Events and News 2019

From Xi’an we took the high-speed rail to Lanzhou, intending to continue our journey to Dingxi the next day. In 2018, we subsidised farmers in Yangjiazhuang Village in Luotang Town of Longnan City to grow Chinese ground orchid (hyacinth orchid). Unfortunately, the floods in the summer damaged most of the plants. We did not give up and, with the help of the Gansu Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, we encouraged the farmers to continue growing. Through the unceasing efforts of the co-operative society, new seedlings have begun to thrive. We could not visit Longnan because of our tight schedule, but Mr Yang of the society made a special effort to come to see us by taking a train ride of several hours from Longnan. He presented a pennant to us as a token of thanks. In order to meet us, he had to stay in Lanzhou for the night. We were deeply touched by his sincerity!

Please view Photo.

Today, we made arrangement to meet YEF students who are in Lanzhou. There were more students attending this gathering than similar gatherings in other cities, as we were after all in Gansu. Some of them are among the first (2010) batch of our aided students and have begun their careers. There are medical doctors, engineers and teachers and they are all fine young people.
Please view Photo.

This is our 10th year in Dingxi. All along, we have given financial aid to senior secondary students and helped build schools, roads and water supply projects. In recent years, we have distributed soya bean seeds to the aided students. Today, the Director of Dingxi Political Consultative Committee Office showed us around the developments of the new city. Also, the Chairman of the Political Consultative Committee, Mr Yang Fashen, hosted a dinner for us. Those present at the dinner included the Director of the Dingxi City Education Bureau Sheng Shulan, the Zhang County Party Committee Secretary Huang Douping, the Director of the Dingxi Political Consultative Committee Mr Hu and Deputy Director Mr Chen.
Please view Photo.

Traversing provinces and travelling far, we arrived in Guyuan of Ningxia from Dingxi in Gansu. Our aided students in Guyuan No. 5 Secondary School are now in Senior Secondary 3 and will take the University Entrance Examination in two months. To encourage them, we organised a gathering outside the school where they could be away from the tense learning atmosphere and be more relaxed. The Director of the Education Bureau of Yuanzhou District in Guyuan also came to lend support. The students seemed reserved at the beginning but came to enjoy the programme more when Chairman Wong led them to sing. Some of them even performed on the stage. They were confident in their examination and hopeful of their future.
Please view Photo.

Our aided students in Guyuan No. 2 Secondary School are also in Senior Secondary 3 this year. We organised a gathering in school to encourage them during which we ate fruits, chatted and played games with them. In the first game, they were asked to make a shape with the colour cards in their hands. Two of the groups made shapes relating to the University Entrance Examination. The third group, in addition to the colour cards, made use of gestures and fruits to form the word “Love”. The judges unanimously agreed that the third group was the winner. In another game, they had to guess the meanings of some Cantonese expressions. The students participated actively and had an enjoyable afternoon. Before leaving, we reminded them of the spirit of YEF and asked them to be thankful, to contribute to society and to be upright people.
Please view Photo.

We arrived in Handan of Hebei Province by high speed rail and drove for an hour to visit the experiment station of China Agricultural University in Quzhou County. The Deputy Director of the station, Dr Zhang Hongyan, introduced its history to us. In the evening, Professor Jiang Rongfeng hosted a dinner for us. At the request of state leaders, China Agricultural University established itself in Quzhou in 1973 to deal with the prefecture’s problem of saline-alkali land. It has since formed an inseparable link with Quzhou. The university’s attempt in dealing with saline-alkali land has achieved huge success and has been applied in other places. It has also gained international recognition. In 2009, the university began to station staff in villages to seek a close understanding of the problems the farmers had with their farmland and to offer solutions. These bases are called Science and Technology Courtyards. There are the university’s postgraduates manning each base and they shoulder the responsibility of helping to solve the farmers’ problems.
Please view Photo.

In addition to undertaking scientific research, China Agricultural University’s experiment station in Quzhou County has set up “Scientific Research Courtyards” throughout China. Each courtyard is manned by several postgraduates to provide technical guidance to farmers and to help solve agricultural problems. Having learned about theories yesterday we visited the fields today.
The Baizhai Science and Technology Courtyard is the first help point set up by the university in 2009. It originally dealt with wheat and corn. As the technology in this area has become very advanced in the past 10 years, farmers began to develop animal husbandry last year. The students have moved in the same direction with the farmers by switching to conduct research on the rearing of pigs and chickens.
Please view Photo.

The Xianggongzhuang Science and Technology Courtyard grows Fuji apples. To solve the problems of the apples’ uneven sizes and irregular shapes, the students look up research materials as well as conduct repeated trials in the field. For instance, they breed bees beside the fruit trees for even pollination to improve the shapes of the apples.
Please view Photo.

We visited another nursery base. The site came from the special arrangement of land transfer through government assistance. The construction cost is RMB139 million. The base began operation in November last year and provides employment opportunities for local people. Two students also work here to offer technical guidance.
Please view Photo.

Qianya Village has always grown grapes and is the richest village in Quzhou. However, production has dwindled in recent years and they sought help from China Agricultural University. Since last year, the university has sent students there to set up a science and technology courtyard. They go to experimental fields to study the problem and, learning hand-in-hand, attempt to grow new species with the farmers..
Please view Photo.

As always, we bring the love of our sponsors to the students in our school visits. We also bring home the colourful cards with the students’ appreciation on them and forward the cards to the sponsors. We have covered a lot of ground in this 12-day trip, travelling from province to province and taking several high-speed rail rides. We change hotel almost every day on this tiring trip. But the joys of our beneficiaries tell us it is all worth it. We hope more voluntary workers will join us in this meaningful mission in the future.
Please view Photo.

Among the 98 Senior Secondary school-leavers in 2019, 61 have been admitted to university. As in the past, we offer them bursaries to help relieve their financial burden in the first year of university.
Meanwhile, we are processing new applications from Senior Secondary One students. We need your generous sponsorships to help peasant children to go to school.
Please view Photo.

Before leaving Chengdu for Longnan on 15 September, 2019, we met up with a few students who are studying at universities in Chengdu. They are graduates from Longxi No. 1 Secondary School in 2016 and are now in their fourth year at university. All of them are preparing to continue studies as postgraduates and are hopeful of their future. We specifically looked for a restaurant run by a Hong Kong person to let them have a taste of ‘Hong Kong cuisine’.
Please view Photo.

The project we wish to visit is in Luotang Town of Longnan in Gansu. We left Chengdu in Sichuan for Guangyuan by high-speed rail in the early morning of September 16. Our receiving party sent a car to take us to Wudu in Gansu via Shaanxi, which means we have travelled three provinces in one day! On September 17, we travelled high and low by car for two hours and eventually arrived at Yangjiazhuang in Luotang Town, where we have offered financial aid in growing the herb Baiji. Unfortunately, the road to the fields was blocked by debris of landslides as a result of recent downpours. We could only take a look from the village entrance with disappointment. The experimental fields are run by a co-operative society formed by Yangjiazhuang. The chairman of the co-operative society, Mr Yang, told us the difficulties in planting. We put him in touch with experts in the county Academy of Agricultural Sciences who can help solve the technical problems in the future.
Please view Photo.

On 17 September, 2019, together with the Director of Gansu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Mr Xiao, we met with the Mayor of Luotang Town Mr Yang, and the leadership of Yangjiazhuang Village Committee to explore our way forward. We wish to step up our help and support in the areas of agriculture and education for this poor village. After the meeting, chairman of the co-operative society Mr Yang invited us to an authentic farmhouse meal at his home.
Please view Photo.

On 20 September, 2019, we returned to Sichuan Agricultural University at Wenjiang in Chengdu. We discussed with Director Hou of the Student Office on how to better support our sponsored students. We met with our sponsored students after the meeting over lunch. They are now in their third year, time to take a hard look at their future. We reiterated our expectations on them, i.e.
1. Be thankful,
2. To repay society when they can,
3. Be an upright person.
Please view Photo.

In 2017, YEF joined with Sichuan Agricultural University to sponsor a poor farmer in Bixi Township of Peng’an County in Sichuan to plant grass on abandoned farmland and set up a ranch for raising sheep. This is a demonstration project to show other farmers a less labour-intensive and sustainable method to raise cattle.
The farmer, Mr He, formed a co-operative society to do this. In 2018, he sold some sheep, re-invested the money in the ranch and bought some calves of a higher value. He hopes to sell the calves at a good price when they grow up. The farmers are very happy and grateful to us for helping them to really get out of poverty.
Please view Photo.