Project in Guangxi
to help educate underprivileged girls in Chinese minorities
(广西苗族女孩助学计划法文版)
Claire Weil 1. ES (17 ans) & Alexy Abélanet 1. S (16 ans)
Section américaine, Lycée international de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
"The American Section (of the Lycée international de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) prepares students to become lifelong learners and global citizens by fostering intellectual curiosity and self-confidence that help students realize their full potential and by developing students’ leadership abilities and sense of responsibility towards others.”
Following the American section principle that it is our duty to make a difference as global citizens, we have decided to get involved in something we feel very strongly about. Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Be the change you want to see in the world”, and we believe that now is the time for us to BE that change. We both researched and brainstormed ideas and ways for us to accomplish our objective. We considered helping out in local hospitals, lending a hand to rebuild the homes of people in war-stricken areas, assisting people with their everyday needs in poor urban neighborhoods, or trying to save endangered species. We thought about different countries, ranging from India to Ghana, the Philippines, Mexico, and Chili. Among all these great causes and places, we found one that struck much closer to home in terms of our personal interests and studies: helping the underpriviledged girls from minority ethnic groups in China gain access to educational opportunities.
The Lycee International India trips we both took gave us an “unquenchable thirst” for community service. The greetings of the people we met still ring in our ears, the smiles of the children we helped are engraved in our minds, and the closeness of strangers warmed our hearts. We would like to experience again that gratifying feeling of doing something for kids like us – but without the chance to be “like us” because they were too poor. We both made a promise to ourselves after that trip that our involvement in global citizenship would not stop there, but rather begin there. The Global Citizen Project is our chance to fulfill this promise. We chose China because we both study the language and are intrigued by the recent development of the country and its impact on Chinese kids our age.
Indeed, as a BRIC country, China is experiencing dramatic expansion today. As one of the leading nations of the world, advancing both economically and technologically by the minute, it is surpassing Europe in its rise. However, many people are left behind in this evolution, particularly in rural areas. The peasants there have kept their traditions and beliefs and often live in very precarious situations. Very few of them have the chance to give their kids a decent education and a better future, as they have to work in the fields every day for survival, and there are no schools nearby. Already at a disadvantage, girls suffer even more from discrimination: boys are given the priority to go to school.
That is why we have decided on a project to help girls get access to a better education in the poor Miao Mountain region of the GuangXi province.
Project objectives and description
We found and contacted a French organization, Couleurs de Chine, run by Philippe Marescaux (with whom we have discussed our project). This organization is dedicated to supporting the education of girls from the Miao and Dong minorities in the isolated GuangXi province (see annex A). Since 1998, Couleurs de Chine has supported the education of over 5 000 girls, and renovated or built over 60 schools in the area, thanks to donations and volunteers. This support allows girls of all ages to leave their homes, attend school, and live in the school dormitories during the week, returning home occasionally to help their families for harvest or other manual labor.
After discussions with both the Director of the association and their local French representative, we have designed a project focused on four objectives:
a. Teach English to the high school girls who will soon take the Gaokao exam (similar of the Bac) during the month of July/August in Danian;
b. Provide English tools and other materials;
c. Establish a lasting relationship between the Lycee International and these students. We would raise awareness here by making and showing a film about our experience, and the lives of these Miao and Dong girls. In the medium term we would want to suggest “pen-pals” for a few middle school kids there and our middle school students. In the longer term, we will try to set up a partnership with the Association Couleurs de Chine so that students who appreciate and show interest in our project can “relay us” in the long-run.
d. Raise money to sponsor 2 girls to go to primary school (6 years) without penalizing the family – 60 euros per year allows a girl to go to primary school, to buy her uniform, books and school supplies (pre-July); we would try to raise consciousness and funds through the Fete du Lycée (school supplies) and parent contributions; we also will attempt to solicit other sponsors to support additional funding if possible. These additional funds could serve to provide financial security for the few teachers (who are very badly paid). These teachers, who often have not received a complete professional training, have to handle simultaneously their agricultural tasks and the education of these girls.
Logistics, budget and time frame
We plan to go to Danian from the 13th of July 2010 to the 13th of August 2010. We will be hosted from the 12th of July till the 1rst of August by a local sister association of Couleurs de Chine called Pays Miao which gives donors or foster parents the opportunity to meet the girls they sponsor from afar. For the month of August, we shall be living in the local hotel.
We will be teaching 5 days a week from the 19th of July till the 13th of August included with the local English teacher. On theweek-ends, we will have the opportunity to visit the neighboring villages to meet the girls’ families, and get a taste of the rural and cultural specificities of the region elements for our documentary).
After discussing the project with our contact in the field Marine Vitré, we have estimated a total project budget of about 5 000 euros for two.
- Air transportation : 2 200 euros (a little more than 1 000 euros)
- Other transportation fees : 600 euros
- Living expenses : 1 200 euros (600 euros per person, price CDC)
- Sponsoring two girls for primary education (6 years) : 720 euros
- Other expenses such as buying and sending material and supplies : 280 euros.
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