InterGlow, a NGO in Hong Kong, and CTEF are finally partners for a Community Center in Sichuan as the official document was signed during President Dennis’s recent trip there.

This project is located in the mountainous Mok Hor County, near Xi Chang in southwest Sichuan and has been under consideration by CTEF since three years ago when representatives from the two organizations met. The simple idea of providing a school for the Yi ethnic group in this remote region has evolved into constructing the very first concrete building, providing education, medical, social, and economic services for the entire community. Most of the front-line work and planning on this project resulted directly from InterGlow staff’s persistence work over the years to help the villagers to become self sufficient in this extremely poor region, where few people received any education or even speak Mandarin.

The school portion of the center consists of class rooms and a dormitory for both students and teachers, a kitchen, dining/meeting hall, and a new eco-friendly toilet. Current plan will accept students below the forth grade and yes, students at that young age will be boarding because of the poor conditions of their homes - mostly mud huts with thatch roofs and dirt floors. According to the contract, the County government will provide teachers while InterGlow will staff clinicians for the clinic. In fact, InterGlow has already started training of clinicians. The school will also provide adult education at night and has an office for the village corporation that InterGlow organized with 50% women participation to stimulate self-sustained entrepreneurship.

Not only is this project the most expensive CTEF ever funded but it’s also the most meaningful and comprehensive. Photos of the villages and the surroundings as well as those covering the construction progress are available on the InterGlow web site:  http://www.Interglow.org/.

CTEF is excited about our participation in this innovative project that will bring broad, sustainable impact to the local community. We are planning a field trip in early October 08 to officially unveil the facility and welcome any interested parties to participate in and witness this wonderful event.