Educate and Equip Girls in Rural China

One of the pillars of CWEF’s development work has been to support the educational journeys of high-achieving girls from rural areas of China whose families are experiencing difficult financial challenges. Thousands of teens have been able to complete their high school education through tuition support and student development programs that support their mental and emotional health, preparing them for life after school and for their future vocations.

In 2015, the United Nations established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with targets to improve lives for people worldwide. SDG4 is “Quality Education” with the mission to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”  

Many of the young women that have received support from CWEF not only graduate from high school, but also achieve strong results on the highly-competitive gaokao (National College Entrance Examination), making it possible for them to continue on to university. As SDG4 promotes, the quality education these young women receive in their teen years provides them with the opportunity for lifelong learning and career success. Completing this challenging and high-pressure educational journey changes these students’ life directions and will impact their families for generations afterward. 

Recently, two CWEF High School Scholarship program graduates wrote back to us to share about their experiences during their first year at university:

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Xi is a graduate of Leju High School in southwestern China. She is now studying “elderly health care and management” at Baoshan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 

In a recent letter, Xi expressed:

“Time passed quickly, and I graduated from high school in a flash. Over the past three years, my [scholarship] has given me great support not only in life, but also in spirit. I remember when I was about to take the college entrance examination. In fact, I was very nervous….I was so nervous about my grades, and I could not relieve my inner tension. Thank you [CWEF] for coming at just the right time to provide us with psychological counseling support. Through some activities during the workshop that day, I learned methods to relive my psychological pressure, and also relieve my nervous mood. Thank you for your efforts!”

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Another recent graduate, Yan, attended high school at Zhaoyang No. 1 High School. She was recently admitted to the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Yunnan. 

From university Yan reflects:

“I’m very grateful for CWEF’s support, which enabled me to experience three busy and fulfilling high school years. I am full of hope. High school and college are different—I find it very novel and confusing at the same time. I am learning more knowledge and I am also making new friends from different places, and I participate in many activities. Life is more colorful. I am going to make a better plan for my studies and life. I will set goals, study hard to learn medical knowledge, and I hope to help others in the future.” 

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Thank you for your generous support that makes it possible for young women like Xi and Yan to stay in school, gain a quality education, and be positioned for a bright future! In these notes from university, they expressed their gratitude for the critical support you provided to further their academic careers, and also, crucially, to help them grow and develop their own personal social-emotional well-being.

Looking back and looking forward, they are motivated by purpose and filled with hope for the future.

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In early 2020, we introduced Yongjin to you. At that time, she was still in her second year of high school, and she shared the following with us about the support she had received because of your generosity:

“The scholarship is precious to me, and I will make sure to use it wisely to optimize the value. Looking at it, I feel that I can accomplish my dreams and I’m very appreciative for that. It’s a blessing, also a responsibility. It motivates and stimulates me, and it also reminds me that I’m not alone. There are also others like you and my grandma supporting me.”

Yongjin is an optimistic and hard-working young woman. From a young age growing up in northern Yunnan province, she encountered many hardships. Yongjin’s mother suffered from mental illness and her father abandoned her family. Her grandmother raised her while Yongjin’s mother received daily care in a government-run mental hospital.

“Before, I was always worried about my mother. I was afraid that no one could take care of her,” Yongjin shared. “I don’t worry now and I can concentrate on my studies.”

Yongjin received tuition support for high school, along with social-emotional support, through her participation in the CWEF High School Scholarship program.

One component of the additional support students receive through CWEF is a pre-university workshop, which is designed to increase the students’ mental and emotional resilience. Each year in June, graduating high school students take the grueling annual college entrance examination, or “gaokao.” This high-stakes exam causes a great deal of pressure and stress.

CWEF Junior Programs Director Maggie Li shares more about the pre-university workshop, which helps students navigate the stress:

“The goal of the workshop is to properly divert students' attention. Meanwhile, we want to let the students understand the positive significance of pressure so that they can learn to deal with appropriate pressure, and learn to apply correct methods to deal with pressure.”

Yongjin and thirteen other students from her high school participated in the May 2021 workshop, led by an experienced counselor. The workshop activities let them relax in the midst of intense study and also understand some deeper principles of life. Maggie further shares:

“Through the discussion, we learned that most participants' pressure comes from the expectations of parents and teachers. They worry that if they don't do well in the exam and their scores are not ideal, they can't go to a good university. To solve these problems, the teacher gave some suggestions: different cognition will cause different levels of stress. At the same time, it also helps students realize that moderate pressure has a positive effect on people. When you can't bear the pressure, learn to ask for help in the right way.”

Yongjin reflected on the lessons learned from the workshop activities:

“I think courage is very important. When we face difficulties and problems, first of all, don't be afraid. We should dare to face them. When you really face them, you will find that difficulties are not terrible. There are always solutions. Courage is really important.”

Many adolescents have not faced the level of challenges and difficulties that Yongjin has already lived through. Yet, she has persevered through family challenges and has diligently pursued her education with the love of her grandmother and support of her teachers and CWEF’s staff and trainers.

We are thrilled to share that Yongjin managed her own gaokao stress very well, and she has successfully entered university this fall as a bioscience major with the hope of becoming a teacher in the future.

“I am sincerely thankful for the support of CWEF, which is not only a help but also an encouragement for me. I have become better and better, and the burden on my family has been reduced.”

The future is bright for Yongjin, as she faces her university life with courage and hope.

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