Featured Organization: China Tomorrow Education Foundation: A Better Future for Rural China

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“As the smile of a poor little girl living in remote village in China with her cancer afflicted mom and the happiness of the children left behind in the countryside by their migrant parents flash into my mind, I realize how important the gift of education is in bringing about substantive change in people’s lives,” says Dennis Su, the President of China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF).

CTEF believes in giving this gift of education and changing lives; so far the organization has impacted the lives of more than 51,000 children. They fulfill this exemplary mission with the support of their dedicated volunteers and donors. “Donate your time and energy and help kids in rural China” is the underlying theme of all their projects.

There is a wide education gap between the impoverished countryside and the booming cities of China. In rural China, many people with their meager incomes can’t afford to send their children to school. The prospect of earning money forces parents to migrate to cities and leave their children in the home village or towns. Usually these “left-behind children” end up living with their grandparents, who take care of the children’s personal safety and daily living but are unable to address their educational needs. There are inadequate educational amenities in the rural areas and children typically study in stone or brick houses, which have been converted into schools. The schoolteachers in the countryside tend to seek better-paying jobs in cities, which often takes the better teachers away from rural students.

CTEF was founded by a group of American Chinese to address this problem of inequality and unreasonable distribution of resources. Their resolve to help the children in rural China was also in sync with the acclaimed 1999 Chinese movie “Not One Less.” Beautifully filmed in a neorealist/documentary style, the movie showcased the difficulties in providing rural education in China. The movie was shown internationally and according to Dennis Su, served as an important tool for attracting the attention of the people towards the issue and fundraising in the initial days.

Since 1999, the China Tomorrow Education Foundation is on a mission to improve education in rural China and prepare the children to become responsible global citizens by renovating schools, establishing libraries, providing teaching equipment, training teachers, funding scholarships, and promoting public awareness of the education conditions in rural China. They work towards this mission through their 100% volunteer and donor-based programs.

CTEF provides financial assistance and moral support to poor students. Their 1+1 student sponsorship program, focusing on high school and college students, provides micro grants to deserving students for up to 50% of their subsistence and school admission costs. To sponsor a student, you only need to donate $150 per student per year for high/middle school students and around $400 per student per year for college students.

CTEF aims to give a more personal touch to its volunteer and donor programs. All volunteers are committed to donating their time and resources and covering their own administrative cost. This ensures that 100% of your donation will reach the students.

The 1+1 sponsorship program allows donors to select a student a list on the 1+1 sponsorship discussion board. The sponsorship discussion board includes information about the students, which enables the donor to make a judicious selection of the student to be sponsored. Once the student is selected from the list, CTEF sends the money to the student and facilitates direct communication with the student sponsored. Donors can personally talk to the student and keep track of his or her progress in school and life. Thus, CTEF helps donors establish personal relationships with the recipients of their donations and directs the money and care towards helping poor children improve their lives.

CTEF has laid down certain criteria for the students listed for sponsorship, which ensures that your time, energy, and money go to those who are bereft of all essential educational aids and resources and are truly deserving. The candidates are mainly selected by CTEF local volunteers, for example, teachers from rural schools. The students then fill out the 1+1 program application form. The information is validated by CTEF volunteers and finally posted on the 1+1 forum.

CTEF also recognizes the fact that access to education includes making significant changes in physical infrastructure and ensuring an adequate supply of needed materials to the children. With the help of a network of trustworthy volunteers, CTEF runs a school renovation program in rural China. The volunteers send first-hand school information and a building proposal. The proposal is evaluated by CTEF and if it’s well-planned for a limited budget and meets the criteria, CTEF goes ahead with the renovation. CTEF has funded 152 of school projects in 13 provinces, worth over $1.4 million (USD).

One of CTEF’s ongoing projects is ShangGang elementary school in GuangXi Province in China. The existing lecture building of this school is not safe for the students in the event of a natural disaster. Due to insufficient funding to construct new building, the children have no other choice but to study inside the old building. Any amount you donate to CTEF goes towards the construction of a safer school building.

CTEF has done commendable work when it comes to areas affected by earthquakes. A few of its earthquakes projects were in Sichuan and Gangsu, the most recent being the Yushu Earthquake Relief Fund. Any amount you donate to this project is used to rebuild schools, school libraries, and student scholarships and contribute towards educational advancement of the school children in earthquake-ravaged areas.

CTEF also gives donors the option to support the sponsorship program in general, simply by donating via the CTEF donor tool. The amount donated is pooled in with other donors to help the students in the program. Thus, you can contribute $1 to a fund for books in the school library, $15 to $20 to supply desks and chairs, $2,500 to $ 3000 for a standard classroom, and $6000-$10,000 to build a single-room rural school. If the donation is $6000 or more, the school is named after a group or individual donors.

CTEF’s success in carrying out volunteer and donor-based projects in rural China can be largely attributed to the support it gets from local communities and corporations in Seattle. Microsoft is one of its biggest corporate allies. Through donations of cash, software and volunteer work, Microsoft helps CTEF achieve its mission. It provides software that improves service delivery and reach, websites and databases to personalize interaction, and communication and collaboration tools to improve coordination and delivery. Receiving software from Microsoft allows CTEF to work more efficiently and keep their operations running smoothly and securely.

In addition to Microsoft, CTEF receives help from employees at Amazon, ARM, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Google, Honeywell, Merrill Lynch and other companies.

CTEF also works in alignment with sister organizations like OCEF (Overseas China Education Foundation), Sowers Action, Interglow and The Zigen Fund.

As one of the member organizations of Global Washington, CTEF looks for new opportunities for growth and collaboration with diverse groups and people working in global development. Through Global Washington, CTEF gets a platform to connect, share, and strategize with diverse entities and direct their energy and resources towards promoting child education. We encourage you to contribute your time and energy and help CTEF in this noble cause. Donations to CTEF help bring about meaningful change in innocent children’s lives and leave a row of smiling faces.

To know more about how you can make a difference, please visit http://www.ctef.org/Involve/donate.aspx

 Bookda