Empower Rural China Students - 21st Century Skills

Building on the encouraging progress of our early childhood development initiative in Yunnan, China, Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) will continue supporting our two existing Parenting and Play Centers while establishing two new centers to reach more rural children and families.

Your donation will help us do more than keep the existing centers running and open new ones. It will also support the training and professional development of center teachers, giving them better tools and knowledge to understand young children’s developmental needs, engage families, and provide meaningful learning and play experiences.

These centers create safe and nurturing spaces where young children and their caregivers can learn, play, and interact together. Through age-appropriate activities, the program supports children’s cognitive, language, social-emotional, and physical development while helping parents and caregivers understand how everyday interactions can support their child’s growth.

With your support, Evergreen can strengthen what is already working, bring the program to new rural communities, and invest in the people who work directly with children every day.

Your donation helps sustain two existing centers, open two new centers, and train the teachers who make these spaces meaningful for children and families.

Thank you for helping us give more rural children a stronger start in life.

Program Success leads Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) to Fund Two Additional Years (7/2026 – 6/2028) for Child Development Centers in Yunnan, China The new Evergreen funds will continue the EEF support for the programs initially funded for 7/2024 – 6/2026 in Sanlian and Xinglong villages of Mazhan township. The funding from EEF will also establish two new programs in Lianza and Laxing villages of Diantan township. The Parenting and Play Center Program is a structured early childhood development intervention, which includes organized play-based learning group activities, one-on-one development support, caregiver engagement and home visits. The Child Development Evaluation Report that EEF received on June 10, 2026 provides detailed information documenting the success of the initial program in Sanlian and Xinglong villages and documents the importance of continuing early childhood development programs. The Child Development Evaluation Report (see attached document) assesses progress for children (0-6 years) in the following areas: Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Adaptive Ability, Language Development, and Social Behavior. Children in the sample achieved an average 23.08% increase overall in these areas, from the start of the project in 2024 to the end of the project in June 2026. Children who participated the most frequently in the program achieved the greatest development gains. Evaluation results also indicate that sustained participation of 6 months or more is creitical for children to achieve large, stable, development gains. However, even children with the lowest participation levels achieved significant increases in development. The attached report provides details of the evaluation and includes 5 recommendations for future Parenting and Play Center Programs, which are: (1) prioritizing regular attendance; (2) providing targeted support for low attendance families; (3) prioritizing social interaction and adaptive learning activities; (4) maintaining regular developmental assessments; and (5) sharing best practices from high participation families. A good overview of the importance of early childhood development and recommended practices is available in chapter 7: Behind Before They Start of Invisible China by Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell (University of Chicago Press, 2020).