Blessing Hands January Newsletter

Good News: It was in the news lately that the Chinese government is planning to help the children in the first nine grades with more school expenses such as textbooks and other expenses. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-01/07/content_6376070.htm. Poor boarding students in these grades will also have some subsidy increases. This is good news for our lower middle school students who were really pressed to pay for textbooks and room and board. We have been giving them $25 a semester in help for these expenses. As the government steps up to give more aid, we can step back and begin looking at other ways to help our students or increase support for higher middle school students who don’t receive any help from the government.

Bad News: I know that children are suffering in China both in the city and rural areas. The article below tells of the problems of the rural poor. Migrant worker’s children are especially having problems.

“The World Bank’s estimate of the number of poor people in China was tripled to 300 million from 100 million last month, after a new survey of prices altered the picture of what a dollar can buy"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/world/asia/13china.html?ex=1200891600&en=

28299bd0a3c1a97b&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Trip to China: Carolyn Franzini from Sister Cities and I will be leaving for China on the 17^th of January. Carolyn will stay two weeks extra to study Chinese, but I will return on the 31^st. While we are there I will be exploring the new subsidy changes and developing a proposal for future Blessing Hands assistance to our children. We may change some of our support based on new developments, and I will need to make a report to the Blessing Hands Board and donors on our possible future goals.

Visiting with Students: We will be visiting in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province, with seven of our Blessing Hands scholarship students who attend various colleges there and renewing friendships with former visiting scholars who have come to Morehead State University.

In Qinzhou we have timed our trip to attend the gathering of the students as they receive their spring tuitions. I always enjoy meeting the students and matching personalities with pictures. We will have used books to give away that have generously been sent by a donor to arrive in time for the gathering. Anna Liu is trying to get them all T-shirts with the Blessing Hands logo.

In Yangshuo we will be visiting Sister Schools and Blessing Hands children in their homes and schools. We will also have a gathering there and hope to meet most of the college scholarship students from that area who will come home for Chinese New Year. Mrs. Wei has three days of touring the schools and viewing student needs arranged for us.

Water Purification: We hope to survey the Yangshuo rural schools for water needs while we are in Yangshuo this time. We have set aside a day to do that. I know that many schools do not have any water source and others have inadequate water. Sometimes there is a simple fix for these problems such as using pottery pots to filter the water. Other schools might need a well dug or pipes to bring water to the school. During a stop in Hong Kong we will be meeting with a man who often assists with water purification projects in China and is interested in the poor.

Scholarship Interviews: We will also be interviewing senior students for next year’s college scholarships. We don’t plan to go to China this coming summer because of the Olympics, so this trip will be the only opportunity to interview students in person.

New Look to the Blog: I was so busy this fall that I made very few blog entries. Lately I have been catching up and the blog has a new format. I encourage you to check it out. http://blessinghands.blogspot.com. It even has rotating pictures.

Website and Database Development: MSU students will be helping us again this spring with our web presence. I will be taking a borrowed GPS device with me to China in an effort to locate the schools more accurately on a Google Earth overlay. While the web build is going on, the home page is located at http://blessinghands.us.

Pen pals and sponsors: A new friend has sent Blessing Hands a pen pal matching program he developed that should make it easier to match pen pals. While I am in China, I will be emphasizing the importance of pen pals and encouraging students to have e-mail addresses. I attended a Chinese Christian conference after Christmas and found many new friends interested in Chinese children. Thanks to all of you new pen pals and sponsors who are writing to our students. During the conference, I always seemed to be sitting down by people I must have been ordained to meet.

Sponsors and donors needed: We sure do appreciate all of our donors, but we need more. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to people with soft hearts. Consider reaching deeper into your own pockets as I have done into mine. Checks should be made to Blessing Hands and mailed to 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40251, or you can donate by credit card with a button on our blog mentioned above. Support for a higher middle school student is now $80 a semester because of the drop in the value of the dollar against the yuan. The students need your help.

Donate with the button on this page or make checks to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY. 40351

http://blessinghands.blogspot.com/ or blessinghands@gmail.com or http://www.blessinghands.us

Anna Tells How Blessed It is to Give

Anna is one of the first students who received our scholarships in 2006. She is in her second year of college now.

Dear Betty,

I forgot to tell you a significant thing in my last mail. That is, about a week ago, one of my roommates found an appalling article when she surfed the internet. The writer uses many pictures to present the extremely hardness lives of some children in the poor family. They even have not enough clothes worn in so cold winter. She was so moved and told our whole room members. The next day we picked up our clothes which we seldom wear and collected them together. We even asked our professors to help us. Finally we posted those clothes according to the address gave in that article. When we finished this all, so blessedness we are!

Although our ability is not strong enough to do more, we did what we can do. Helping others really makes one feel contented. I am so happy that I can do something for them. Then, I spent some time to think of my own life. Apparently, I am not the most unfortunate one, I have a beatific family and all of us are healthy. So, I should not complain all the time but ought to endeavor for myself, for my family, also, for others! This is my honorable duty! I will try. All along.

Anna

James Does Volunteer Work During his Holiday

James, one of our college scholarship students, wrote recently to tell me he could not meet me in Yangshuo while I was there on the 28th of January. He is volunteering as a teacher in a minority village near his college. I am delighted that he is being a Blessing Hand to others. Just as he has received he is now giving. His slightly edited letter is below.

Dear Betty

How are you now. Last week I went to Wenchuan City and Longxi Xiang Town, some villages, to inspect the primary school. They are Qiang nation people, an old nation in China history.

When the school lesson is over, I will go there to be a volunteer teacher to teach them something about law with 50 students from all over China. Some of them from North of China University and some of them from West of China University.

I think it is important to help the children in the poor district. They cannot have enough food to eat. Also their civilization is different from ours. Their clothing is beautiful which is made by themselves.

I will go on the day 2008/01/25 and come back Chengdu on the day on 2008/02/02.
Best wishes for you.

Yours,

James

2008/01/10

Youfen Sends Thanks,

Youfen from Qinzhou No. 1 Middle School has sent Blessing Hands a lovely hand beaded thank you. She must have worked hours on it, since it is very large. She also sent 13 necklaces and bracelets that she had beaded. We feel her warm thanks for sure. She is in the third year of high school as we count grades in the USA.

In her letter she says:

I don't have any money to buy gift to your and I don't think buy gift is a good idea to thanks, so I decide to make some things to your. I know this things is worthless things, but it stand for my thankgivng heart. It's meaningful. I hope you can like it.