Catherine Gao

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Donor Teams

2009 Holiday Challenge
Team Costa Rica - Route of Fire
Uganda Peace Primary School
University of Pennsylvania

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Gender: Female

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Donated to:

Jianping He (何建平)
$280 of $280 donated
Sichuan, China
Like many in my village, I did not own my first set of clothing until I was five years old. My family had been too poor to buy cloth. My family rents fields from others, and my father works a second job as a manual laborer downtown. My family must pay tuition for my brother and me – I am in middle school and my brother is in elementary school. During one tough time, I dropped out of class for a semester because my family couldn’t afford my tuition fee. Originally, I lived in a remote rural area, from where children would walk five hours to get to school since public transportation was not available. My old home was about 5 miles away from my current school. Everyday, I had to walk for an hour and a half to get to school. Because my parents wanted my brother and me to be closer to school, we decided to move, and found a nice neighbor willing to rent some farmland out. Unfortunately, the weather was very bad. When there was a storm, my family would have nothing to eat for several ...

Guangen Shen (申关根)
$200 of $200 donated
Sichuan, China
I was born in a small remote village, nestled in the mountains. Although I long to visit the big cities, my village lacks developed roads. People in my village either do farm work or hard labor. The only source of income in my family is the money earned by my father. Unfortunately, when I was little, I fractured my right arm, and in order to afford my medical expenses, his family had to borrow money from neighbors. To pay for tuition fees of both my sister and me, my father had to find a second job. The work was hard to find because my father is illiterate. Like many other poor families who have children attending school, my family is heavily in debt. Despite my difficult circumstances, I love to read. Physics is my favorite subject. When I was in elementary school, I often borrowed physics textbooks from my older sister every time I went home. Since I lived approximately 8.3 miles away from my elementary, I could only go home once every three weeks. In middle school, I enjoyed phys...

Shangui Yan (严善贵)
$150 of $150 donated
Sichuan, China
My family has a couple acres of field and farmland. Due to the recent dry spell, the output of these fields is not much. My younger sister and I are the only two children in my family, and our parents love us so much. My father is a farmer, as well as my disabled mother. The day I started school, my mother broke down into tears because she realized that she could never afford to pay tuition for her children to fully complete their education. For the majority of my sister's and my life, all our clothes were given to us by kind friends. When I was in fourth grade, I got a disease that forced my family to use the little money that we had saved to pay for my medical expenses. My father even sold his own blood to get money for me. Luckily, I was treated and cured. I used to be number one in my class, but after I went to middle school, my performance dropped noticeably. I lost confidence and courage, becoming unsure about my future life and studies. I didn’t know if my family could ...

Shangwen Zhang (张尚文)
$25 of $280 donated
Sichuan, China
My family of four has struggled with economic hardships for years. We only own a small lot of land. Due to the poor health conditions of my mother, most of the farmwork falls on the shoulders of my father. My younger sister and I help out on the weekends when we return home from boarding at school. After the crops have been harvested, my father travels to a nearby city to earn a minimal income through hard labor to help the family get by. I often cry at night under the covers because I am torn between wanting to attend school and also wanting my father to not have to work so hard. I hope to finish school so that I can help my family out of poverty. (Translated from Shangwen’s autobiographical sketch)

Yonglin Xiao (肖用林)
$280 of $280 donated
Sichuan, China
I have faced many setbacks in my childhood, but I have overcome each with courage and confidence. My only hope for the future is to fulfill my dreams. Ever since I started my education, I have always excelled in school. However, after graduating from elementary school, I overheard my parents tell their neighbors that they planned to discontinue my education after middle school so that I can help out my family with farm work. Upon finding out my parents’ intentions, I was overcome with sadness. However, my relatives persuaded my parents otherwise, and allowed me the opportunity to continue my education. Although it is difficult to make up for the schooling I missed, I am determined to regain my position at the top of my class. I believe that going to school isn’t enough – one must also excel in whatever he or she is learning. I aspire to do well in all of my school subjects so that I can distinguish myself one day. (Translated from Yonglin’s autobiographical sketch)

UPM/Phelex Poplar Tree Farm (芬欧汇川/惠黎供水助学示范工程)
$100 of $100 donated
Henan, China
Project Profile: Phelex and UPM aim to create a poplar tree farm in Qiaocun, Yichuan County in Henan Province. Proceeds of sales of poplar tree products (bark, paper, wood) will be used to provide financial assistance to students, as well as support school refurbishment efforts. Students at Qiaocun Elementary School need to pay RMB120 ($16.70 USD) textbook fees, which often strain family finances. Vital Facts: Qiao Village Elementary School is located in Yichuan County, Luoyang City in Henan Province, 350 kilometers away from provincial capital Zhengzhou and 30 kilometers away from the major city of Luoyang. The student body consists of local children, as well as children from surrounding villages, totaling approximately 130 students. In recent years, Qiao Village has been recognized as a role model for agricultural development and progress. Nevertheless, despite the community’s substantial commitment to economic and development, in 2007, the average per-capita income of village r...

Daiyun Chen (陈代云 )
$140 of $140 donated
Sichuan, China
Dear donors of the PEACH Foundation: Greetings! I am a freshman in high school, currently studying at Yanyuan Town Minzu Secondary School. My family has faced a lot of hardships, and my teacher said you are able to provide support to families in poverty. Therefore I’m submitting this application. Let me tell you a bit more about my family conditions: My family lives in Shuwen Town, Guanfang Village. There are four members in my family: my father, my mother, my brother and myself. Our house is made of soil. It’s not beautiful to look at but it is enough to shelter us. My parents are both farmers. Most of our income comes from farming and largely depends on our crop harvest. My father sometimes tries to find odd jobs to make some money, but they are mostly labor jobs and don’t provide much income. My brother is in second grade of middle school and it costs a lot of money as well. My family has very little land, so we can only produce a small harvest every year. Our family doesn�...

Kwagala Sarah
$360 of $360 donated
Kampala, Uganda
I have attended Peace Nursery and Primary School from the time I was old enough to go to school. Five years ago my mother died and my father became ill. Peace Nursery and Primary School offered to let me stay in the Girl’s Dormitory and cover my school expenses. My best friend is Rita, another girl who lives at the school. I am the top student in my class. My favorite subject is math. I would like to finish my education and become a teacher. I would appreciate your help in making my dreams come true. Note: Peace Nursery and Primary School is a private school serving orphans and other children unable to afford the costs of attending public schools. As such, it receives no funding from public sources. Located in a suburb of Uganda’s capital city Kampala, the school is in a highly urban setting and must pay for water and sanitation service as well as teacher salaries and facilities. School Supplies include a school uniform, other clothing (underwear and after school clothi...

Jimmy Cabriza
$200 of $200 donated
Cordillera, Paraguay
I live in Tobati with my mom, my dad and my 5-year-old sister. In school, I most enjoy gym class, English, history and geography. I hope to someday reach what I’ve always wanted to achieve, and that is to be an English and gym teacher and graduate as the best in the United States. So that I can achieve my dream, I am going to study a lot and keep studying so that I can be a successful person and be able to help my family and my community. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ About Tobatí :Tobatí is both a town and a provincial district within the department (state) of Cordillera, Paraguay. The population of the district of Tobatí is 21,315 of which 16,538 (75.5%) are under the age of 19. Over 33% of this population lives beneath the international poverty line while as high as 70% live in relative poverty. A large percentage of the houses in the region lack running water and electricity. This poverty is especially prevalent in the region's rural villages, known as compañías. Most m...

Expansion of Circle of Peace School
$3000 of $3000 donated
Kampala, Uganda
Circle of Peace School project is an educational initiative designed to provide kindergarten and elementary education. Currently, the existing location of the school will be unavailable after December 2009 because the school is being evicted from its existing property. As a result, the school is moving all primary school students to the Upper school where they will have to share space until new shelters can be provided for them. The Circle of Peace School is asking for help to start building structures to allow their students to continue their education. Most of their students are orphans, aids victims whose parents have died, and poor children who can’t afford to pay for education. Currently there are 105 students in the lower school and 100 in the upper school. With these funds, the school will purchase all the necessary materials to begin building. Please click on “view my updates” (under the profile picture) to see pictures of the school and read additional commentary. Mor...

Rehabilitating Former Street-Children
$420 of $750 donated
Nairobi, Kenya
The Turning Point Trust works to prevent and rehabilitate street-children within Africa’s largest slum, Kibera, Kenya. When a child comes from the streets to the Turning Point Project, they bring with them behavioural characteristics that they have learnt in that environment. This behaviour frequently prevents them from immediately returning to school, and a period of rehabilitation is required. Our School Transition Class provides a safe, nurturing, educational environment that enables the child to slowly readjust to a more structured way of life: for example: relating to adults in authority; lengthening their concentration period and adjusting to being within four walls. During this time, our staff work to trace the child’s family and work alongside them to address the problems the family are facing. If appropriate, a parent or guardian might become involved in Turning Point’s Finance Programme, giving them the chance to start a small business and earn a steady income. Each ...