Grant Status $0 needed

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Expected Usage of Funding
Supplies, Furniture:
$51
Labor and Salaries:
$205
Transportation:
$20
Raw Materials:
$142
Research:
$20
Administrative:
$20
Other:
$43

Profile

Short- Term:
 
  1. Help the impoverished and disadvantaged children’s families in light of their limited time and resources, to help them develop their small children’s enthusiasm for learning and to build community spirit
  2. Drive cultural exploration and expose villagers to various systems of education, implementing alternative modes of education like night schooling. During the evenings, village families are not as committed to working on the fields.
  3. Gradually move towards a community-based system that relies on a concrete, effective, and sustainable platform positioned for growth

 
Long- Term: The long-term vision is to move towards a matriarchic system of village education that leverage and develops the local cultural resources- specifically, the family-centered education structure, supporting a healthy and balanced progression.

History

In Western China, due to the arid and harsh natural conditions, the economic and social development lags behind other regions of China. Nowadays, the model of education in China strictly conforms to the urban/city model, one that is not easily assimilated to the village environment. The education of children at an early stage is imperative in laying the foundation for their future attitudes and receptiveness to education later on. China’s rural education has drastically lagged behind, and lacks a complete pre-elementary school model. Furthermore, there is little to no incorporation of language studies, music, interactive learning and games, arts, etc. in the comprehensive curricula. The growth of the village children is one-dimensional without these aspects. “Students left behind” are also a horrible phenomenon of Western Chinese villages, as these children drop out of school early in their careers to work at home or due to economic/personal circumstances. The project is expected to be fully complete in 3 years. The destination spot has already been determined and WSF is ready to execute. The project has been researched thoroughly, and plans are finalized. WSF hopes to expand this model to other villages as well.

Impact

This project will use creative and non-traditional methodologies to affect the learning capabilities of children at an early stage. It will guide and lead children down the right path, with the right attitude, towards education. The parents of village children are also placed in this learning institution--- they will learn how to better support their children’s education. They will change their philosophies and the entire culture of the village will follow suite.

Team Credentials

The Beijing Western Sunshine Rural Development Foundation was created in 1998 by one individual, Shang Lifu, who decided to travel to remote villages in search of better rural research. In 2004, the Foundation formally began recruiting college students and training them to teach the countryside. This was one of the first projects Western Sunshine undertook, and it still remains as popular. Eight years since its founding, and after much lobbying, it became one of the few official non-profit foundations in China with an official tax exemption code. Its three core tenets are and will always be:
 
1. Improve the state of the rural West through education and cultural reform
 
2. Cultivate the spirit of philanthropy and volunteerism in China
 
3. Help begin a grassroots campaign to reform the Western Chinese villages and inspire other non-government organizations to do the same.
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