Josiah Cutts

Click here to view this photo book larger

Make a Difference in a Life

Yangshuo College Scholarship Students   These students have been accepted into three year colleges, which are more expensive than other colleges, because they do not receive money from the government.   Even with loans they need help to pay for their complete tuition. Li Duanyan wants to be an accountant. She thinks she will find a job easier with this training   Jimmy is interested in learning about auto mechanics. They need $500 USD scholarships to help them enter college. I will let them explain in their own words.   Thanks for reading and caring about our students.     Betty Cutts for Blessing Hands. My Family is Really Poor.                               I am Li Duanyan.  Li Duanyan (Laura) I live in a remote village. My mother was diagnosed with split of spirit disease in 2005. In an effort to treat mother, we not only sold all our our beasts, but also ran out of our whole savings and borrowed plenty of money from relatives and friends. So we became needy and need to pay heavy debts.   It's difficult in agriculture for we have no tools and money.  Furthermore our land is so scanty, and we have hardly any money-making trees. Sometimes natural disasters lead to bad harvests, and father is the only one working. The earnings of one year are meager.   Mother felt terrible again five months ago. After a series of treatments, finally she was diagnosed with asthma. The split of spirit disease hasn't been cured, but the asthma came! Mother is very weak all the time, so she needs to take medicine to treat the diseases.    What is worse my brother is studying in high school and needs tuition, and my grandma is over 80 years old. Thanks to relatives, friends, schools, teachers, and the charity of others who helped me, I was able to finish my studies in high school. They are my forever benefactors.   After I graduated from school, I started to do odd jobs to earn money to pay for my tuition. I hope hat I can ease my father's burden. My family is really poor, so I am eager to apply for a Blessing Hands college aid application.       Rice Field Photograph by Li Duanyan Liu Duanyan (Laura) You can give Laura any amount of scholarshp money by sending a check to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber lane, Morehead, KY 40351 or clicking on this giving link.   See Laura's Scholarship movie at this link.  Jimmy Zhao Zhao Jianxue Hello, my name is Jimmy. The man who has made up his mind will never say "impossible". I want to enter higher school.   My father supports my education dreams,but  only my father supports the family by growing corn and fruit trees.   My mother and grandmother are sick and take medicine. My grandmother has only one eye, but she can cook for the family. My mother was in a car accident and has trouble with her heart. Their treatment increases the expenses of our family, and we still owe others much money.   It is hard for my family to provide the money that I need to be in college. I want to be an auto mechanic. I like cars and am interested in the mechanics of automobiles.   I need a scholarship to make my studies smooth, so I can become a more useful person and ease the burden of my family.   Zhao Jianxue Give any amount to Jimmy at this  giving link.      See Jimmy's Scholarship   Movie at this link. Progress Report     Seven students now have full scholarships but Li Zhaochun (Lee) and Liang Lianyu (Laura) need more gifts to complete their scholarships.  Alice lacks $300 Lee Zhaochun is already at his college to enroll and is determined to go to school.      Lee lacks $425.   Give to Laura Give to Lee Join Our Mailing List!

Finally Accepted to College

Blessing Hands  Presents These Students Who Have Been Waiting For Their Acceptance to College All Their Lives You can give any amout for Jessica or Alice's scholarships at this link.  Or e-mail at thisaddress. Jessica Wants to Go to a 3 Year College Yhao Cuilan (Jessica) Yhao Cuilan 赵翠兰 graduated from the best high school in Yangshuo and wants to major in Tourism, the main industry in Yangshuo. She especially needs a $500 scholarship since three year colleges are subsidized by the government and cost a lot more tuition. I am a high school graduate ready to enter the doors of a college but my family can't support me because of their financial limitations. I wish to obtain your help. There are six people in my family. My grandmother is old and weak. She has lost her ability to work and is often sickly. Some money has been set aside for her medical needs. I have a younger brother attending school. His weekly expenses are at least 50 yuan ($7.50 USD). My mother thinks and moves slow since she has ha some brain illness since childhood. Dad is the only worker in my home to sustain my and my brother's expenses in school. We have only 1.1 measures of land. We planted fruit and orange trees, but the harvest is not good in recent years. Since the price is low, our income has decreased even more. Since we don't have rice fields, we have to purchase the rice we eat.    I like to study, and college will give me a good chance. We don't have enough money to let me go to the university, so I hope you can give me a little help.  Thank you,  Jessica Yhao Cuilan  You can see her video at this link.    Click on this image to see photo workshop selected pictures. She took this photo at the photos workshop. Alice Liang Lianyu 梁连玉 Alice Liang Lianyu  Alice wants to be a nurse. She has always wanted to be in the medical field. She already has $200 in sponsorships from a tour group that enjoyed her company this summer and were impressed with her ability and personality. She just needs $300 more to go to college. Her essay is below. I come from a little village. Our village has many poor families.  I wish I can go to college and change my lie.  I dream I can become a nurse and help the others.  My parents are both farmers.  My family just grows rice for a living, so I have no money to pay heavy tuition. Their lifeblood depends on rice planting, and their income is very limited.  My grandmother is very old, and she sometimes needs to take medicine. My grandfather died in 2008, using up all the family's savings.   So I need help.  I want to gain more knowledge and understand society through attending college. Knowledge changes one's fate. My parents work hard hoping that my younger sister and I can enter a good school and attain a good life. When I find a good job, I will repay my parents and also help those who, like me, want to study and have no financial means. Please help me,    Liang Liangyu                     Alice's video at this link.     Liang Lianyu took these photos at the photo workshop. Click on the above photo to see more.                                                  Help for Wei Senbao and his Village Wei' Village School Laura White reports that  another $1000 has come in for Wei Senbao's medical care. A wonderful article was written about Laura and her funding raising project in the Trail Blazer, the newspaper of her college.  The school in Wei's village will soon be getting a $200 library in honor of Mike Cleveland, a donor who works for UOP, a Honeywell Company doing business in China. This rural Yao school will get many new Chinese picture books and a bookcase. The Vacation Bible School at Lexington Chinese Christian Church collected $150 to give to the school for school lunches. Now the kids will get some meat or eggs occasionally. Our health assistant at Liuzhan is the son of the village school teacher, so he will know exactly how to administer the food program. The average monthly income is $9 so $150 will go a long way. Many of the children do not have meat but once a month. Research shows that China's  rural children's scores rise significantly when they are given an egg a day. Too many are anemic. If you want to adopt a school's lunch program, let us know.Food is a basic need. Sincerely, Betty Cutts Blessing Hands

Li Zhaochun (Lee) Needs a Scholarship to Study Auto Mechanics

Blessing Hands Scholarships   Li Zhaochun Wants to Study Auto Mechanics Contact Us 106 Timber Lane Morehead, Kentucky 40351 219 232 8887 Li Zhaochun here.             Li Zhaochun (Lee)        The first time I saw Lee he came to his school to meet me during a summer break. He and his grandfather traveled an hour on the bus after walking for an hour. He gave me some fruit from his family's trees. He was in lower middle school then. I was impressed by his determination and modest manner. Since his father had died and his little brother would need money to start first grade, he almost didn't go to high school. His mother wanted him to go to work to support the family. We started sponsoring his little brother, and Lee was able to finish high school.   His teachers gave a good report of him through the years, and this year he has applied to go to a three year college. He wrote me recently that he has been accepted into a auto mechanics college, and was working for the summer in a hotel in Yangshuo. He had hoped to go into medicine, but in China they can't always decide easily for themselves what they study.   He took some great pictures at the photo workshop. I have put them to the left.   Lee's Scholarship Essay   Li Zhaochun this summer  Several years ago my Father passed away because of a deadly disease.  In order to cure my Dad, they used all the money up in the family.   Now there are five people in my family including my grandfather, my grandmother, my mother, my younger brother and myself.  However, my grandparents are so old and weak, and my younger brother is still studying in primary school. They cannot make money for their daily life, so my mother is the only laborer. She has to bear the pressure that comes from making money to support the whole family.    I really want to go to university for further study because I firmly believe that only knowledge can change the future.  Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible for my family to afford the expensive cost of the university.  I look for a strong word with emotion to ask your help. Sincerely, Lee   See his video on youtube here.    Give any amount for his scholarship here.   Send checks to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351   Wei Haitao has gotten half of his scholarship now.  Wei Senbao, the little boy with the cyst on his face, has gotten a new $500 donation and even other donations on top of that for his medical treatment.   We are very thankful to all of you generous folks. We have a few students in their second or third year of college who have not had their sponsors respond this year. If you would like to help some of these older scholarship students  remain in school, they would appreciate it very much. You can give any amount on this page.   Sincerely,   Betty Cutts Blessing Hands

Open a Door

Blessing Hands Open a Door for Wei Haitao, Give a University Scholarship   Wei Haitao. Wei Haitao (韦海涛) has worked very hard to get into a university. He even took his last year of high school twice to make a higher score on the all important national test. He improved his test score by 100 points, which is a great achievement in one year, and has been accepted by the university of his choice. Please help him achieve his dream. I'm Wei Haitao from Qinzhou No.1 Middle School. Though I can get into a university, my family cannot afford money for me to go to university.  I need someone to help me, so I can get through difficulties. I don't know if it is too selfish when your country is in economic crisis to put forward such requests, but on behalf of the poor, I need knowledge to change my destiny. I have a dream that one day I can become a Chemistry teacher.  My father has had diabetes since I was three years old and requires daily injections that cost a lot of money. He can't do any heavy jobs, and my family doesn't have enough land to grow crops to make money. My grandmother's body is poor also.  If I can go to university, my dream will be realized, and I will have the ability to help more people. I hope I can do more blessings. No matter at school or in society, I will spread the spirit of Blessing Hands. I wish I can get the chance.  Wei Haitao   Wei already has one person willing to give toward his scholarship, but it is not the complete amount. Please help finish up the scholarship by giving $250. You can donate $250 at this link. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the button to give a college scholarship for one semester. Penpals now have Computers  For the Upcoming School Year Computers will Assist the Pen Pal Program Amy Qin received a computer for the pen pals at her school, Yangshuo Experimental Middle School of Foreign Languages 阳朔镇外语实验中学 While I was in Yangshuo, I got to see the three computers that we are putting at the high schools and one lower middle school to assist in our pen pal exchanges.  We have had Sister School matches with the USA schools but pen pal letters have been difficult to get back and forth physically due to distance, time and expense.  Now that the schools have these computers dedicated for the use of pen pal exchanges, we hope to improve our pen pal program. The computers were donated by a charity in Hong Kong. Schools in China tend to fear their students will waste time on computers. They have Internet cafes there, but students under 18 are not allowed to use them and our students can't afford them anyway. With these dedicated computers, the students can write during their free time on Sunday afternoons. They are boarding students so the school sets their activities and schedules. Luo Huali (Yaya)罗华丽 We have a new staff member in Yangshuo who can help facilitate these Sister School exchanges now. Luo Huali (Yaya) will be assisting Gloria Wei with the Sister School boxes that the schools exchange each year. She is a recent graduate from Guangxi Normal University and teaches in a language school in Yangshuo also. I am relieved to have someone people can write in English to deal with sponsorship and pen pal information. She was willing to volunteer, but we wanted her to do more than a volunteer, so we put her on staff. She is from the Buyi minority and understands the challenges our students face. She will also do translation and arrange visits of sponsors  to Yangshuo.     4 New Scholarships Yaya will also help with administrating college scholarships. We have 2 new scholarships sponsored in Yangshuo so far and 2 in Qinzhou. We will feature two more students needing scholarships in our next newsletter. Many of our scholarship students from past years also lack complete sponsorships for one reason or another. If you would like to give to one of them, please write me at this e-mail. Update on Wei Senbao(韦森宝) Wei and his Mom are back home in Longfu Township now. Doctors are looking for the best treatment of his birth defect. He has a cyst formed before birth in his lymphatic system. It is not connected to the rest of his lymphatic system, but grows as he ages. It is not life threatening right now, but will need to be treated.  Beijing doctors have promised to share his MRI, and we hope to have more expert opinions soon. Treatment is available We are still raising money for his eventual operation. Many people have shown him and his Mom kindness, He has been featured in a Chinese Newspaper and a pharmacist at the Nanning Hospital gave money toward his travel. Donor giving the family money    Newspaper article about Wei  We have made a page about him on our website. You can also give for his  treatment there. Look on our home page for his picture. It will take you directly to the page. Thanks goes to Mandy Ma, who has taken his case to heart and gone out of her way to get him to doctors. Dr. Tang at Longfu hospital and his staff have also been a great help. He still needs a miracle. Thanks, Betty Cutts

Lymphangioma

Latest Update on Wei Senbao   We Have a  Diagnosis    Lymphangioma     I had to look it up online. This is what I found.     "A cystic hygroma is a mass that commonly occurs in the head and neck area. It is a birth defect. Treatment involves complete removal of the abnormal tissue whenever possible. However, cystic hygromas can often invade other neck structures, making this impossible.   A cystic hygroma occurs as the baby grows in the womb. It forms from pieces of material that carry fluid and white blood cells. Such material is called embryonic lymphatic tissue. After birth, a cystic hygroma usually looks like a soft bulge under the skin. The cyst may not be recognized at birth. It typically grows as the child does.   The outlook is good if surgery can totally remove the abnormal tissue. In cases where complete removal is not possible, the cystic hygroma commonly returns. The outcome may also depend on what other chromosomal abnormalities or birth defects, if any, are present."   "Lymphangiomas represent hamartomatous malformations with no risk of malignant transformation. In the case of cystic hygroma, total surgical excision is appropriate to prevent complications such as respiratory compromise, aspiration, and infections in critical areas, such as the neck. Lymphangiomas have a strong tendency for local recurrence unless they are completely excised. Recurrent episodes of cellulitis and minor bleeding are not uncommon. The reason that these embryonic lymph sacs remain disconnected from the rest of the lymphatic system is not known. "   How to Give?   Everyone wants to help him. We just need to consider how best to do it.  Lets give for his treatment. He is such a cute child.  How would you feel if he was your son or grandson?    Donations are needed to make sure he gets the best of care.   In Taiwan, David Hsieh has already raised over $560 and will wire it to China. You can give through him by contacting his e-mail.   Blessing Hands has a web page where no fee will be charged at this link.     In China  you can contact Mandy Ma at this e-mail    Facebook Cause on my page.

Current Status of Wei and his Mother

It has been decided to not do surgery immediately while the best advice and situation can be found. Wei and his mom are taking the train back to Nanning  presently. The most skilled surgeon in this area at Children's Hospital was out of town for two weeks. A skilled American surgeon had just left to go back to the US.     Advisors and doctors have suggested possible  treatments and hospitals, even in the USA. They seem to think his case is very rare and perhaps dangerous or hard to do surgery on, so we need the most skilled doctors to be on his case.   Some recommend intervention early or talk of scar tissue, while others say the cyst is large because of the biopsies leaking blood into the cyst.     Sclerotherapy, "a procedure used to treat blood vessels or blood vessel malformations (vascular malformations) and also those of the lymphatic system" has been suggested by one American doctor as something to consider. Injecting the unwanted veins with a sclerosing solution causes the target vein to immediately shrink, and then dissolve over a period of weeks as the body naturally absorbs the treated vein.   We hope to share copies of the actual MRI, letting other doctors review them. Medical records in China are kept by the patients not by doctors. Some want to send him to Shanghai for a second evaluation and treatment by doctors who specialize in this problem and others like it.