Visit to the Zhang Family

Lufei Girls' Fund July 2008 Zhang Lufei As most of you know, we lost one of our Blessing Hands girls when she drowned in the Yangshuo Flood. She fell into a ditch near a bridge on her way home from school and "no longer lives" as the e-mail said. However, we are determined to let her memory "live on" through a fund in Zhang Lufei's name that would help other girls like her get an education. Lufei's Family Received Your Donations Trey and Heather Cain, friends from Morehead who were in Yangshuo on June 30th, visited the Zhang family to extend our sympathy and gave them the $110 already donated for Lufei's funeral. More donations have come in since for the family The amount is now nearly $550. Special thanks goes to the KYCAA (Lexington Chinese American Association) that gave $300 to her family. Lufei's family lives in a mud brick house with an extended family of eight relatives including an uncles' family. The family has agreed to the formation of the girls' fund in Lufei's name. We visited the Zhang family on Monday, which was a very somber time. Their family is of course still deeply in mourning. We had a bowl of porridge with them that Lufei's grandmother prepared, and Lufei's father signed the necessary paper work to start up a fund in Lufei's name. (Trey Cain) You can see more pictures on-line by clicking on the pictures or here. The Zhang family lives in a typical Chinese extended family of eight people including Lufei's uncle's family. This is their kitchen and front door with red New Year decorations still in place. The house, like most rural Chinese homes has one large great room were the family lives and eats together with smaller rooms for each family unit opening off the great room. Shoes are stored by the door. Transportation is by bicycle or motorcycle. A shed usually holds tools, wood, and perhaps the family's latrine or pig. Guests in a Chinese home are usually seated on small stools and served tea or bottled water in the families' great room. The Zhang family were gracious hosts to Heather, Trey, and Lufei's teacher. Lufei's School Gloria Wei took Trey and Heather to see Aishan Primary school. Lufei's teacher and prinicpal went with Trey and Heather to the Zhang home. On the way they stopped at the ditch where she drowned. Gloria Wei, our administrator in the county of Yangshuo, made all the arrangements and traveled with them. Lufei's classmates in grade two