Every month we are fortunate to receive many wonderful photos of foster children in our programs getting lots of love from their foster parents. These images bring a big smile to our faces and receive many positive comments by those who view them. However, sometimes these photos raise this question: “If the foster family loves the child so much, why don’t they just adopt him?”
Since 2004, LWB has been helping rural and impoverished students realize their dreams of getting a higher education. In China, mandatory education is only through middle school, and high school tuition is often far beyond a family’s means. Many students in the countryside begin working full time after middle school, and it is often hard for them to break out of the cycle of poverty without continuing their education. For the last three years, we have been honored to work with a group of students in Anhui province. We are so grateful to our supporters who have allowed these great kids to attend high school, and we are excited to announce that the entire group earned their high school diplomas recently!
Talk about Independence Day! We have amazing news to share about the Secondary and Higher Education program in Hunan. We are so proud to announce that all seven of our high school graduates passed their final exam this year with flying colors. Our students are shining brighter than fireworks! How wonderful to see their efforts at independence pay off in such a big way.
Sometimes you don’t realize how much you mean to someone until they are pouring out their hearts in a time of despair. Difficult times can shine a brighter light on the value of our Secondary and Higher Education sponsors and the hope they can provide when our students’ lives seem full of obstacles and tragedy.
This summer we heard from Lucas, seen above, who recently graduated from high school with the help of his LWB sponsors. He passed the gaokao and is enrolling in a medical university due to his excellent grades and test scores. Lucas’s future appeared brighter. Things were looking up and his dreams were coming true…until July 15th, when his mother, his last living elder, passed away from lung cancer. Read more.
During Wendy’s final year of high school, her family experienced dramatic life and financial changes. Her father lost his job and had to leave their small community to try and find work, and as a result Wendy was sent to live with her ailing grandmother. Her new home had a leaking roof and no electricity and was built on dirt floors . There was barely enough money for food, and certainly no money for Wendy to continue her education.
Wendy’s future appeared to be brighter when her family learned about LWB’s Secondary and Higher Education Program. This bright girl, who was at the top of her class, was awarded a scholarship to continue high school. Read more.
Months and months of nothing but studying, meals spent hovering over textbooks, very early mornings and unbelievably late nights. Then, before you know it, and definitely before you feel ready, exam day is here. Parents wait outside the school building on the front stairs, worrying about their precious children inside. Two long days of testing; eight hour days, minimal breaks, exhausted students, maximum stress. This is the experience for any student wanting to attend college or university in China. This is the experience of the gaokao.
