By Linda Mayer | Program Coordinator - France
As some of you may know, Ma Yan, the schoolgirl whose diary moved thousands of readers the world over, has been studying at the Sorbonne for the last two years. In fact, she just successfully passed the exams allowing her to continue her studies for another two years. She then plans to go back to China with a prestigious diploma in French Language! If you have not yet read The Diary of Ma Yan (HarperCollins), please don't hesitate! It was awarded the "Outstanding International Book for 2006" by the United States Board on Books for Young People and the Children's Book Council. It was re-edited in the US in June of 2009 with a postface by Pierre Haski and Ma Yan and remains a heart-wrenching account of the hardships of life in rural China for a girl deprived of schooling.
In our last report, we had promised an update about our teacher training program in computer skills, but regretfully must tell you that it had to be postponed. Working with the local authorities in China can bring unexpected ups and downs, and this time, our China coordinator, Laurent Peyrot, was thwarted in his attempts to organize this second edition. We will try again to repeat this program as the first one seemed to be much appreciated by the participants.
Our good news is that the Areva Foundation has agreed to support 2 of our female university students, Hu Yufeng and Ma Dongmei, for a period of 3 years. We extend our sincere thanks to Areva for this vote of confidence. You will find the profiles of the selected students below.
Other good news is that the French International School in Hong Kong has outlined another year of dynamic fund-raising events including the Swimathon on November 13th, a loto-bingo night at the end of February and two evenings of performances at mid-May, the proceeds of which will pay for the LI-HK's (Lycée International - Hong Kong) trip to Ningxia at the beginning of June 2011 as well as provide material support to two selected schools. As in previous years, any surplus will go directly to our scholarship program. This collaboration with the Lycée International is very dear to us as it accomplishes so many of our objectives: providing scholarships to children and young adults from Ningxia province for school and university, promoting international exchange between young people and improving the educational environment by bringing material aid.
We are also happy to announce that our relationship with Earthpulse Foundation in Hong Kong who organized the beautiful "Mothers and Daughters" photo exhibition and gala event last May to support three different associations including ours, continues to thrive. Our on-going collaboration will include more art exhibits as well as support of specific university students.
Until our next report in three months, we extend our thanks to you once again for your support and wish you a happy school year!
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