Blessing Hands Receives Humanitarian Award

Betty Cutts recently received an award from the Provincial Government of Guangxi Province for her humanitarian work with the students of Yangshuo and Qinzhou, China. This was a great honor, since the award had never before been given to a foreigner.

Zhou Xiaodong, the Yangshuo Bureau of Education Chief, presented the award while Malan Cai, Blessing Hands administrator, translated for the presentation ceremony.

Carolyn Franzini of Morehead, who was in Yangshuo with the Sister Cities Summer Youth Delegation, accepted the plaque for Betty who was in Taiwan at the time. The nomination was submitted by the Educational Department of Yangshuo County, where Blessing Hands gave educational support to 260 students in 58 schools during the last school year.

Five college scholarships were also given to Blessing Hands students last year. You can find out more about the mission of Blessing Hands at http://blessing-hands.org.

Teaching English at Xing Ping

July 4th, 2007

Today we visited Xing Ping Primary School, where I taught an English lesson for Andy Liang's third grade class. I was slightly anxious about the lesson, since I had no information on the class (other than the grade level) or the students' English capabilities beforehand.

I entered the classroom and presented Andy Liang with a gift. Then, I walked to the front of the room. As I went to my place, the kids yelled a robust "Hello!!!" I, of course, returned the greeting. After asking them as to how they were doing, I began pulling out various 8X10 pictures I had. The first one was of my mother. Pointing, I said, "This is my mother." I then wrote "mother" on the board with the phrase "This is my _____" above it. I had them read the sentence with me. I repeated this format as I showed them pictures of my father, sister, grandparents, and dog (supplementing the list with the words "brother," "cat," and "family"). To finalize this portion of the lesson, I pointed to each phrase and word on the board, while the students would say, "This is my mother," "This is my father," "This is my dog," and so on. I pointed out to them, however, that when inserting "grandparents" into the phrase, the sentence should be "THESE ARE my grandparents."

I wrote on the board, "Do you have a _____." I went around the room, asking various students simple questions like "Do you have a brother?" The student would stand up and politely respond, "Yes, I do" or "No, I do not." Then (while pointing to myself), I told the students, "My name is Megan." On the board I wrote, "What is your name?" and had the kids read this phrase. I went around the room, asking various students this question. Finally, I wrote, "The name of my ____ is" on the board (which they read aloud), and again I asked various students for the names of their brothers, sisters, etc.

Next, we played a little game. I actually had to quickly modify the game a great deal (which I had assessed upon entering the classroom), as the classroom had very little extra space and the desks were all in tight rows. I took out a ball of yarn and walked to the student at the end of the front row. I asked her, "Do you have a sister?" To which she replied, "Yes, I do." I handed her the ball of yarn, instructing her to turn to the next person to ask a different kind of question (using the terms and questions from the day's lesson). This pattern would continue throughout the whole room, row by row. Some of the kids were very shy about their English skills, while others were pretty confident. The students were very quick to help a struggling peer. With each passing of the ball of yarn, the giving student would say, "Here you are!" and the receiving student replied with "Thank you!" (Note: they did this all on their own! Such polite students!). Every once in a while, I would help the students make small corrections with the way they worded a question. For instance, one child inquired, "What is the name of sister?" I gently corrected him by remarking, "What is the name of YOUR sister?" Each student from then on was very careful to include the "your" part.

At the end of the lesson, the youth delegates from Morehead, along with Laura Franzini, graciously came to the head of the classroom. The students were given time to interact with them, asking them questions such as, "What do you like to eat?" and "What did you have for breakfast?" Each person from Morehead would respond and then return the question to the student. After each child had given an appropriate reply, we would present them with a small gift (namely, tattoos donated by MSU Athletics and stickers). The students were very excited to receive such gifts).

I was pretty pleased with the lesson, especially since beforehand I had had no idea of the number of students, the classroom layout, and (most importantly) their knowledge of and ability to use the English language. The children were extremely attentive, eager, and polite... and were very quick to catch on! While the material may have been a little below their level, I think it was appropriate in order to raise their confidence levels when interacting with an English-speaking person.

Next, we headed to an office to meet with the principal and the Blessing Hands students. As I climbed the staircase to the correct floor, I saw about 30 smiling children at the top of the staircase eagerly waiting for me. As soon as I reached the top, they started to excitedly thrust various drawings into my hands, saying, "Here you are!" A flurry of artwork flew in from all directions! As I watched the chaotic stack of drawings pile up in my hands, I laughed and repeatedly said, "Thank you! Thank you!" The artwork had been created by some of Xing Ping's students for their Sister School in Morehead. This moment is probably one of my favorite parts of the trip.

I presented the principal with a present, then gave the Blessing Hands students some small gifts. They were all extremely grateful. We got a photo with these students. After the meeting, we handed out gifts to the students who had created the artwork for the Sister School.

The students then rushed out to the courtyard, where Matt Collins gave a skateboard demonstration. The children were mesmerized as he deftly jumped, flipped, and zoomed past them on his skateboard. After showing the entranced young students what could be done with a skateboard, Matt then offered for the children to try their hand (or shall I say, feet?) at skateboarding. Out of the huge, excited crowd of kids, one little girl bravely stepped up to bat. Matt held the board steady as she climbed on, then guided her by holding her hands as she rolled along the concrete. All of a sudden, everyone wanted a turn! The children rushed to snatch a good place in line, in the hopes that they too might get a ride. Matt's demonstration was definitely a hit!

To close, I would like to take this time to thank Carolyn Franzini, who greatly helped me in planning the English lesson... and even provided the ball of yarn! She has such a great source of knowledge and support.

That concludes this day's school adventures! This trip was our last school visit.

Students at Xing Ping

Learning More about Chinese Education

Hey everyone! Sorry for the brief hiatus in blogs... I've been out of town. Now, to continue with the trip:

July 3rd, 2007

This day was extremely busy. We visited 3 schools: Putao Primary, Putao Middle, and Yangshuo Middle School. At each school I gave the principal and the Blessing Hands students gifts. At Putao Primary School, we gave them the English books sent by McBrayer Elementary School as a way to invite them to become Sister Schools. Putao Primary was very interested in this opportunity; they actually had tried to send an e-mail to the Morehead school, but the e-mail was returned... the principal thinks the problem stems from the computer itself malfunctioning. We told them that we understand, that we will be sure to let McBrayer's principal know the situation. Hopefully, McBrayer will be able to send some penpal letters to Putao Primary. Later that afternoon, we made steamed dumplings at Putao Middle School... and they were delicious!

Tomorrow, we will go to XingPing Primary School, where I will teach a 45-minute English lesson. It's going to be very challenging for several reasons. #1 - The little kids are shy to speak English in front of foreigners... and #2 - I'm not sure how much English they already know. However, I think it will be a great experience, especially as I am an education major!

During this trip, I have really enjoyed learning about the Chinese education system. Their school day is VERY different. First off, they get a really long break in the afternoon (in the summer it's from about 12:30-2:30) after lunch for nap time, as it is so hot here. They finish school at around 5-5:30. Secondly, the school is set up very differently. Even in the primary schools, it's more like a college campus. There are gardens, basketball courts, lakes, dining halls, dormitories (some kids live too far away to travel every day), various classroom buildings, and so on. At lunch, the children all bring their own rice bowl to the lunch lady, and she cuts out a square of sticky rice from this large pan and plops it in their bowl (along with meats and vegetables). All the kids wash their own rice bowls after eating. They also are responsible for keeping the school itself clean, and I often saw children with brooms and buckets walking around the schools. Imagine if American students were responsible for cleaning their schools! Finally, the kids are outside MUCH more, playing basketball, running around, and so on. This goes along with the Chinese philosophy of maintaining a healthy body.

Well, tomorrow it's off to Xing Ping... along with a boat ride on the Li River and a viewing of the famous Yangshuo Light Show!

The Blessing Hands students at Putao Middle

Yangshuo Experimental Middle School

JULY 2nd, 2007 (again!)

On the agenda for the day was a visit to Yangshuo Experimental Middle School, in which we would all stay for an entire school day. Please note, while the title says "middle school," it's actually a combination of our middle and high school.

The school was a lengthy walk from where we were staying. As we walked the small slope up to the school, we were greeted by a good-sized banner that made us feel very welcome. JK and Matt's "mother" (Jessica), the honorary principal, and a few selected students showed us around the campus of the school. During the tour, I was extremely impressed by the beauty of the school. To give you an idea of the campus, picture many buildings (including a dining hall, auditorium, dormitory, and classrooms) making a half-moon formation around basketball courts and a garden with winding stone paths. The waving trees and blankets of green grass were a perfect foil to the stark school buildings. Yangshuo Experimental Middle School was gorgeous.

After the raising of the flag and a short speech by the principal, our group gathered in a meeting room with Jessica, the principal, the honorary principal, and (at my request) the Blessing Hands students. I seized the opportunity to give the principal and the Blessing Hands children gifts donated by businesses around Morehead. They were very appreciative.

Throughout the day, we had many different activities, including a lunch at the school, a basketball game (as they put it on the scoreboard, "U.S. vs. China"), tire races, and music/drama/dance performances by the teachers, schoolchildren, and our group. Mr. Franzini led our group in a singing of "My Old Kentucky Home." The day was punctuated with several photographic opportunities.

At the end of the day, the honorary principal and principal sent us away with some nice gifts. We were tired but very pleased.


Tomorrow: Putao Primary, Putao Middle, and Yangshuo Middle!

Dilemma

July 2nd, 2007

Beginning on July 1st, Mr. and Mrs. Franzini and I (along with the help of Steve Barker, Malan Cai, and Johnny Lu) have been interviewing candidates for the Blessing Hands scholarship. We completed a few more interviews today, with a grand total of fourteen hopefuls (BLOGGER'S NOTE: We ended up interviewing one last scholarship applicant later on in the trip). Choosing our top picks for the scholarship was extremely difficult. And eye-opening.

The stories were heartbreaking. Some of the children had only one parent, or lived with a friend or sibling. With such situations comes an immense burden on the most capable of the family - be it a grandparent or even an older sister - to have a well-enough-paying job. During the summers when school is not in session, these students work in farms, bakeries, factories, and so on in order to supplement the family income.

In America, we do not realize how wealthy we are. Even I, as a "poor college student," have more money than an entire family of one of the candidates we interviewed. Wow. I could not believe it! This family makes only 800 yuan a year, which translates roughly into 100 DOLLARS A YEAR.

When asked the question, "If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?", many children gave sobering answers. One student said, "I would like to have a different lifestyle - to relieve the burden on my family." Another noted, "I would like my grandpa, who is crippled and has been in bed for two years now - to be able to walk again."

However, these children were not complaining... nor were they looking for sympathy. They were very matter-of-fact, while their kind hearts were evident. Many of the students' reasons for going to college were enmeshed in their desires to make money for their families, in hopes that they might have a better life. One boy even said he would like to be able to make enough to support his younger brother in receiving a college education. Amazing.

I wish all of these students could receive a scholarship, a college education, and a new chance at life.

Unfortunately, a few of the students have national test scores that quietly urge them to return to high school for another year, in hopes of raising their test score so that they may attend a better college (the better the college, the cheaper the tuition). Yet, another year in high school means more money, since the government does not fund education at this grade level. For poor students with lackluster test scores, this decision is a toss-up: "Should I raise my test score but pay for another year of high school... or accept the test score and go to a lower, more expensive university?"

I am so thankful that I am not the one choosing who will receive the scholarship. My heart goes out to all of these children.

While these children are not the current scholarship applicants, will they be able to afford college... and the chance for a better life?

I'm Back!

Hello Everyone!

First, I would like to apologize for not being able to access the blog while I was in China. Now that I am back in the United States, I would like to share some of the experiences I had as a Blessing Hands intern in Yangshuo (and in the surrounding towns). I will try to break these stories (which were written while in China) down into different blogs for easier reading.

July 1st, 2007
Today we hosted our "Friendship Art Day" in Yangshuo. As I walked past the building where the event was to occur, I noticed many sights that demonstrated how the event had been highly anticipated in the area. Those who were hosting the event had hung a huge red banner at the site, letting everyone know of the "Live Painting Show" with the Sister Cities of Morehead and Yangshuo. Outside the building, many children (carting various art paraphernalia) were waiting calmly beside the locked entrance doors until the event would begin. Too, Gloria Wei had informed us that many students - those who were unable to be in attendance today - had sent in their artwork for the show. Already we were off to a great start!

As the event unfolded, about 50-60 students (ages 13-18) piled into the courtyard and began spreading out their art supplies onto the sun-speckled wooden desks. No student seemed at a loss as to where to begin; each had a specific idea of what to create and remained very focused on the task at hand. The children were engaged in all types of media, from oil paint to pencil. I was fascinated to observe how their meticulous brush strokes transformed into amazing pieces. At one desk, huge pink flowers blossomed... at another, a gray and black eagle perched, commanding his territory... at another, two painted geishas giggled surreptitiously in a corner... at yet another, a smiling child held hands with the Earth, proclaiming a love for peace.

I was extremely impressed with the talent pouring from such young hands.

The Art Day schedule was highlighted by the presence of Mayor Li, as well as by the beautiful demonstrations by several talented artists. These artists were four painters from China, Dr. Bob Franzini (who chose to create charcoal portraits for the event which would remain in Yangshuo), Taral Thompson, and Matt Collins. The Chinese students were all very interested in the demonstrations.

In short, the event was a melding of East and West... an open exchange of centuries-old techniques, well-constructed comments and praise, and flowing gradients of color. Everyone - from the young artists to the virtuosos, from the Chinese to the Americans - was very pleased with the event. I would definitely call it a success. I am looking forward to sharing the best of these impressive works with all of you at the Art Show in Morehead.


Until next time,
Meg

Megan Mraz Joins the Blog

Hi everyone!

As you know, I am the Blessing Hands intern for Summer-Fall of 2007. Currently, I am preparing to travel to China on June 24th, first arriving in Beijing and then in Yangshuo (where I will remain the majority of my stay). I will return to the United States on July 13th. During the weeks in China, I will be very busy with many different activities, including: visiting Blessing Hands scholarship candidates, hosting an art day, photographing the area, and meeting with schools around the region to discuss becoming "Sister Schools" with those in Morehead. I will try my best to blog during this time... however, because access to this site while in China is not guaranteed, I may have to post my experiences when I return to America.

I still have a fair amount of preparation to do (especially packing -- what a challenge that will be!), but I am extremely excited about the trip! As an Elementary Education major, I am very interested in the school atmosphere and love working with children. I also am a huge photography buff, so I can definitely reassure Mrs. Cutts that I will be taking pictures of anything and everything! Most of all, I am looking forward to the opportunity to serve others.

Yes, I sometimes get a little nervous about the trip... this voyage is definitely out of my comfort zone! However, I believe I need to challenge myself, to experience another culture, to see what life is like outside of the United States, to open my eyes to the needs present all around the world. What better way than to serve through Blessing Hands?

This internship is definitely an opportunity I will never forget. I am extremely thankful and blessed to be apart of something so much bigger than I. I can not wait to hop on that plane and get started!

Now, if I could just automatically become fluent in Chinese....

Friendship Art Show

We are applying for a grant. The Friendship Grant will encourage exchanges of pen pal letters, art, and Sister School relationships between Rowan County, Kentucky and our Blessing Hands students in China. Megan Mraz, our Morehead State University intern, will help get friendship exchanges started with a Friendship Art Day in Yangshuo in July, while she is there with the Morehead Sister Cities Delegation. The Blessing Hands students and other Yangshuo high school students will be invited to a Friendship Art Day. They will be encouraged to create a painting to send back to Morehead for a Friendship Art Show in our new Morehead Arts Center. We expect 95 of our students to send paintings for the show.

A people's choice award will be given at the show to the winning painting, which will be sent as an entry to the International Sister Cities Young Artist's Competition to represent Yangshuo. People at the International Sister Cities Conference in 2008 will see it, and if it is chosen to win there, it will become part of International Sister Cities promotions. Megan will also encourage the students to write to pen pals in Rowan County, sending them paintings.

Megan will be visiting schools in Yangshuo County, which want to be sister schools with Rowan County schools. She will take pictures and gifts back to nine schools in Morehead that might want to partner with them for Sister School exchanges. On the outgoing trip her suitcase will be full with gifts for teachers and schools. Coming back she will be carrying paintings, letters, and gifts to schools and individuals in the USA. All this takes money, so we are applying for a grant to help with the Friendship Art Show and pen pal letter exchanges.

When Megan returns, she and I will be visiting Rowan County Schools and organizations to show some of the paintings and encourage students to view the Friendship Art Show in person and on the Internet. You can see the paintings on the internet too. Megan plans to be an elementary school teacher, so she will enjoy teaching an English Class at Xingping Primary School and interacting with Rowan County primary students when she returns. She will also help with mounting the pictures for the art show and display some of her own photos from her trip to Yangshuo. She is an artist in her own right. I have asked her to post to the blog as well. She will be a busy young lady, but she will get college credit for her work with Blessing Hands.

We had a wonderful time at Baisha Higher Middle School. The students were so excited to meet us and we were equally happy to meet them. They had little gifts to give us like hand knitted items, jars of folded stars, and a large handmade card. They all had practiced giving self introductions. I wish I spoke Chinese as well as they did English. These photos were just sent to me. Nina had them in her luggage that was lost at the airport for nearly a month.

As I sat on the platform at the public program in Yangshuo, I was able to recognize individual students who I knew from photos, letters, or school visits. I was delighted by the program they presented for us. Each high school did a song, dance, or musical number. There was a special Chinese band and dancing girls in costumes. Some of the students gave thank you speeches in English, and Nina and I even got to say something. They presented us with banners of appreciation and many smiles. Maybe you can see one of your sponsored students.

Malan Cai, my good friend and interpreter, helps us with administration of Blessing Hands funds in Yangshuo. It was such a pleasure to spend some time with her again. She is a wonderful interpreter because she knows me so well, she could give the speech herself. Here I was telling the students about the art event we are planning this summer with our summer intern Megan Marz.

We will gather the high school students and the junior high students who live in town and have a half day art event with them. Megan, who is an artist herself, and Bob Franzini, who is head of the Art Department at Morehead State University, will host the event with the organizational ability of the Education Department. Each student will be encouraged to send a watercolor painting back to Morehead. With Sister Cities' help, in the fall we will display the paintings at the Old Court House, which has become an art center. The people's choice winner of that show will be entered in the Sister Cities International Youth Showcase representing Yangshou, our Sister City. The students were excited to hear about the upcoming activity.

These Yangshuo girls wanted to have their picture taken with Nina Ottinger from the Founding Family Charitable Trust. Nina and I traveled all over for two weeks and had a wonderful time giving out tuitions and small gifts to the students. They thought we were famous, and we thought they were wonderful. They all love to make the victory sign when you take a picture. These girls are from Yangshou Higher Middle School and Baisha Higher Middle School. Nina has her own adopted Chinese daughter. I tell her that when you love one Chines girl, you love them all.

This junior high student received some special New Year gifts from his sponsor who wanted to do more than just pay for his school supplies. I was so glad that I found him in the crowd of students that had gathered for the program at the Yangshuo Experimental Middle School of Foreign Languages.

These are our three college scholarship girls. They were home for the Chinese New Year and came to the ingathering tuition ceremony in Yangshuo. They are holding their tuition money for the next semester. Jenny is on the left. Anna is in the middle; and Lily is on the right. It was such a joy to see them happy and well. They had some home sickness the first semester, but have adjusted to college well. They all three write to me by e-mail. We hope to have a lot more scholarships available this summer. We are applying for some scholarship grants from two foundations.

I got to speak to Qin Ling Zhu while I was in Yangshuo. She is the little girl that had the tumor removed twice. The last time was in the fall when a Chinese/American artist gave her money for the operation in Shanghai. She is recovered from that operation. She spoke to me in very good English when I asked her how she was. She answered without hesitating that she was fine. She gave me a little mobile that she had made and a clay figure of a snail. Her face looked much better, but there is still some swelling around the left eye. She has always be so thoughtful with her handmade gifts for me.

These are the teachers and parents of the Parent Teacher Organization at McBrayer Elementary School in Rowan County. I am smiling on the right holding a check that the group gave to Blessing Hands. They gave $350 to support 35 primary students in Yangshuo for one semester. It was such a pleasure to match them up to be a Sister School with Putao Primary School in Yangshuo County, Guangxi, China.

They want their students to be pen pals with our primary students also. I have been making pen pal/sponsor cards to give to folks who want to meet our Blessing Hands children. I can just imagine the faces of the children in China when they get a card or drawing from Morehead's McBrayer Elementary School. I hope some of the classes will collect books for the schools of their pen pals as well. People who love children are all over the world. I am glad to know the ones at McBrayer Elementary. They have several adopted children from China enrolled there. The whole school should be learning more about China first hand.

Blessing Hands' March Newsletter

Blessing Hands March 2007 Newsletter

China Trip:

What a great trip to China Nina Ottinger (from Founding Family charitable Foundation) and I had! We were able to give out about $22,000 in tuitions to the Blessing Hands students in four presentation ceremonies. The largest events were in Yangshuo, Qinzhou, and Pubei. You can see those event photos by going to http://picasaweb.google.com/bdcutts/PubeiIngathering and
http://picasaweb.google.com/bdcutts/QinzhouIngatheringFebruary2007 .

Many of the smaller highpoints are told on our blog at http://blessinghands.blogspot.com. You can see me doing the Hokey Pokey at Nine Mile School there. We came back with many letters, handmade articles, and small gifts from the students. It was exciting to meet the students in Qinzhou for the first time and renew friendships with teachers.

We also visited many schools and saw the two construction projects that Founding Family Charitable foundation has funded at two primary schools. Gloria Wei, Malan Cai, and Anna Liu were excellent hosts and translators, and we even met the Women’s Federation leaders, one of Nanning’s Vice Mayors, Mayor Zhou in Yangshuo, and David Qiu and Mandy Ma, from World Vision in Nanning. We had the help of some of the former Morehead State University visiting scholars in Nanning when we went to Nine Mile School to give out jackets, school supplies, and hats. Qinzhou students got shoes also. The Pubei students showed us how to make New Year Dumplings for lunch.

Summer Eyeglass Clinic:

Nina and her friend Anita, who is a trained worker with the visually impaired, will return to Qinzhou this summer to conduct an eyeglass clinic similar to the one we did last summer in Yangshuo. We met with the head of the hospital in Qinzhou, and they will be giving free exams to the students that Anita and Nina screen in advance. Founding Family Charitable Foundation is financing this project and will pay for any eyeglasses the children might need. It was such a blessing to have Nina along on the trip and to feel her compassion for the students. She enjoyed showing people the pictures of Sarah, her adopted Chinese daughter.

Lexmark Gives 7 Printers:

Lexmark has agreed to ship six E430 office printers to our administrators in Yangshuo and Qinzhou, and they have given one printer to our Blessing Hands Morehead office. Yangshuo will be getting some for their high schools, and Anna Liu in Qinzhou will get one for her office/school use. We thank Lexmark’s Lexington office that has given the free shipping as well.

UPS has Shipped Books:

UPS recently generously gave us free shipment of 24 boxes of books to three locations in Guangxi. Nine boxes of books arrived, after a difficult passage through customs, while I was in China. We had to pay unexpected customs duty, but they arrived in good shape. We especially thank Russ Mead of Crane House in Louisville. KY, who has endured with this shipping project and helped us get them through customs.

Summer Intern Plans:

While in Yangshuo we made plans for Megan Mraz’s summer visit to Yangshuo as our Blessing Hands intern. I met the family that she will be living with and helped plan an Art Event that will be a joint project of Morehead Sister Cites and Blessing Hands this summer. Our Blessing Hands middle school students will join in a half day of art demonstrations and participation.

We plan for each child to send a watercolor painting back to Morehead for a Sister Cities/Blessing Hands Art Show. The public will be invited to vote on the best painting, which will later be entered in an International Sister Cities Youth Art Competition to represent Yangshuo. The student’s photos and comments about their paintings will be included in the show. Dr. Robert Franzini and Megan will host the Art Event in Yangshuo. They are both artists and willing to give demonstrations to the students along with artists in Yangshuo. Blessing Hands will pay for art supplies. Megan is still in need of travel funds if you would like to make a contribution for her summer trip.

Grant Applications:

We are currently working on many grant ideas, but we feel very positive about two of them getting funding. One will be a pen pal grant to establish relationships between our students in China and their sponsors and pen pals in the US. I spoke to two primary classes at Mt. Sterling Elementary School recently, giving them cards matching them with pictures of students in China.

The kids were eager to do drawings and letters to send to primary children in China, but disappointed to learn that the Chinese students would not be able to write back easily because of the high cost of postage. It cost the equivalent of $1US to send a letter from China, but with their income level that is more like $7.50 to them. We solved the problem by sending some Chinese money with the package of drawings and asking the principal to use it for postage to send letters back. We are applying to a new foundation for money to give pen pal grants to schools to allow these exchanges of letters to continue.

The second grant that has good possibilities would give college scholarships to our girls who graduate this spring. Chinese girls have a much harder time with college support than boys. All of our present college scholarship students are girls because of their need. This grant will establish a fund to help more of our graduating girls enter professions someday.

Sponsors and Program Funds Needed:

Even as we plan for new programs and grants, we still need sponsors and program funds for our ongoing tuition programs. Although Founding Family Charitable Foundation is conducting an eyeglass clinic for our students this summer, FFCF is not funding us for matching funds or program funds this year. They are putting money into their own projects and adoption grants. Foundation grants are usually only for one year to stimulate new projects.

We added 180 more high school students last fall in our Qinzhou program. We need to raise money to replace matching funds and keep our students in school this fall. Please forward our newsletter to others that you feel might also want to sponsor a child. This will help us advertise our students’ needs. Unlike grants that come and go, I think sponsors will commit long term to their special child. Checks should be sent to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351 or you can give with the button on our blog.

MSU Business Students Help:

Blessing Hands needs a business plan to present with the grants we are seeking. Some of the Business students at MSU have agreed to help us write a business plan. Dr. Rich Criscione has helped us with the IRS forms required, and we hope to get some computer expertise as well from other students.

All this is great news, and we thank you all for your support.

Betty Cutts for Blessing Hands’ students

I had cards made in China to give out to our students to encourage them to try my
e-mail address. It was fun to see all the information in Chinese and English on opposites sides of the cards. I paid $6 for two hundred and gave most of them away.

The mayor of Pubei greeted us with such grace. He spoke very good English since he had gotten a degree in America. He gave Nina and I lovely, expensive, inscribed vases. Pubei had a terrible flood just a year ago, so many more students needed tuition help there. We have thirty students in that area.

2004 Summer English Camp Teachers

These are some of the English teachers that I taught in summer English camp in 2004. Most of them are from Pubei and came together in a reunion while I was in Pubei giving out tuitions. Who would have thought all this would happen back then. They were precious students and some still write to me. I saw other former students and my classroom assistant in Qinzhou. The town has become a city in the three years since I left. Qinzhou is being developed as a port city for the interior provinces.