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2005-2006 District Awards

Rotary International District 3450

Award Category: Literacy and Education

Submitting Club: Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island East

Project Name: Hebei Educational Project for underprivileged girls

Objectives of the Project:
1. To echo one of the 2005-2006 RI theme: Literacy and Education
2. To assist poor female pupils from mountain towns and villages of Hebei Province in Mainland China to complete their primary school education
3. To help girls to have better education and enlightenment on life so that they can better prepare to be good mothers after they grow up and have proper ability to teach their next generation

Format of the Project:
1. We have picked up an Officer of Education Department of the Hebei Province, Ms Tao Jian, to be our coordinator of this project in Hebei. Ms Tao is the cousin of one of PP George Leung. She were requested to distribute the money we raised in Hong Kong for
this project and make sure that every cent of the money raised would go directly to the students' needs.

2. We have the assistance from Hebei Education Department to select two counties that are "below the national poverty line, i.e. Fu Ping and Lai Yuen counties. 150 female pupils ranging from primary one to primary five with most needs were selected to be recipients of our donation. The 150 female pupils are coming from 74 primary schools in these two counties. The coverage of needed pupils is widely considered.

3. In Hong Kong, we started to promote this project and got 19 PPs and Rotarians to donate HK$134,500 within 2 weeks to cover the 5 years tuition fees for these 150 female pupils in the coming 5 years. The money raised will be transmitted to Hebei each year in accordance with the requirements to pay for the tuition each year. All money will be paid directly from Ms Tao Jian to the schools after she checked that the pupils are still studying in those schools.

4. On-site visit was also arranged to investigate the actual situation of their studying environment. On August 21, 2005, President Eddy Wong and PP George Leung and his family members traveled to Beijing to visit the schools and to meet some of the girls we sponsored. The two counties were about two and a half hours ride from Beijing airport. On August 22, we met the officials from the Education Department of Fu Ping County and were taken to visit a school in the mountain. The trip took half a day and we also asked Ms Tao to purchase some school bags, stationeries and crayons on our behalf for these 150 girls as gifts from the Rotarians of Hong Kong Island East. A simple but touching ceremony to hand over the gifts as well as the money for the first year of the tuition was carried out. The school principal, the officer from the education department and President Eddy delivered their speeches. In the afternoon, the delegation was taken to Lai Yuen County for next visit of another school. A similar ceremony was carried out and TV crew of the Hebei Television station also interviewed President Eddy at the school. He took the opportunity to promote the good wills of Hong Kong and the Rotary International.

5. Discussion was made with the officials of Education Department in Hebei. The school teachers of some Primary Schools would also invite Rotarians to offer assistance in improving the teaching skills of the teachers by frequently visiting them and have experience sharing. We have discussed the opportunity of bringing some primary school teachers from Hong Kong to Beijing in next summer so that they can share experience with each other and help enhancing their skills.

6. In addition, we also consider supporting our Rotaract Clubs to offer simple summer teaching programs to the poor pupils in the school in the mountain areas in Hebei Province.

7. Details can be found in RC of HKIE newsletter Tung Feng (21st September 2005 Issue) http://www.rotary3450.org/hongkong-island-east/archive/09212005.html

Benefit of this project to Rotarians:

1. To provide fund raising organizing skills training for responsible Organizing Committee members

2. To provide opportunity for participating members and their family members to actually experience how poor pupils struggle for better education opportunities even though in a underprivileged environment.

3. To make our members aware of the importance of improving literacy level of the people in a country

4. To educate all Rotarians the spirits of "Service Above Self" and to further explore how we can better service the Community in the future

5. To help educate the second generation of the Rotarians about how fortunate they are in Hong Kong because they can receive good education without struggling with the living standard of the whole family

Benefit of this project to Club, District and Rotary International:

1. Rotary image is further enhanced to the participants we serviced, to the government officials we met in Mainland China

2. Objects of Rotary Organization is promoted by the TV interview with President Eddy to the people living around the two Counties in Hebei province

3. It provides opportunities for Rotarians to involve in organizing this meaningful project so that they can better know about the Rotary mission and create sense of belonging to the Club

4. This on-going project can stimulate members to explore different ways to better help the poor pupils in the Mountain areas of the two counties in Hebei province.

Benefit of this project to local Community (in Hebei):

1. To provide necessary education opportunity for 150 poor female pupils so that they can be better trained to be good and knowledgeable persons.

2. To help reduce the financial pressures of the economically poor peasant families in the two counties

3. To provide better hope for all those sponsored pupils to further their education chance in the future. If they do not have the opportunity to complete primary school education, how can they have chance to enter into secondary schools and universities?

4. To improve the literacy level of people living in the two counties of Hebei province.

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