Raising Hope

Adecision made 30 years ago has changed the fate of millions of people. In 1989, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the China Youth Development Foundation jointly launched Project Hope. The aim was simple: to pool resources from society to help those who could not afford education go back to school, and to build quality schools in poverty-stricken areas.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, China saw more than 1 million school-age students drop out of school because of poverty every year. In some remote mountainous areas of the country, more than 90 percent of children could not go to school because of poverty or a lack of schools. This explains why Project Hope gained so much attention and response from society immediately after it was launched. Donors to this philanthropic initiative range from state leaders to common people and from seniors to kindergarten children. With the funds, impoverished students have been able to continue their schooling to pursue their dreams. Numerous schools have been built to serve such students. Teaching facilities such as computer rooms, labs and music classrooms have been established. Batches of university graduates and volunteers are part of the teaching staff in remote areas. More importantly, increasing numbers of indigent students have found a way to realize their dreams and change their lives.

Project Hope therefore provides a vehicle for a never-ending education circle, where those in need are helped and then in turn help others in a powerful example of paying it forward. Su

Mingjuan from east China’s Anhui Province was financially aided by Project Hope in 1991, when she was a first grader at Zhangwan Primary School in Anhui. “Without Project Hope, I could not have even entered high school,” she recalled. The fund allowed her to continue her education, culminating in admission to Anhui University. After graduation, she worked in a bank and has been making annual donations to Project Hope since 2005.

Millions of people like Su contribute to the project, and promote China’s education development and social progress. As of 2018, Project Hope had received donations worth 15.02 billion ($2.12 billion) nationwide, financially assisted 5.95 million impoverished students and built 20,110 Hope Primary Schools. Of the impoverished students assisted by the project, many have become technicians, teachers, scientists and executives.

In 2006, China revised its Compulsory Education Law, making the country’s nine-year compulsory education period free of charge. The law put a stop to the rising number of school dropouts, allowing Project Hope to shift its focus from financially supporting the education of dropouts to building Hope Primary Schools in poor areas. This means students there can enjoy high-quality education as their peers in big cities. Project Hope has also gone beyond the border, with schools built in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Namibia, giving nearly 10,000 African students hope through quality teachers and well-equipped classrooms. CA