HuaQiao Foundation

Trip to Henan ---Visiting More High School Students

December 31, 2005

Summary: I have paid a return visit to most of our beneficiaries and visited another 12 high school students from AIDS families.

On my way from Beijing to ZhuMaDian, I met a doctor who works there but was sent to ShangCai to do some work. Naturally, we talked about AIDS problems in ShangCai. He said that in order to get benefits from policies to help HIV victims, many healthy people cheated in HIV test.

Some victims sold the free medicines to buy white wine, cigarettes, etc. We both agreed, however, that such cases exist everywhere and have no relationship with the identities of AIDS victims.

My objective, this trip, was to finish the work still outstanding from last time and, to visit more high school students in HouYang village.

During the first two days I went to ShangCai No. 1 and No. 2 High Schools where I met seven high school students who were not from HouYang village.

Y is signing for allowance

Fan Y is not from an AIDS family, but her father passed away suddenly because of cerebral haemorrhage this February, her mother's health condition is not good and her older brother is a university student. The family has very high expenses but extremely low income.
I received a letter from Y this November, saying that her tuition fees for this semester hadn't been paid yet. I informed my contacts about her problems.

Soon, many warm-hearted friends asked about her situation. Before I left Shanghai to Beijing and Henan, I have received RMB 5,350. In addition, a guy in Guangzhou promised to provide Y with a monthly living cost allowance - and make pen friends with her. How amazing!

Zhang MM is a girl I met at Sunshine Home this September. I heard from her this November, telling me that she did poorly in her study. I answered her letter, asking her not to put such heavy pressure on herself and promising to see her when possible.
My appearance was a surprise for MM, she was very happy, she told me that she was only among 50 in the class in the first test but was among 20 in the second test. I asked her again not to put too heavy pressure on herself and to take care of herself. I never worry about that these students will not cherish their study opportunities but worry about that they study too hard to care for their own physical health.

I also met Wang DF, Nie XL, Cheng HM, Zhang ZY and Wang GL to see whether they have received any winter clothes. Fortunately, the clothes sent to some of them by post were all received. What's more, Ms Lu also gave them clothes. I really appropriate Ms Lu's work in such hard environment.

The third day, I went to RuNan Preschool Teachers Training School to see Zhao CL, for whom we provided with college tuition fee. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry when the guard told me that I couldn't go to the campus because only family members could visit students in their study time. I had to go back, the only benefit I got was to know the itinerary from ShangCai to RuNan.

I was so lucky that the new year holidays for ShangCai No. 1 High School students have been moved up to December 22and 23, and the holidays for ShangCai No. 2 High School students have been moved to December 24 and 25. I could meet the students in the village and take the 4 students to buy stuffs on behalf of Interact.

The owner of these awards has discontinued his study and is doing hard labor to support the family

Qi Z, 16, is studying in class 16, grade one at ShangCai No. 1 High School. He is among the top ten in the class. His father passed away this April because of AIDS. His mother is AIDS patient and has just left hospital for three days when I visited them.

Qi Z's big brother was also top student which could be seen from the awards in the wall. He had been admitted to ShangCai No.2 High School and a technical secondary school but had to give up his study because of poor family. He is, now, making a living in a Shanghai factory.

Qi PH, 18, is studying in class 28, grade three at ShangCai No.1 High School. He is among the top 240 in his grade of more than 2,000 students. The doctor in the village said that both of his parents were HIV positive, but his mother said that only she was HIV positive. Qi PH's father is now working as a builder in Shanxi Province and his older sister is working in Guangzhou.

Liu F, 18, is studying in class 18, grade three at ShangCai No. 1 High School. He is among the top 15 in his class. His mother passed away because of AIDS. His father is a building worker used to work in TaiYuan. Because of an accident, where he fell off from a height, sometimes he is not in his right mind.

Liu F's younger brother is a middle school student and is among the top 2 in his class.

Hou J got the third place in a competition

Hou J, 18, is studying in class 18, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. He is among the top 10 in his class. Both of his parents are HIV positive. His older brother is now working in the shoes factory in the county. When I told Hou J that we were going to provide living cost allowance for him from next semester, he told me that he was already being helped. He is being provided with 100yuan per month and does not need any more help.

He said he didn't want to bother so many people to help him and he would feel sorry if he couldn't pass the college entrance examination. I told him that it was enough for us when he tried his best. We never thought that our beneficiaries MUST be admitted to a university. He was, however, glad to have a pen-friend.

Qi HY, 18, is studying in class 28, grade three at ShangCai No. 2 High School. She is among the top 10 in the class. Her father passed away due to AIDS and her mother's health condition is untested. Her younger brother, 14, has discontinued his study and is staying at home.

Qi Chun-Yuan is always the top student

Yang YH, 17, is studying in class 3, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. She is among the top 20 in the class. Her mother is HIV positive and her older brother is working in GuangZhou. Yang YH is good at English.

Qi CY, 17, is studying in class 17, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. She is among the top 5 in the class and her living costs are less than 20 yuan / week. Her father is HIV positive and works in a brick factory. Qi CY is the oldest child in the family, she has two younger sisters and a younger brother who are all primary school students.

Zhai GH, 17, is studying in class 9, grade one at ShangCai No. 2 High School. Her mother passed away due to AIDS, her father is HIV positive but her stepmother is healthy. Zhai GH has an older brother, an older sister and a younger sister. Her older brother is working in Shan-Xi, older sister is married and younger sister is working in Beijing.

Lei R, 20, is studying in class 6, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. His mother tested positive 11 years ago and his father has rheumatism. Because the family is poor, Lei R stopped and started his studies several times and that is why he is older than the other grade two high school students. Lei R is undernourished, the medical examination shows that he has calcium deficiency. Lei R's younger brother is graduated from a technical secondary school and is still looking for a job.

Although Hou B is handicapped, he is still studying hard to catch his dream

Hou B, is studying in class 5, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. Both of his parents are HIV positive. Hou B is handicapped, but his parents said that if they had enough money, their son could be cured. Hou B's younger brother is a primary school student at grade four and he is among the top 2 in his class.

Lei HL, 17, is studying in class 18, grade two at ShangCai No. 2 High School. His father is HIV positive and he has two old sisters and a younger brother. Two older sisters are both working in the shoes factory in the county and the younger brother is only 5 years old. The health of his younger brother is unknown.

I am really sad when I know that these high school students have to protect themselves from being known as being from AIDS families, because many students tease AIDS victims. One student told me that all his good friends don't know about his family and when he heard harsh comments about AIDS victims he has to keep silent. He is afraid that, if it becomes known that he is from an AIDS family, others will avoid him and take him for a monster.

I had thought that since there are so many AIDS victims in this area, the residents here would have a different attitude to AIDS/HIV, but I am wrong. In a primary school or a middle school, because the students are from the same village or town and AIDS impacted almost all of them, no student is looked down upon because she/he is from an AIDS family. In a high school, however, there are few students from AIDS families (in ShangCai No. 2 High School, there are no more than 200 in about 7,000 students), the situation become totally different as I have mentioned.

I always know that life is much harder for the high school students from AIDS families, because besides poverty and heavy study load, they all know what has happened, is happening and will happen to their parents. Some of them blame themselves when they see their parents doing hard labor to support their studies.

In their eyes, if they were not studying now, they would be enable to make a living themselves and lighten the hard life for their parents. This is the first time, however, that I realize that they have to carry all burden of difficulties and agonies themselves. I came to realize how important pen-friends for them are and I do wish more and more people will join us to make friends with them. Responsibility and a little bit time may make their life different, but I believe our life will be different by what they have suffered, are suffering and will suffer.

Reported by:
Jill Ji
HuaQiao Foundation
www.huaqiaofoundation.org

Tel: 021 62085514
Mobile: 13816945273
Email: hellojihui@gmail.com

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