American Volunteers Help the Disadvantaged in Rural China
Kate Zhou with Cat Lem, EAFI, 2004
When the death in Iraq often dominates the global news stories, many American volunteers are doing great work helping the disadvantaged in rural China .
Some go to rural China to set up orphanages like the Home of Hope. The others like the Peace Corps go to rural China to improve rural education. The US based Education Advancement Fund International went to Xiangxi Tu Jia and Miao Minority Region to train English teachers and to improve rural English education.
When a dozen US EAFI volunteers went to China starting inJuly 2002, many of them were appalled by the awful conditions and wanted to improve the quality of life. Apart from trying to cut the English gap between rural and urban students by training 800 village teachers, many EAFI volunteers became involved in community development. When Kevin Anderson from South Carolina discovered that some Baojing students could not see the blackboard well because of their poor eye sight, he set up an eye care program so that students with poor sight could have a pair of glasses free of charge. Peter Hsu of New Jersey set up a music group so that rural students in Baojing could sing Christmas carols. It is very interesting to hear Christmas carols in the most hinterland in rural China. A local government official, Ms. Gong Ruizheng, remarked: "The American volunteers are so wonderful that we started to celebrate Christmas now in Jishou. Our local shops are full of Christmas decorations. I have sent all the American volunteers in our region a Christmas present this year, hoping that the American volunteers will not be home sick too much. "
The American volunteers' action became well known in this poor region. Many desperate people would come to them asking for help. For example, desperate farmer, Zhou Zhong and his wife asked American teachers Peter Hsu of New Jersey and Nicole Rigg of Washington state for help to save their baby girl's life. They alerted volunteers throughout Hunan Province and also appealed to the Education Advancement Fund International in Hawaii . The response was incredible. People both in China and abroad answered this small child's cry for help. The involvement and generosity of the American teachers towards baby Jia Jia's touched many local people. One person who answered their pleas was Ms. Gong, Ruizheng, the director of the Women's Training Center and Human Resource Department in the nearby city of Jishou . Ms. Gong has been a public servant for 30 years working towards the betterment of women and children throughout Hunan Province . Ms. Gong was moved to donate 2000 Yuan, well over her monthly salary, to Jia Jia's cause. Ms. Gong encouraged and inspired other government officials in Jishou to contribute another 500 Yuan towards Jia Jia's health fees. Ms. Gong issued the following statement: "The Americans showed their care for the poor girl. As a Chinese mother, I can not sit doing nothing."
Meanwhile, across the Pacific on a small island off the coast of Washington State, an American community was rallying to support Jia Jia. The Rigg and Kilpatrick families, parents of two EAFI volunteers, were able to raise almost $4000 USD in a community wide effort. Nicole Rigg, the EAFI volunteer who was instrumental in gathering efforts and bringing baby Jia Jia to the hospital has had her efforts recognized both at home and abroad. Nicole's face and the story of her good works were published in newspapers all over Hunan Province . She has become both a celebrity and a sign of unity between America , the American teachers in Hunan , and the Hunanese people. "On the train a man walked over and hit me on the shoulder with a newspaper," Nicole recalled, "He pointed to the newspaper and asked if that was me. He showed me a picture, and sure enough, in the provincial newspaper, there I was playing with the little baby. I could only read the title, Baojing Woman in Changsha to Help Baby . I amazed that they referred to me as "Baojing Woman" and not "foreigner." There is usually a definite distinction drawn between locals and foreigners, and it was moving to see that my efforts had truly made me part of the community."
The American volunteers also educated local people how to preserve their beautiful environment and started up smoking free school zone.
These kinds of American volunteerism helped to change the hearts of individual Chinese people. Americans are welcome anywhere in Xiangxi. As the words of Yao Yuan, a freshman in Jishou No. 1 Middle School, "Before the American teachers came, I was not interested in American sports games. Now I often cheer for American teams."
