GOLDENGATE PUBLIC WELFARE DALIANG MOUNTAINS, WE ARE FAR AWAY FROM YOU, YET SO CLOSE

GOLDENGATE PUBLIC WELFARE | DALIANG MOUNTAINS, WE ARE FAR AWAY FROM YOU, YET SO CLOSE

Original by Summer Cao

The light of education illuminates the future. Charitable donations to education are like lighthouses guiding students to break through the waves.

Since its establishment, GoldenGate has been subsidizing education in remote mountainous areas for many years. From the initial donation of books and stationery, to later subsidizing the repair of school buildings and providing financial aids for students from single-parent families, and more. This summer, GoldenGate participated in the Daliang Mountains School Sponsorship Volunteer Activity to understand the living and learning conditions of local students from single-parent families, to encourage them to study hard, and to sow the seeds of hope in their hearts. This article is excerpted from some of the volunteer activity notes.

Education is the best form of charity. Stepping onto Daliang Mountains, I embarked on a journey of fate as a Public Welfare Home Visit Volunteer from GoldenGate to find students in need of support.

Here, there is a group of children with a vision for the future. Most of them come from single-parent families, face economic challenges, yet excel academically. Talking with these children and listening to their dreams, their simple words touch the most tender part of my heart. They are diligent and studious, with an overwhelming thirst for knowledge; they are meticulous and brave, fully aware of their families’ hardships, which is truly heart-wrenching.

 (Home environments of students supported by GoldenGate)

The mountain road is rugged; each stretch of muddy road, each wire bridge, seems to narrate the children’s desire to study. I walked into a humble house after another. The children’s mothers could not speak Mandarin, and I could not speak Yi, so we could not communicate directly. During our interviews, what I heard most was “Ka Sa Sa”—the only Yi word I could understand, meaning “thank you”, accompanied by the bright smiles of these mothers. It dawned on me that the distance between what I heard and what I saw could be heart-wrenching!

(Volunteers experience students’ journeys to school)

The teaching quality in the village school is not very good, and only a handful of children manage to pass the exam and gain admission to the secondary school in the county town each year. Without the utmost dedication and efforts of both families and children, the Children in the Daliang Mountains simply would not have the opportunity to continue their education. Although it is only a six-hour journey away from Chengdu (three hours by bus to Xichang and three hours by train to Chengdu), the distance is not very far, yet this place seems to lag behind by a century, solely because there are too few children pursuing education.

I can feel that our country has already done a lot: providing the most basic living security, helping to build houses, giving subsidies for education, and having special policies for college entrance examinations. Moreover, there are strangers like us who are willing to lend a helping hand and show kindness. These children who aspire to study are fortunate.

(Housing constructed with the help of our country)

Child, you said you want to go to Sichuan University, you said you want to defend the motherland, you said you will take your mother on a trip, you said… Alright! The brothers and sisters in GoldenGate are kind, loving, optimistic, and hardworking! We want to be like that warm sunshine in winter, helping you realize your dreams! Let you walk more firmly and bravely, strive to climb over the mountains, and see the vastness of the world!

(GoldenGate’s sponsored students have achieved excellent academic results)

A week-long home visits has made me feel a bit heavy-hearted. I had originally planned to give candies to the children, but ended up eating most of them myself. Looking out the window, I saw the sea of clouds, waterfalls, and wild azaleas stretching across the mountains along the road, a sight I had never seen before. After being soothed by nature, my soul became interesting again.

Let the light of knowledge illuminate every corner, and may our perseverance warm the hearts of more people!

*Based on various considerations, this article does not contain the photos or names of the recipients of donations.