Promoting
Education, Art, and Community Harvest
PEACH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
December 2020, issue No. 57
Translated
by
George
Wang
Dear Friends,
Here is a great news: one of our PEACH students
was admitted to the Tsinghua University to study Chemical Biology. Li Qing (18808) is the second student, in our eighteen years of
operation, to acquire such an honor.
Many of our PEACH students have been admitted to the national key universities, such
as Beihang University, Beijing Foreign Studies
University, East China Normal 
University, Wuhan
University, etc. To attend Tsinghua, Li has achieved a new height for PEACH
graduates. In the letter to her sponsor,
Li wrote “I benefitted tremendously from the PEACH Summer Camp. I learn to
communicate my gratitude toward family members. It brings mom and me closer than ever.
She seems to be happier, put out more smiles and is willing to accept her
illness. She is optimistic about
her treatment. Meditation becomes a
routine that allows me to stay calm and think through issues. Studying turns
out to be an integral part of my daily activities, and not just a burden. ”
We will admit
1,300 new children in 2021(1000 Chinese kids, 300 Myanmar kids). During this
tax planning season, we sincerely ask for your help to promote our
tax-deductible donation to your relatives and friends. Your continuing support
to the organization is greatly appreciated.
2020 summer
camps and volunteer trip were cancelled due to pandemic risks. Our seven staff members continue
to carry on daily operations in areas of scholarships, library, medical
services, and staff home visits.
Myanmar Project—Our original plan was to visit the orphanages
before we would release the funding to the students. The worsening
pandemic disrupted this plan. In light of the dire financial circumstance of
these orphanages, we decided to act first and granted scholarship to 150
students.
Our sponsor, Ms. Yuen, donated a water purifier to Lashio Shuanglong
Chinese School. The faculty and students can now enjoy clean drinking water. Ms.
Yuen will donate three more purifiers: two to Lashio Heimenglong
Chinese School and one to Dibo Buddhist School. North
Myanmar Culture Foundation is authorized to recommend other qualified schools
for water purifier.
Staff Home Visit Trip –PEACH staffs conducted home visits to 1055 students living in 11 counties. Their tasks are to
communicate with the teachers, visit the current PEACH students, and conduct
home-visits to discover children who need the most help.
Many teachers requested PEACH’s assistance. The tuition and living expense is still an insurmountable barrier to many, in spite of the government
subsidy and programs aimed at eradicating rural poverty.
2021 Summer Camps – schedule as follows. Please join us and register.
4/1-4/7/2021 at Mingalar orphanage in Yangon, Myanmar
Session A: 7/17-7/27/2021 at Ludian,
Yunnan Province.
Session B: 7/26-8/5/2021 at Huize, Yunnan Province.
Session C: 8/5-8/13/2021 at Yulong, Yunnan Province.
2021 Volunteer Exploration Trip The next volunteer group is now opened for
registration. It is scheduled for Oct 16th to 23th, 2021 at the
NuJiang region, Yunnan province. Nujiang
is one of the rivers within the Three Rivers Natural Reserve, a World Heritage
Site listed by UNESCO in 2003.
Attached are three articles written by PEACH
staffs. The children need support from you, your
relatives and friends. Any amount donation is greatly appreciated!
Best Regards,
Ruth Jeng
President
PEACH
Foundation
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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.
I would like to sponsor Chinese
students____; I would like to sponsor Myanmar students____; I have no
preference____.
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 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
(amount as you wish.)
I would like
to donate ____to the 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.)
Please check out our instagram: PEACH. Foundation, thank you.
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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Joe was sponsored by PEACH
in 2002, and he has been working in PEACH since 2008.
November 8th, house
visit at Zhichang village: Zong and his
three brothers are all PEACH students.
In 2015, Ruth admitted the eldest brother. A picture was taken then with
the five brothers, lining up by their heights. At the time, the family had
seven school-age sons.
In 2018, I met an old,
withering woman at the house. “Are you the Grandma?” I asked. To my
embarrassment, she was their mother. She was also holding a baby. “Whose child is
this?” “She is my youngest daughter”, she replied. She had eight kids and seven of them
were in school with good grade.
“You already have eight good kids. Just to provide for them is a big task”, I said, “You don’t need
another kid, don’t you?” “No, no more”, said she.
Today, I visit this
house again. Nothing changes. The black-and-white TV is the only household
electronic appliance. Four kids, big and small, are packed into one single bed. I
asked about their ages and grades. When it came to the youngest one, she told
me, “This is my youngest daughter. She is six months old.” Alas, she had
another child. She has two sons in college, two in high school, one in junior
high, two in elementary, and two little baby girls. Nine kids in total. The
father works out of town on sundry jobs. The four kids in higher education stay
in school dormitory most of the time. When it comes to summer and winter
vacations, the younger ones get to sleep on the bed, the older ones have to
camp on the floor.
Hard working
parents
Gary was sponsored by PEACH in 2002,
and he has been working in PEACH since 2007.
Student Mao: A 9th
grader. Mao’s mother remarried and
her father became the son-in-law of another family in Lincang.
People advised Grandma to send Mao off to her father — “You have no business in
raising a child”, they said.
Grandma: “I wrestled with the decision for a long time too. What happens
if we end up starving? I grow some vegetables next to the house to support us. My
granddaughter is doing well in school. She is entering high school next year
and I have no idea how to pay for it. I can only take one day at a time.”
Student Zi: The house gate is propped by a stick. Stepping
inside, the court yard is covered with cut grass to feed cow. Father is 73 years old, mother 60, and Zi is in 9th
grade. The cow is intended to pay for Zi’s high school expenses. Father: “My
back was injured in the 2015 earthquake. I can barely work.” His tone is
defiant, tingling with a sad resignation to fate. Facing with the mounting
expenses of high school, he shifts his gaze to the cow pen. It is as if all his hope is vested in
it.
Mother and her kids
Student He: Father is 72,
mother 64, eight kids and three in school. The two eldest
daughters have married and moved out. The eldest son lives away and shows up
with a pair of patched pants —he apparently has a tough time making a living.
The second and third sons work out of town. They need bus fares to return to
work. Father: “Last month, each of my three school
children needed 300 RMB for tuition and 625 for living expense. I could raise
money only for two. The youngest had to drop out.” There is also a dementia uncle in the
house. The family lives on potato and corn.
Student Tang: A 7th
grader, no left thumb, was given up at birth. The foster father is 60, foster
mother 76. The foster father is partially paralyzed and with crippled legs. The mother
lost her left eye sight from a detached retina. They own two cows and one pig. The
foster parents worry about Tang if they both become fully disabled. Without
them, what would happen to their son?
Student Lu: The family
has four kids in school. Father is mentally retarded and mother is a deaf.
Grandparents are in their eighties. They raise corn and potato. Father:
“Junior high should be their last stop.
I will be happy if they can finish junior high.” After hearing this, I
decided to admit Lu and Lu’s siblings to PEACH.
In the mountain
areas of Yunnan, landslides occur frequently during the rainy season of
September. When it happens, the normal trip
time of 1-2 hours to school turns into 4-5 hours. Poverty is like landslide; it
makes going to school so much harder. And, many students were swept to the
roadside. It takes steely determination and strenuous effort to surpass the
hurdle. I wish all our students can overcome the landslide of poverty and reach
out to their goals.
Road to a better life
Lucy was sponsored by PEACH in 2006,
and she has been working in PEACH since 2015.
I joined PEACH in
2015. Since then I have conducted many house visits. I enjoy visiting students
at their homes. I gain a personal knowledge of them and their families. I
also enjoy the scenery. Some houses are situated deep in the mountain and
demand arduous hiking to reach them. The local teacher
once wonders how a girl like me can endure such hardship. “I am a PEACH
graduate”, I said, “I used to walk three hours to school, carrying a sack of
10kg grains on my back. I am well
trained.”
Ludian County is my first destination. Ludian sits on a high elevation hill which makes growing
crops difficult. Most parents work
out of town and leave their children to relatives.
Student Li: According to the local
teacher, many villages have benefitted from government’s effort in alleviating
poverty. As a result, roads were
paved to connect villages to the outside world. This village, however, fell through the crack and was
left out in the cold. Neither Ludian nor Zhaoyang cares to take responsibility for this village. The government audit team never sets foot here. As
a result, this village stays unchanged for decades: muddy, potholed trails and
run-down houses. The teacher pointed to a mud-bricked pigsty and that was my
student’s house. Adding one cow and three pigs, thus comprise all the household
assets.