Testimony of a Secondary Section student

Macau is small, but here is a blessed land with no natural disasters. It is really a blessing to be born in Macau. In contrast, there are people facing death every day because of lack of food. For them, every day is a problem and a very hard time. In comparison, Macau is better than other regions and places, but we rarely cherish everything we have now.

Every year, the School organizes a Bazar Day. I only knew it was to raise funds for the school in the mountainous areas of Yunnan. From the years of kindergarden to primary school, this was the school activity we were expecting the most. There is one every year, but I just knew the school had a program to help the education in the mountainous areas of Yunnan, so every year we donated money for it. But what were we doing over there? how much are we helping them? These questions went unanswered until I went there in person. I'm really stunned, because the reality is so different to my imagination.

It was when I went to Kunming to understand their lives conditions and their learning situation, that I knew how difficult are their lives over there. My school has built a total of four Daoming Schools in different mountainous areas of Yunnan, and the one who has left the deepest impression in my heart was Daoming - 2 (Zhangpojiao). this school is inside a forgotten village. Why do I say that it is in a forgotten village? Before the school helped them, they had to drink dirty water in order to survive. That was the water their children had to fight for drinking. We take a bath once a day, but they take a shower only three times in their lives (at birth, they they of their wedding and the day they die). They don't have official registration, which is the equivalent to the Macau identity card. The children can not go to government schools, there is no opportunity to learn, they do not know even a Chinese character. They start working at sunrise and rest at sunset. At night there is not electric lights, no roads and all is completely dark. We have electronic products to know and understand the news from around the world, but they do not know anything that may have happened in the outside world. Now, thanks to the funds that our school and the Holy Family School have provided and the hard work of all the local villagers, the village was built a water reservoir that should provided for enough drinking water, and although they still lack an advanced potable water filtration system, the water is still much better than the one they had to drink before. The children can go to the Daoming school to learn and they cherish each day class time. They have build solid brick houses and now they also use solar power lights to illuminate. Their living conditions have improved a lot compared with the former conditions and their life is full of laughter. Such a change, I am really happy for them. I could not even imagine such backward place. My coming to Daoming - 2 (Zhangpojiao) also gave me a reflection, I began to cherish what I have now (including food, relatives, friends, etc.).

At the remaining three schools, the children were very lively, very happy. Some children are terrific at dancing and some others sing very beautifully. It seems that every child has a different talent. At the time, I play with Li Jiajun and taught them a few games. In the process of playing the whole place was full of laughter. When I remember the good time I had playing with them, I begin to miss them and miss the happiness they gave me. I hope you continue studying hard in there. You are really great!!!!

During these seven days and six nights, I have come to realize that I am a blessed young girl, but I also experienced many different things. I want to thank our school for giving me this opportunity to understand what SP Edify (Saint Paul School Educational Infraestructre for Yunnan) is about. I also want to thank Li Shu and Chen Li and to everyone that contributes in any way to SP Edify project. Heartfelt thanks to you for giving me an unforgettable experience.

High School Student
Tsai Pei-Shan 
June 10, 2014