Promoting Education, Art, and
Community Harvest
PEACH
FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
September 2018, issue No. 50
Translated By Peggy Liou
Dear Friends,
We admitted 1,591 new children this year. With
everyone’s support, 718 of them have already been sponsored. However, we really need your help spreading the word among
your friends and family to find sponsors for the remaining 873 children.
Good News - We are pleased to report that this summer, 703
PEACH students graduated from high school and are heading to college. An
additional 1,401 PEACH students completed their middle school education and are
going to high school. This accomplishment belongs to all of you, our sponsors.
Thank you. The individual reports of your sponsored children will 
be
mailed to you shortly.
2018 Summer Camps – From July 19th to August 17th, 2018, three sessions of summer camps were
successfully conducted in Yulong
High School at Lijiang City, in
Yinwang High School at Huize County and in Yuanyang High School at Honghe Region. A total of 130 volunteer teachers and 1,165
students participated, where everyone made great and lasting memories.
2019
Summer Camps – schedule as follows.
Session A: 7/17 to 7/27/2019 at Yuanyang, Yunnan
Province. Full
Session B: 7/27 to 8/6/2019 at Huize, Yunnan
Province.
Session C: 8/6 to 8/16/2019 at Ninglang,
Lijiang, Yunnan Province.
Full
Note: As of today, the positions for volunteer teachers
have been filled for Sessions A and
C and there are only a few
positions still available for Session B. Please apply ASAP if you are interested in
joining us.
2018 Volunteer Exploration Trip– From October 20th to October 27th, 2018, we will be visiting many PEACH children and their
homes in Ninglang
County, Yunnan Province.
Next Gathering – We are planning a gathering on Sunday, December 2nd,
2018. We are looking forward to seeing you, and warmly invite your friends to
join as well. We also want to thank Solomon Tsai for hosting the event in his
beautiful hotel.
Location:
Crowne
Plaza Hotel, 1221 Chess Drive, Foster City, CA, 94404
Date/time: Sunday, December 2nd, 2018, 2:00pm – 5:00pm
Agenda: Introduction
of PEACH Foundation
Our
Accomplishments and Future Outlook
Slide
Presentation – Highlights of Summer Camps, Volunteer Understanding Trip, and
Home Inspections
Volunteers
Sharing Stories
Q&A
To RSVP, please a) Send email to staff@PeachFoundationUSA.org, or
b) Send fax to 650-525-9688, or
c) Call 650-525-1188
Thank you in advance for RSVP, as
this will help us with our planning.
Please find the attached students’
biographies. We truly appreciate if you can share them with your friends and
family.
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 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.
Donors in Taiwan
please change the amount to New Taiwan Dollars, payable to PEACH FOUNDATION.
Account No.:
50011068 and it is tax deductible.
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.
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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171128 Wang XX, 7th Grade, Male
Translated
by Neil Sun
Since my parent’s divorce, I was
very lonely. I didn’t want to play with my classmates in fear that they would
look down on me. So I didn't make any friends and no one wants to socialize
with me neither. I have never had a birthday celebration as others do.
I don't even know what "Birthday" means. The money others spend on a
chicken drumstick is my breakfast budget for an entire week.
Most of the pens I used come from
leftovers because my parents don’t have money. One time, when other students
found me scrimmaging through the trash can for usable pens; they called me
beggar and kicked me. I ran home crying and did not want to return to school.
After my mother learned what happened, she said: "Go back to school. As
long as you study hard, I will support you to finish elementary school even if
I don’t eat.” I listened to my mother and went back to school.
My life is full of setbacks
because I'm not always clean, I’m not good looking, and I have a scar on my
face from a car accident. One day, in order to save money, I decided to walk
home from school and did not take the village bus. Halfway on the uphill
mountain road, a car suddenly rushed toward me and knocked me down.
Because I'm dirty and poor, even
my most respected teacher rejected me. Once the teacher's pen fell to the
ground and I picked it up and returned it. The teacher looked at my hands and
wiped the pen with disgust on her face. Since that incidence, I didn't help
that teacher with anything at all.
My current teacher is very nice
to me. Once, he even bought clothing for me. He told me not to keep to myself
all the time. Instead of waiting for others to take the first step, he
encouraged me to actively make friends with others. Taking his advice, I am
very happy that I have since made several friends.
There is another incidence when there
was a group of creditors came to my house and asked for payment. Under the
pressure, mother cried to my older brother: “Stop going to school. You will
start working and taking care of your younger brother.” I ran to my mother and
burst into tears. Grandpa said: “Keep all the children in the school. I will
borrow more money.” Eventually, mother calmed down and agreed.I
asked Grandpa: “Where is my father?” Grandpa said: “Your father had a big
argument with your Grandma. He burned down the house and said he would not live
with Grandma anymore. He left and I’ve never seen him again.” Then Grandpa
started crying. I comforted my Grandpa and said: “Don’t be afraid. I will keep
this family going.” Grandpa said: “Good boy!”
To make money, I do shepherd’s
chores and carry water for well-to-do people in the village. On this day, I
earned 30 yuan (≈4.75 USD). I was very happy and I ran to the village
store and bought Grandpa 3 yuan (≈0.48 USD) worth of milk. I also
paid 10 yuan (≈1.6 USD) and
bought a pair of gloves for my mother. My mother's hands were scratched and
bleeding from working too much. Then I still had 17 yuan (≈2.3 USD) left. I ran home to give
rest of the money to my mother. My mother was moved and started crying. When
Grandpa learned about it, he also cried and praised me that I have grown up.
181218 Li XX, 8th Grade, Male
Translated
by George Wang
I grew
up in a small village from a farming family. I have a sister and our ancestors
have been living in Malongzhai for generations. Ever
since I was a child, I had to cook and do laundry. I knew then that, if I were
to change my destiny, I would have to study hard.
My
father had six years of elementary education. He drank excessively and was frequently
in trouble. My mother has been an industrious country woman. She worked all day
and night, both at home and in the field. At the time, my sister was the
darling of the house. She was getting the best toys and snacks while I received
little affection from my parents.
My
father was frequently drunk and he would channeled his
angers at Mom. He has wrecked pretty much all the household cookwares.
Mom and I would hide away and weep. With great difficulty, Mom eventually
divorced from Dad.
Later,
Dad went to Lijiang. During a drinking binge, he clashed with other people,
killed one and maimed another. He was arrested. On the day he was sent off, he
told me, “You should focus on study. Don’t become a fool like me.
I went
on to live with my grandparents afterwards. My uncle constantly helped us out.
To make a living, Grandpa trekked to the mountain to cut down the bamboo. He
weaved baskets out of it and sold them at the local market. Grandma also toiled
at the field all day. Sometimes, I joined her and helped.
One
day, Grandpa was working in the field when it started to rain. He released the
ox to roam and hid himself under a tree. The lightening
struck him. Grandma and I waited at home for a long time without seeing him.
When the rain stopped we went out to look for him. Upon seeing his body,
Grandma collapsed. Our family now is just Grandma, me and my sister. Life
became ever more difficult. Sometimes we had little to eat. Thanks to my uncle,
he came by every month and gave us some money.