Education
Advancement Fund International
美国国际教育发展基金会
Qiao Tou Kindergarten
Education Advancement EAFI is an international non-profit organization that focuses on education
Fund International exchange, cultural understanding, and gender equity in China. Since its founding in June 2002 by Dr. Kate Zhou (University of Hawaii Manoa), EAFI has initiated various programs aimed at assisting underprivileged, minority, and female students in overcoming financial barriers to fundamental education. By making opportunities for cultural growth and education available to these students, the prosperity and growth that China has been experiencing can be spread to the impoverished regions not yet affected.
All of EAFI’s programs are
based on the EAFI mission: to assist the underprivileged children in
China to have a chance to realize their full potential through education.
The majority of children of minority groups in rural China are living
at poverty level. Due to lack of resources and education awareness
these children and their families have been limited in their outlook
for a better life in the future. Many of the families need financial
aid to keep their children in basic school. EAFI truly believes
assisting these children in continuous academic advancement is the best
way to facilitate them in reaching their full potential and, consequently,
achieving self-reliance for their families. Furthermore, EAFI
hopes to contribute in preventing a lack of opportunity from stifling
the growth of talented students.
Baojing County Baojing county, located in the middle
of Western Hunan province, encompasses about 375 villages and has a
population of about 250,000. The incidence of poverty in Western
Hunan is about 30.6%, according to the Hunan 2001-2 Poverty Reduction
and Development Plan. Baojing is the poorest part of Western Hunan,
its natives earning between $200 and $300 USD annually. Baojing
has achieved great progress in industry development in recent years,
most of the factories being mineral enterprises. Many of the farmers
are hired to work in these factories. However, although the development
in Baojing is optimistic, Western Hunan as a whole still lags behind
the other regions in China. The economic development for the Baojing
people is severely limited due to its high population density, mountainous
terrain, and sloped farmlands, vulnerable to floods and draughts.
Our mission at EAFI is to help ambitious students in overcoming the
challenging conditions facing their families through education… giving
them the hope for a brighter future.
Qiao Tou
The Qiaotou kindergarten
was established in Baojing in 2003 in order to help Kindergarten
children who were born
in violation of the one-child policy. Some of the children are
from two-children families that did not have the 5-year space needed
for the second child, and some are from single parent homes. The
children are thus denied many of the benefits the government allows
for children born within the one-child policy. The fines required
of these families are crippling in light of the financial hardships
they already face. In every case, the children are denied an education
they deserve due to factors outside of their influence.
After negotiation with the
government, all kids in the kindergarten will upon graduation be allowed
to go to a local public school without fine or punishment. The
school has also gained permission to expand to include children from
the deep mountain regions of Baojing. Currently there are 80 students
and 5 teachers. The students study Chinese, Music, Art, and Math everyday
and are served milk in the afternoon. With the arrival of the
first American volunteer in spring 2006, an English class will also
be launched.
The kindergarten is still lacking
in many supplies, however. The walls are bare, and there are few
school supplies. Some of the most urgent needs include: maps,
English books, dictionaries, general school supplies, warm winter clothes,
milk money, used computers, and money for electricity for heating.
Electricity for the school for one year would cost about 6000 RMB (750
USD). Because the students come from financially burdened families
and many live far from the school, providing lunch for the students
(One lunch for a student would cost about 3 RMB, or about 0.35 USD)
would encourage parents to send their children to school. Long-term
goals also include providing boarding for students who live in the mountain
regions, costing about 18000 RMB (2250 USD) a year.
The Cousins’ Program, an idea posed by EAFI, is approved to implement at the Qiaotou kindergarten. This would consist of an exchange between American students and Chinese students and would be linked with three other Baojing schools, one middle and two elementary. The basis of the program is to create a pen pal system, preferably over the Internet… This would allow an English and Chinese learning exchange. Broadband would cost about $100 USD annually. It would also consist of a summer cultural camp that includes visiting the two cities.
Benefits Like many policies born of necessity, the one-child policy has created a sub-group that has been affected negatively. The children who are left out under this policy are unfortunate victims, their fate having been decided even before their birth. By increasing their opportunities for a standard education, the opportunities that should be afforded every child can be extended to those presently left out. The gift of education is more than a one-time gift… it is a gift that can affect and alter an individual and his or her family for generations.
Join Us Because EAFI is a non-profit organization, the staff is composed solely of volunteers. Thus, any donations will be put completely towards the Baojing trainees’ expenses. Also, as a non-profit organization, donations for EAFI are tax deductible.