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Promoting
Education, Art, and Community Harvest |
PEACH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER April 2017 , issue
No. 46
Translated
By George Wang |
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Dear Friends,
As Peach enters its 16th anniversary, we
are delighted with the donations from over 50 of our past graduates. What
prompted them to reciprocate the support they have received during their
growth? Here are some of the excerpts in their own words.
02024 Li Wenxue (Chengdu Hongda Air Conditioning engineer): When I was in school, my
spirit was low and I was on the brink of quitting. It was Peach that helped me
out financially. Peach assisted me in fulfilling my dream, staying on course
and never wandering astray. Last July, I visited the Peach 
summer camp. I found my fellow Peach
siblings to be just like me during my youth: they were adorable but shy. I want
to help out so that they can continue their education without worry.
02085 Chang Li (Dali Pengcheng
International School teacher): The assistance from Peach planted the seed of
love and compassion in me. I would like to extend the favor and pass the torch.
02126 Ya
Mei (Pingnan County Hospital doctor): I
was born in a poor rural family with a brother and a sister. The tuition was a
major obstacle and both of my siblings dropped out from lack of money. I was the only college graduate of my
family. Peach has supported me throughout high school, college, and even during
my illness. I have formed the routine of sending a few hundred dollars to Peach
each month. It is a meager sum, but every bit helps for those in need.
02142 Shang Bo
(Beijing National
Food Science Institute researcher): A decade ago, when my life was in a dire circumstance,
Peach and my relatives helped me out. Now, I am financially secured. My
personal experience has been that poverty is not the biggest obstacle. The main
obstacles are the offspring from poverty – the low self-esteem, the isolation,
and the resignation to passivity. I do not want the young kids to fall into the
trap of losing their will to fight. I want to help out just like I was rescued
10 years ago.
03007 Li Yanfang (Yuanyang County Court judge): Yeas
ago when Peach lent me a hand, they expected me to complete my study and lead a
healthy, productive life. Peach did not demand a payback out of me. My donation
to Peach is based on the same spirit. I demand nothing in return from the
recipient. I want to have one fewer student dropping out due to financial
difficulties. I want to form a virtuous cycle by extending the love and
compassion I have received and pass it on to others.
I
donate￥900
Yuan annually. What a beautiful thing to see a poor kid can find hope and future
due to this amount. This donation, on the other hand, affects little on my
personal living standard.
03073 Li Xiaomei (Peach staff): I have
been working at Peach for six years. During my home-visit trips, many parents
lamented the financial burden of sending kids to school. In November 2015, I
encountered two fathers weeping for their inability to support their kids. It
broke my heart and the image of their desperation haunted me. I now sponsor one
of the girls and I hope she will blossom in this loving family of Peach.
03131 Lu Junmei (Yuanyang Ezha
Town Government staff): Peach has endowed me with confidence,
independence, and an aspiration for self-improvement. These values have inspired
many during their youth. I want to spread this positive energy to many others.
04009 Ma Xiaoyu (Kunming Aijia
convenience store owner): By reducing my personal expenses, I can help a child
from dropping out and therefore change his life. It transforms the child, and
the endeavor itself is an uplifting experience of happiness and fulfillment to
me. I did the right thing.
04072 Ma Zhenghua
(Music teacher): I was a helpless hillbilly child and Peach took me under her
wings. I was a pitiful kid and Peach mentored me tall. I love Peach.
04119 Bai Rendou (Zhejiang Xinhecheng
company staff): During my direst moment in life, it was Peach that extended its
helping hands and gave me the strength to carry on. I know us mountain kids; we
need only a temporary support at life’s critical moment. I want to convey my
love to those in need and pass on the caring spirit.
04231 Liu Yongping (Yanyuan
Jinghe Court staff): Based on my own experience,
Peach earnestly cares about the poor students and is wholly devoted to them.
05056 Wang Rongfen (Kunming; office staff): In 2003, I
was admitted to a high school. On the first day of school, I watched my
classmates going to school while I stayed home. Between my siblings and
me, our family could not afford to send us all to school. My fortune turned in
2005 when Peach stepped in and assisted me to resume my education. I owe
everything I have to Peach. Education is the most reliable way to climb out of
poverty. Education guarantees no wealth, but it offers the freedom for one to
pursue life’s many opportunities.
05109 Wen Kaifa (Chengdu; Medical Equipment
representative): My monthly salary is 3000 Yuan. After paying rent and the
living expenses, there is hardly any money left. Still, I am supporting my
fellow Peach siblings. Do not give up on your struggle of rising up from the mountains.
06114 Luo Deliang (Mile Jiangbian Middle School teacher): There
is no particular reason why I donate to Peach. It is just something I should
do. The adage says, “One who received droplets in thirst should repay with
burst of spring.” I have no capability to repay with a “burst of spring”, but I
am financially secure. Peach transformed me from the destiny of being stuck
into a life of toiling in the field. The compassion and caring I have received
is contagious. It propels me to return the favor.
06335 Shi Limei (Peach staff): During my
home-visit trips, I met many orphans and single-parent children. Many had
deceased fathers and the mothers remarried. They frequently ended up staying
with the grandparents. Their houses were dilapidated ruins and leaked during
rain. The kids, nevertheless, persisted in continuing their study. It touched
me deeply.
08085 Zhang Yiqian
(Kunming, Airport restaurant staff): In 2008, I was 14 and an 8th
grader. It never occurred to me that I could attend high school and college. I graduated
from college a year ago and Peach has always guided me. I recently received the
15th anniversary publication, “It Takes 10 Years to Raise a Child”.
It contains many touching stories of our own growth. Peach never forgets her
children.
08470 Xiang Yu
(Hekou Border Inspection staff):
We were all rural kids. I now have a job and income. I am not sure how long and
how much I can help out, but every bit counts.
08142 He Yilong (Yuxi Tonghai Techinical High School teacher): Nine years ago, Peach’s assistance
motivated me, lighted my path, and imbued me with love and hope. Now, I would
like to be a silent partner in upholding this Peach ladder of opportunity to all
kids. Through the ladder, you shall find a better future.
The unpolished words from our graduates highlighted
the Peach journey for the past sixteen years. The mission of Peach is a
perpetual task and we can always count on the new generation.
New Student Admission We
admitted 1200 new students this year. We need sponsorship. We urge you, your
friends and family members to help us in sponsoring these students. Thank
you.
2017 Summer Camp Schedules
are as follows. All volunteer teachers’ positions are already full.
Session#1:
7/14/2017-7/24/2017 at Yunnan Province, HongHe
Region, YuanYang High School
Session#2:
7/25/2017-8/2/2017 at Yunnan Province, LiJiang City, YuLong High School
Session#3:
8/3/2017-8/13/2017 at Yunnan Province, QuJing City, HuiZe YinWang High School
2017 Volunteer Exploration Trip is scheduled for 10/21- 10/28/2017.We
will be visiting Huize County in the northeast part
of Yunnan Province. Huize County is famous for its
historical sites. Please Stay tuned.
Amazon Partnership When you shop at
Amazon (smile.amazon.com), Amazon donates 0.5% of the eligible purchase amount
to PEACH Foundation. Do indulge yourself with some binge shopping on Amazon.
Have a shopping spree and enjoy your good deeds. Thank you for your support.
Below, we have
attached one PEACH student’s biography. Please share them with your family and friends.
Best Regards,
Ruth Jeng
President
PEACH Foundation
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I would like to donate ______to the Laurice
children medical funds (at an average of US$20 per child.)
I would like to send _____children to attend Summer &
Winter Camps (at US$125 each for one week, including a
bedding set of $40)
I would like to donate ______ to scarf and mitten funds (at
US$5 per child.)
I would like to donate ______to thermal-pajama funds (at US$5
per child.)
I would like to donate ______ to the library funds (at US$20
per library)
I would like to donate ______to the Junhui
writing funds (amount as you wish.)
I would like to donate ______ to the foundation
administration funds
I would like to donate ______to the mini-loan for middle and
high school students’ living expenses (amount as you wish.)
I would like to donate ______to the college
loan funds (amount as you wish.)
I would like to donate ______ (laptop computer/ digital
camera/ cell phone)
I would like to increase my sponsorship to ___ high school
students and ___ middle school students; the yearly costs are US$300 for a high
school student, US$150 for a middle school student.
Please make check payable to PEACH FOUNDATION.
Donors in Taiwan please change the amount to New Taiwan
Dollars, payable to PEACH FOUNDATION.
Account No.: 50011068 and it is tax deductible.
Address: 1098 Marlin Avenue,
Foster City, CA 94404, U.S.A.
Phone: 650-525-1188 Fax: 650-525-9688
Email: staff@PeachFoundationUSA.org Website: www.PeachFoundationUSA.org
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16361 Yang XX, 7th Grade, Female
Translated by Peggy Liou.
My mother went mad
when I was only a little over one year old. My father tried everything he knew
to help her, but her condition never improved. Years later, my father divorced
my mother. My father remarried a few years later. My stepmother was nice to me
when she first joined the family, but she changed after she gave birth to two sons.
My father was not able to help improve the situation, so I ended up living with
my grandmother when I was in 3rd grade. My grandmother saved every penny she
had to help pay for my school expenses. Grandma didn’t have one piece of decent
clothing of her own, and her daily diet consisted of scraps from our land.
Grandma was 60 years old then, but she took such good care of me, she even
washed my dirty clothes for me. However, I always helped out when I came home
from school.
I had to live at
school when I entered into the higher grades of elementary school. My school
expenses grew to RMB430 including room and board, textbooks, and insurance
fees. Grandma tried to borrow the money, but no one was willing to loan us any
money. Finally, our principal told grandma that I could go to the class first,
and she could pay the school when she receives her senior subsidy fund later. I
often have the fear that I might have to drop out from school, because we are
so poor. My grandma is 67 years old now. We have a small piece of land to grow
some tobacco, but the income is minimal. Without your help, my nightmare of
being forced to drop out will never end.