series of unexpected events for all of us in Xichang.
In March, following a busy day, I had what was called in the past and "Nasty turn' which resulted in an unplanned for return to Australia to seek medical attention. After undergoing many tests and receiving excellent treatment, the problem has been identified and I am now well on the way to becoming my old self. In April Louise also became unwell with what was thought to bronchitis. Unable to receive adequate care she also returned to Australia for medical treatment where it was discovered she had Pneumonia. Happily she now fully recovered and is now on her way back to China.

During this time the Foundation has been in the very capable hands of Margaret, Margo and Kristin and our projects are progressing very well.

The new shower/toilet block at Lou Gu Po centre school is nearing completion with the work being of high standard. We have asked for a new garden and seating area where the children can sit while eating their meals At the moment they squat on a filthy playground which is very unhealthy.
The new desks and chairs for the kindergarten class are being made at a local factory and will be delivered at the end of the month. The same factory is making tables and chairs for the small library we are preparing at the school and these will be painted in pretty pink, the same as at red Star school.

Our children at Lou Gu Pu are safe, healthy and well fed which makes us all very happy. The carer is doing an excellent job of looking after them, watching over their welfare and keeping them and their dormitory rooms beautifully clean. The large washing machine we bought is turning out to be our most prized possesion and is working overtime.

The little ones at Si He central school are also safe and healthy and receiving three good meals a day. Unfortunately, much as we have tried, we have been unable to help them in the same way as Lou Gu Po, due to of lack of support and cooperation from the Headmaster. We will continue to help the children as much as we can and work towards achieving a more positive outcome in the future.

Our scholarship children are all studying hard for their important end of year exams, especially the three oldest girls who will progress to university next year. I will miss seeing those girls on a regular basis as they have been with me since I began the Foundation and they are just like my own daughters. I will only be able to catch up with them when they return to the Liangshan twice a year.

The Tibetan school at Peach Orchard village is now under construction and Louise, Kristin and our engineer will visit the site for a progress inspection at the end of May.

As far as health goes, I am feeling much more like my old self and am thinking when to return to the Liangshan. Unfortunaltely, our lovely Margaret was recently taken ill and has had to have her appendix removed. Although she is making a good recovery she has been advised to take things quietly for at least a month so Kristin and Louise will be in charge while we older ladies recover our health.

As you can see, it's been a year of unexpected happenings, but everything is progressing as it should.

Once again a huge "Thank you"" for all your wonderful support.

Jo

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17 February 2007

Hello from Xichang.

After our relaxing and refreshing break and visiting many of our friends in Beijing, Louise and I have arrived back and are now ready for a busy year. Kristin joined us in Beijing which was a special event as she had never been further north than Chengdu and never flown before. To be with her and share her wonder and excitement at the Forbidden city, great wall, the markets and towering buildings made us very happy. She even visited Mao's mausoleum but came out frowning, saying. " Disappointed. So old. He is so old." She also muttered that Sichuan food was terrible, just terrible in Beijing.

I had booked us into a comfortable, cheapie hotel and only took notice of our surroundings when Louise mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of sex shops nearby. Kristin then mentioned that when she arrived the taxi driver told her that our hotel was near where the prostitutes came out to do business. But we would be alright and wouldn't see any as they had all gone home for the holiday. While in London I had an interview with the BBC radio world service for the Asia region, which will be broadcast sometime during Spring Festival. Very interesting.

Arriving back we have discovered that things are much the same. After the journey and looking forward to a nice hot shower, we found there would be no hot water for two days. (Margaret says we are lucky as there hadn't been any water for a few days before that.). The computer wasn't working and the TV was on the blink. However, everything is now fixed and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we have no emergencies such as an overflowing toilet, for the next week.
In the town square there is a festival atmosphere with great activity and excitement. People are scampering around all over the place like black ants finding a full picnic basket. Preparations are being made to celebrate the new year, the red lanterns have been hung and decorations are everywhere. It is just like a country fair.

Louise and I went for a walk to the fruit and veg market and three times were nearly run over on the footpath. Once by a car coming out of an alley at full speed, once by a big black important looking car driving along the footpath, and the third time by a motor bike roaring straight for us.

For self preservation, we have decided to stay close to the apartment until after the celebrations have finished.

We have been invited to see in the new year with Margaret's family. Her retired brother lives in a small farmhouse near the lake and tonight 30 members will arrive for a big dinner. Then there will be card games and mahjong, eating, singing and generally having a good time. Kristin will spend the evening with her mother and together they will watch the wonderful four hour variety show that only the Chinese can do.

News of the Foundation. Once the festival is over we will be very busy so Louise and I will spend next week getting things ready. I have received the plans for the new school at Peach Orchard village and it looks very good. Director Wang from Muli will be here on the 25th Feb and we will go over the plans in detail and discuss when to begin construction.
We will also do an inspection of all of our projects to monitor the situation, and check on all our children to make sure that they are well and have everything they need.

Busy days ahead.

Jo

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2 December 2006

It has been an interesting few days. Yesterday we all went to Lou gu Po with the Doctor from our middle school who is a a nice young man and enjoys helping us with the children. We have given him the English name of Jack and he has agreed to be the Foundation's Doctor. After examining all of the girls he found that four of them have malnutrition, several have conjunctivitis, some have skin diseases, two with ear infections and one has ringworm. He had taken up a variety of medicines and ointments and gave them to the headmaster to make certain the children used them.

The girls have moved into their new room together and seemed really happy about the situation. Young Saffron has been put in charge of all her "Little sisters". We discovered that they don't have mattresses and are using chip board to sleep on, so today Kristin Margaret Louise and I are going shopping. On our list are mattresses, bowls, little house shoes, pyjamas and toiletries. We delivered sacks of clothes and the girls huddled around in eager anticipation. They loved the little backpacks and purses and shoes were quickly snapped up. The tiniest girl Jemima, was given a pretty bead necklace we found in one bag and she was so happy she pranced around like a little princess.

The older girls missed out on Jackets, so today we will add them to our shopping list to be delivered to the school tomorrow. When it was time to say good by, we all received long hugs form the older girls, they really do need a mum. The little ones gave us a group hug. We are looking at the possibility of employing a carer for them.

We found some boys clothes in the bags so asked if we could give them to the poorest boys in school. One of the was the filthiest, saddest little boy I have ever seen. His father died when he was young and Mum suffers from a psychiatric disorder and is incapable of looking after him. He is being cared for by his grandpa.

Dr. Jack examined him and found him suffering from a terrible case of neglect There was no way that we could leave him like that, so we have asked the headmaster to move him into the dormitory, clean him up and give him three good meals a day. I paid his fees on the spot and we will add bedding and a warm jacket for him, to the list. Luckily there were two pairs of shoes that fitted him perfectly. We have given him the name William.

Si He is still a work in progress which Margaret and Kristin will continue to monitor closely and will visit all of our children once a month to make certain that all is well.

Lots to be done in the Liangshan.

Jo

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19 November 2006

Yi New year begins on the 20th and the children will all head home to the mountains for 8 days. A good time for me to catch up some work.

Our trip to Muli was a hard journey but was a well worth the discomfort as the people in the mountains were incredibly friendly and hospitable and the little children were lovely. The new project will be very different from anything we have done and it is exciting to have the opportunity to have this experience.

When Louise, Margaret and I arrived back from the 5 day journey we were weary and dusty after spending over 8 hours a day on the road. Director Wang of the Muli education department was very kind and had sent a car down to Xichang to make sure that we had a safe and comfortable trip. I think he didn't want a repeat of the "burning bus" episode, when several years ago, Sue from Australia and I were caught on a bus that caught fire on it's way to Muli. That was a scary situation! Our first night in our hotel was a nightmare. The young couple in the room next door were extremely drunk and couldn't find their room key. The woman screeched and ranted at her man, who then proceeded to try and kick down the door . This lasted for about an hour then all was quiet. Then someone outside the window started tooting a horn, then a chugging diesel engine added to the noise, and so it went on all night. Bleary eyed and sleepless we staggered down to breakfast ready for an early start to visit the school we had come to see. We headed to Old Muli which had been the main county seat for centuries, but since the region was opened up in the late 1950s, it has been downgraded to a minor town. New Muli is now the major place of government and commerce. The road was little better than a dirt track but the scenery more than made up for it. How beautiful the mountains were.

Our driver was Mongolian, a proud descendant of Genghis Khan's army. He told us his mother came from a Warlord family, who for centuries had controlled great swathes of northern Muli. She was one of the first women to be educated in her family and it had taken her a month on horseback to reach school. He also said that he had spent time in the army and was a champion wrestler.

Director Wang accompanied us on the journey and being a true gentleman, let us take turns sitting in the front seat while he sat squashed between the remaining two of us in the back. He did this for the whole trip.

Old Muli is a sleepy little backwater where we stayed overnight at a small, family run guesthouse. Built in traditional Tibetan style, it was blissfully quiet with warm beds and friendly people. We all slept like babies and woke up refreshed and ready for the day. It is such a peaceful, healing place, that when we begin the project I plan to spend at least two weeks there .

First stop was the school we had come to see, in Peach Orchard village. Perched on the mountainside amongst stunning scenery, the village is a lovely place.

The children were wide eyed and fascinated to see foreigners, and we were very happy to see that half of them were girls. The people here are very different to the Yi.

My first impression when I carried out the inspection was that we could repair the school, not construct a new one. However, on closer examination I noticed that the walls were buckling and cracked, the ceilings sagged and the rammed earth structure was generally unsound. An earlier attempt to repair and repaint it had been made and while on the outside it seemed presentable, it needs to be replaced. To repair it again would be a waste of valuable resources.

At the moment there are three classrooms for the little ones. Director Wang has asked if we could build six classrooms, as the older children now have to go to the centre school in Old Muli and live in the dormitory there. If we can build 3 extra classrooms it will become a full primary school up to class 6 and the children can all live at home. I can't give an accurate number of students who will attend the new school, as Director Wang told me that the better the school, the larger the number. I will have more information later.

I believe that this to be important project because it will have long term benefits for the whole community, especially the children, as it will keep them near their families. This is the project chosen for 2007.

Muli Project Part 1.

Peach Orchard Village School.

The project will include

Director Wang has asked for a two story, solid brick building in traditional Tibetan design. This will enable the school to have a larger play ground area for the children. He will send me the design and costs asap.

More stories later.

Jo

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10 November 2006

Hello from Xichang

Life has been a whirlwind of activity this past month, with lots of things happening.

My daughter Louise came up to visit in September and has decided to stay on a semi permanent basis so she could do some "hands on" work. This is excellent news as she is a great help. I was invited to give a talk about our work at Western Academy Beijing, to celebrate international day on the 24th October. I enjoyed seeing everyone there as they are old friends and very supportive of the Foundation. The following day Louise and I went to Shanghai to say hello. Our hosts there were very kind and let us house sit for a few days while they were away. So after saying hello to everyone, and meeting new friends, we had a very pleasant 2 days sightseeing as it was the first time Louise had been there.

While in Shanghai we were told about the outbreak of Rabies that is sweeping China, and when we returned to Xichang Kristin told us that there had been a major culling of dogs while we were away. Apparently, all dogs found on the streets were killed with a blow to the head where they stood, which traumatised many school children as they had witnessed this barbarity outside the school gates. Some good news. A western food restaurant has opened in Xichang which we tried on my recent birthday. The food was pretty awful but the coffee excellent Kristin tried it for the first time and her face was a picture as she took a mouthful of the cinnamon which was on top of the froth. After heaping 4 teaspoons of sugar into her drink, she decided that is was all right but wouldn't try it again.

We have been particularly busy organising the little children in Si He and Lou Gu Po. Deciding who was who and who needed what. We have bought all of our children in both dormitories new sets of bedding, and ensured that each of them now receives sufficient good quality food to keep them healthy.

Last week Margaret and Louise went to Si He with the Doctor from the Minorities middle school to give each child a medical check. He found that some of them had a skin disease, some nasty coughs and all of them were malnourished. Quite a few of them had badly decayed teeth. We are organising for him to visit Lou Gu Po in the very near future.

From this experience, we have decided to include medical and dental care in the cost of sponsoring the little ones, and for the scholarship girls. One of our senior girls had an ear infection earlier in the year which was left untreated as we were not informed about it until too late. The result of this is that she now has a perforated eardrum and will lose part of her hearing in that ear. She is in a lot of pain and needs an operation to repair the eardrum. Kristin will take her and her father to the best hospital in Chengdu to find out exactly what is needed and how much it will cost. We will decide what to do then. It is sad to think that a course of antibiotics could have prevented this happening but her parents are too poor to even take her to the doctor. We have an interesting new project for next year. Because this year has been so busy and we are now in the final stages of constructing three new schools, we have decided that next year we will do only one. About two years ago, the Muli education asked us if we would help them build a school especially for Tibetan children, but because we were in the process of constructing two school at the time, we had to refuse. However, we have had the same request once again and this time we have agreed to help. Margaret, Louise and I will head up to the high mountains of Muli county on Sunday for a week, to see what is needed and do a feasibility study. Will give an update on our adventure when we return.

All of our scholarship girls are doing well and we are very proud of them and their achievements.

Busy days in the Liangshan.

Jo

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24 September 2006

Hello from all of us in Xichang,

Lots of things happening since our return... You wouldn't believe the changes in the town!

We have visited all of the scholarship girls and are once again struck by the difference in them from when we first met. They are now bubbling over with self confidence and are progressing well at school.

We had planned to go to Red Star and Zhaojue last week but didn't make it as the dreadful weather in the mountains caused landslides in some places. Engineer Huang told me on friday that because of all the building going on, Xichang has run out of bricks until the end of the month!

These events have meant that although the foundations and part of the walls have been constructed at Red Star, progress has been slow. Hopefully we will get the children into their new school by winter because the rains will cease soon and construction will be completed with amazing speed.

The delay has been a blessing in disguise as it has given me time to step back and observe what is happening and to think about where I would like the Foundation's future direction to be.

I have been able to see the impact of the many changes, and how these will change our operation in the immediate area of Xichang.

There are two major consequences of the construction boom, both positive for the people here.

One is that many of the poorest people in the surrounding areas have obtained employment, which has had the effect of them being able to afford to send their children to school. Although this is good news for the immediate future, I am not sure what will happen to these families when construction finally ends.

The second will be that the young school leavers will find work Xichang, enabling them to remain close to their culture and family.

This has made me decide that for the coming year, the Foundation should focus on the more remote regions and isolated parts of the Liangshan, particularly Muli prefecture, and Red Star.

With that in mind we plan to spend a week travelling through Muli from the 15th October, which should be interesting as it is the most isolated and dangerous part of the region. Home to 17 different minority groups the two main ones being Tibetan and Yi.

Although we have done some successful work there, during the past two years we have had some difficulty communicating with the Muli education department regarding our projects.

Happily, the uncooperative, mahjong playing official with whom we had to liase, has now been moved, having been promoted to Head of a remote township in the prefecture. This will enable us to re establish the favourable relationship we had developed with the department in the beginning.

Another reason why we haven't been active in this region is because we have been so busy in Zhoujue prefecture. Therefore, I have decided that for the time being, our attention will focus on the original purpose of the Foundation which is helping girls at risk, and orphans. Although I am certain that we will find another Li Zi Ping dormitory which will need our urgent attention.

With this in mind I will concentrate our work in the remote prefectures as this is where there is great hardship and so many little ones who need our help.

I am setting up a programme where we will now identify girls in primary 5/6 from the really remote villages and begin to support them. This way, they and their families will they know that they can go on to middle school if their marks are good enough.

We will also pay special attention to the orphans.

This is what makes life so very interesting and satisfying.

Jo

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2 June 2006

We had a lovely day out in the countryside yesterday as everything was lush and green following the rains. In the rice paddies laddering the mountainside, fresh green stalks are emerging from the mud, and trees that were planted along the road, and over the mountain tops two years ago are all much larger. We were surprised to find that when we drove through the valleys and up the steep slopes of what was once a rocky, barrren, desolate landscape, beautiful forests are now emerging. When we left Xichang early in the morning it was raining heavily, but in Yellow Grass the sun shone all day.

Another surprise awaited us at Yellow Grass village. I knew that the old school was going to be demolised and a much larger one was to take it's place. The new one which is three stories high, was donated by a company in Chengdu at the cost of over one million yuan. There is also new accommodation for the teachers and a rather grand wall decorated with murals of Yi culture.

As it was Children's day, we were entertained by a concert given by the children, most of whom were in traditional costume. Each class did several items, the one which gained the most attention was a play about littering and spitting. The little ones watched entranced as the big boys showed what nasty things, chinese style, will happen if you were being anti social.

Most of the village women were there as well, all dressed up in their finery so it was a most enjoyable day. As the only foreigner there, I was asked to give out the prizes.

Afterwards, all the important dignitaries, including the Mayor of Louji Town, sat around a table and consumed bottles of beer while Margaret and I went to check on the grannies and orphans, and the 18 poor children we are supporting at the school. On the whole the children are doing very well, but two of the orphans are in a poor way.

Inevitably, age has caught up with some of the older grannies who are now unable to work in the fields. The oldest one, who is now 86 has health problems and the children are too young to work in the fields. These two are suffering from severe malnutrition. I have asked Headmaster Hong to arrange for someone to bring the children to the main hospital in Xichang for treatment, and we will pay the cost. It is important to keep an eye on these children and if their granny becomes too weak to care for them, I will bring them to the new orphans class at Si He school during the week, and let them visit her at weekends. Extra food will be given each month to all the grannies who can't work.

While in the village I discovered an interesting fact. There is a poultry disease in the countryside, which is decimating poultry stocks and has had the effect of all our grannies losing many of their chickens. I was concerned that it was bird flu, but have been told it is another disease. However, the pigs are doing well.

After having the usual Yi dishes of boiled pig, mutton and rice, we returned to Xichang about 4.30.

Jo

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20 May 2006

It's been another busy week in the Liangshan with many surprises.

Kristin went up to the Leprosy village in Xide county with Sally from Handa last monday, and had a look at what we could do for them.

The exisiting school was constructed only 5 years ago but the work was of such poor quality that the roof is beginning to sag in places making two of the four classrooms unusable. There are only 20 students at the moment so they can all fit into the remaining two classrooms, which are safe. This means that there is no immediate urgency to construct another school.

Handa would like to build an environmentally friendly, rammed earth school and would like the villagers to construct it themselves. This means that a highly skilled supervisor/trainer will need to be on site most of the time.

While believing their plan is an excellent idea, I feel that the Foundation is not structured to undertake such a specialised project. We will continue to support the children with clothes, books etc.

However, helping orphans is another matter.

Last Tuesday we went to Butuo county which is the poorest in the whole of the Liangshan. We wanted to visit several Spring Bud classes and had heard that there were over 1000 orphans in the Butuo township area as drugs and Aids are taking a tremendous toll on the young adults of the region. Orphans are being cared for at two primary schools in the town but there are hundreds more who cannot go to school because there isn't any room for them.

Much to our surprise as these things are rarely mentioned, we learned that there is a similar situation in Xichang county, much closer to home, so we decided to investigate for ourselves. It is much easier for us to monitor the children's welfare if they are within a short travelling distance. Butuo is a long hard journey from Xichang.

Kristin and Margaret made some inquiries, and on Friday we went to Si He village primary school where most of the students are of the Yi minority, and met the headmaster there.

We were told that there were many orphans living at the school and when we arrived we found that indeed this was true.

There are 54 orphans, 5 street children and 19 with handicapped parents who cannot care for them. Of all of these children only 6 are receiving any assistance, so you can imagine the pitiful state they are in. It was a heartwrenching experience to meet them. There are many more who cannot attend because the school can't afford to feed them.

These are sad little people!

It seems strange that after the amount of time trying to help the street children and orphans in the past, suddenly we are confronted with the reality and are finally able to do something to help.

After chatting with Headmaster Zhu and finding the best way to assist the children, we have decided to sponsor a class of these children next academic year, beginning in September. It will take a few months to organise everything. Street children will be included as many are orphans or abandoned.

There is no need to construct a dormitory or classroom for them as Si He school has older communist style buildings , heavy grey concrete, very miserable to look at but solid and large inside.

However there is a need of some minor repair work to be done, as most of the windows in the dormitory are without glass and some of the doors and walls could do with patching up.

We have begun drawing up an agreement for the Foundation to fund food for the children, bedding, clothing, school books etc. The Liangshan education department will provide accommodation and school fees and the Si He primary school will be responsible for the welfare of the children. We are looking at the posssibility of providing a carer for the children as well, similar to the situation at Li Zi Ping school in Muli.

Beginning in september we anticipate 50/60 ( perhaps more) new children will attend the class so there is a lot to do before then. It is enormously satisfying personally, to know that we will be helping the street children as well as the orphans.

These are small, undernourished children. The cost of food will be Y100 per child per month, for 10 months they are at school. Some of the children will live permanently at the school as they have no relatives to stay with during the holidays.

A set of bedding for each child will cost Y100

We hope that most of the clothing will be donated, but little shoes can be bought at the market for Y50.

Margaret, Kristin and I are really excited about this one.

There are well over 100 of these little ones and they need all the help and support they can get.

Jo

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2 May 2006

Hello from Xichang. It is the May 1st golden week holiday so there is happiness all around.

Over the past few weeks life has been rather hectic. I have moved into my new little apartment and Susan, whom I met recently in Shanghai, has been visiting us to see how she could help the Foundation.

Last week we visited Lou Wu school to meet the grannies and orphans and widows supporting children, to begin the "Chickens and pigs" programme. There are 11 identified orphans so we will help them first, then the widows.

I had to do some hard negotiating with several widows to get them to send their children to school.

No children in school, no pigs and chickens! In the end all agreed except two who refused point blank to let their children attend school. We will continue to encourage these women to educate their children and at the moment it is a work in progress.

The pigs and chickens will be distributed next week, after the holiday.

The people in Shanghai very generously had sent sacks of clothing for the children for which we were really greatful as some of the little ones were without shoes and many had torn and raggedy clothing. We also distributed playground and classroom equipment, exercise books and story books for the small library.

The people of Lou Wu do not have access to local drinking water, having to transport it from miles away, so I am examining the posibility of sinking a well in the village for the community to have their own clean drinking water.

Susan decided that she and her family would like to build a school so Headmaster Li and Director Juiji from the Zhaojue education department arranged for us to visit 4 villages to see which was the most in need.

We visited two last wednesday which were not as needy as Wa Bu and Lou Wu, then on thursday we went higher into the mountains. Although still in Zhaojue county this area is very isolated and a long way from Xichang. Here we visited two villages and Susan has decided to build a school in each, which is excellent news. Work will begin after the holiday.

On the way back we also visited a catchment senior primary school very similar to Li Zi Ping, where the dormitory is in need of major refurbishment. Here the ceiling is collapsing and 4 children sleep to a bed. While conditions are marginally better than those at Li Zi Ping, they are still awful. I will investigate the possibility of doing a similar project to that at Li Zi Ping, and Susan has generously donated 40 sets of bedding for the children.

Margaret Kristin and I were exhausted after our fact finding mission and have taken several days to recover. I actually fell asleep on the sofa while watching TV on sunday afternoon and slept for 5 hours.

We are in for an even busier time in the Liangshan as Sally from Handa, the arm of Rotary that helps people affected by Leprosy, returns from HK next weekend and has asked us if we would consider helping them "Patch up" five schools in leper villages.

More about that later, after I have spoken to Sally and discussed what is needed.

Hope all is well in your world,

Jo

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18 April 2006

On Friday 31 March, Kristin, Engineer Huang and I went up to visit Lou Wu school for a final inspection.

Everyone has done an excellent job with the construction and the school is a credit to all concerned. The Headmaster told me that since the children have been in the new school, they are eager to attend each day and absenteeism is down to zero except in cases of illness. There is also a new teacher, especially chosen for his ability, for the younger children, which is very good news.

Included in the construction is accommodation for two teachers, but as one lives nearby his rooms are empty. I would like to do something similar to that which we have done in Huo Pu school, and use this space as a small library. As the children have never had access to story books or reference books to help them learn about the world, they will be very excited and filled with wonder being able to actually handle and read them.

It was wonderful to see them sitting at their desks learning their lessons. The walls look a little stark though, so I will buy some of those bright wall charts with pictures and names of fruit, vegetables, numbers, etc, to help them learn pinyin. Apparently they begin to learn the Yi language at the senior primary school.

I met many of the villagers and learnt that Lou Wu itself consists of five small hamlets and that there are lots of younger children who will attend the school in future.

My plan was to meet as many as the orphans, grannies, widows and their children as possible, but there was a bit of a mix up. We had just about the total population of the village turn up to have their photos taken.

One of the younger women told us she was was a widow and insisted that her children be orphans so we would help them. We all had a big laugh over that. Actually, she had been a widow, but has since remarried to her dead husband's brother and has 2 more children by him

It rained last night so instead of dust we now have mud.

All is well,

Jo

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01 April 2006

It's 7am and the loudspeaker outside my window is at full blast with morning exercises. Now I really know I am back in China!

Now that I have had a few days to adjust to my surroundings once again, I am amazed at the changes that are taking place here in Xichang. The school has planted a small garden in front of my apartment, which is now kept well tended and clean. The kids are not allowed to eat here, or to use it as a rubbish tip and secret smoking and gambling place as in the past. This is a definite improvement.

The Central government in Beijing has designated Xichang as a new tourist destination and have allocated twenty one million RMB for a huge upgrade of the town. (Kristin Su Nan, who helps me, says they should give one million of that to educating the poor children.)

Everywhere I look, footpaths are in the process of being removed in preparation for street widening, so there is an almighty mess around the place. The way to the market has become an obstacle course and there is a real need to be very careful.

The changes will be a double edged sword. On the one hand it will mean eventual prosperity and jobs for the local people, which is much needed.

On the other hand, if this influx of tourists has the same effect as Lhasa, Lijiang, Lugu lake and many other parts of China, then it will harm traditional Yi culture, making the area a huge theme park.

As progress is inevitable, these changes will mean that the future is brighter for our children as there will be many more work opportunities for them. I can now encourage some of them to consider different forms of tourist industy training, which will mean they can stay in the Liangshan near their families.

Yesterday, Kristin Su Nan, who helps me, and I met four new children whom Margaret Ling Ning had identified as being in need of our help. Two are orphans the other two have a single parent.

Also had a little chat with one of our other orphans and things are really grim for the poor girl. Apparently, she has just recovered from TB and is still taking medication. She is also only having two inadequate meals a day and was shivering in thin clothes and shoes. She hasn't seen her younger sister for a long time and misses her dreadfully, so I am going to talk to Headmaster Li to see if we can bring the younger girl, who is at the Puge minorities school, 4 hours by bus from Xichang, down to our school.

All of the children I met yesterday are in a similar condition. What they need, apart from school fees, is food and clothes. I have yet to check the other new children we helped at the end of last year, but one thing is for certain, many of them will be the same.

On Friday, I am going up to Lou Wu school for an inspection before final payment and will be able to meet the new orphans and grannies we are to help this year.

Busy days ahead.

Jo

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