Travels in China 2006
The Children of Golden Courage International
Finally, our opportunity to meet the eager young children Golden Courage is supporting, to visit one of the pioneering schools that is hosting the Great Expectations Program, to travel the dusty roads to the villages and homes of the children, and to see first-hand the important work Golden Courage is doing on the most basic grass-roots level. But the preparation for this eventful day is quite elaborate, including discussion by the Mayor's assistant of what color Yun will wear for the honoring ceremony at the school, where each of us will be seated, and the appropriate dress and protocol for the rest of us. Our preparation for the speeches that Yun and Ovan Basha (Oran) will deliver is also very conscious and careful, making sure to accurately and eloquently communicate the nature of the work that Golden Courage is doing and our strong commitment to the principle of collective responsibility for the future of our children.
On Monday, June 19, we take a bus filled with government officials, press, Golden Courage staff, and our small, intrepid group from Golden Courage headquarters one and a half hours to the county school where the ceremony honoring Golden Courage will take place. This is the site of the Great Expectations Program, which is dramatically improving the lives and future possibilities for so many young children through access to education and healthy food, text books, medical and dental care, and foster care or assistance to existing families. First, we are ushered into a room which is decorated with large banners reading: "Welcome Golden Courage International." The Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Goumindang presents Yun and Oran with gold watches, while Katka and I receive gifts of honor to acknowledge our participation. There is definitely an air of excitement and anticipation, with many highly placed officials from the local, state, and national levels present at this occasion.
Then, one of my most memorable experiences of the trip. Katka and I are quickly ushered into the large auditorium emblazoned with banners of welcome, where about 200 children, their families, and officials are sitting, waiting for the entrance of Yun, the Chairman, Dr. Lu, Sr., and other highest-level officials.
This is our opportunity to hand each and every one of these amazing young children their very first toy, a stuffed animal, one of 250 we brought with us in a huge, bulging duffle bag generously donated by many caring Golden Courage volunteers from Pfizer in Ann Arbor.
Each child, scrubbed clean and sitting at attention, says "thank you," their first words in the English language. Looking out at the sea of beautiful faces, some smiling, some shyly looking down at their cuddly gift, I feel my greatest reward for this challenging but deeply gratifying work.
Then all eyes turn to the back of the room as Yun, the Chairman, Oran, and the officials walk quickly into the room to the ringing of loud applause, snapping of photographs by the press, and positioning of the video cameras and microphones to capture this important occasion. Yun delivers a truly moving speech, sharing with the children directly his experience of living on the streets for 11 years and his subsequent commitment to help children in desperate circumstances find a way to improve their lives. He urges them to turn poverty into possibility, to transform negative experiences into a vehicle for positive outcomes, and he asks them to give back to their community once they have become successful. Oran brings greetings from Golden Courage, U.S. and confirms our commitment to the words of Sun Yetsen: "Love and Compassion without Borders." He communicates the commitment of all of us in the U.S. who believe that it is our collective responsibility to help children in need no matter where they may live, that there is a human bond that unites us that is stronger than national boundaries.
After the ceremony and pictures, we climb back into the buses for an opportunity to visit the villages and homes of some of the children we had just met at the school. We discover that many of the roads to the villages we visit have just been paved in the last week to give our bus access to the villages. Yun had strategically decided which villages most needed paved roads and chose these particular villages to visit, thus enabling the villagers and children greater access to markets, schools, and work. When we leave the buses and walk through the village, it is evident that this is a very special procession. Children and villagers wave and smile as we stumble on the rocks after the paving ends and the old village roads begin.
We enter four different homes in different villages and speak with the children and remaining family members who are often blind, ill with HIV/AIDS, or disabled in some way. In many cases, the child had dropped out of school to care for the ill parent or grandparent or take care of the younger children. It is Golden Courage that provides holistic care for the family through collaboration with government agencies, which enables the child to return to school.
There are the examples of Silent Brother and Joyful Sister, whose home we visit ( Read More ). No longer able to work in the mines because of his blindness, the father now works the small farm where the family lives. He is committed to keeping his children in school despite his disabilities. His brother took the boy for a short time, but the uncle died of cancer, so the family of three is now together again.
Now 12 years old, the brother is a quiet, serious young man who has assumed much of the responsibility for caring for his father and younger sister. He works hard, both in school and in the fields, cooks for the family, and handles the family's business. He doesn't smile much, but is very responsible and always finishes in the top five of his class in school. During the school year, he runs home seven miles to cook for his father and sister at noon, runs back to school and then home again to tend the fields after school.
In contrast to her older brother, the sister has a very happy nature and carries a big smile on her face at all times. Golden Courage wants to preserve this young girl's joy for life and restore her brother's hope for the future. Our volunteers are serving this family through One-on-One Help, including paying for school tuition and school lunch programs. We are also working with officials to qualify the father for disability assistance and helping him learn new skills that he can do even with his handicap.
So we walk away from these meetings with the children and their families with a real recognition of the impact Golden Courage is having at the most basic level on their quality of life and their possibilities for the future. I return to the U.S. with the faces of these children in front of me, their commitment to help their families survive, and their determination to make the most of their opportunities. I return to the U.S. knowing how much we have to be grateful for in this country and the ability we have to make a difference in the lives of children half a world away from us.