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How a teacher gave his hometown a connection to the world
By Staff Reporters |
June 27, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHAI Bensheng, an English teacher at Minhang District's Wenlai Middle School, has started a "love movement" to help education in his old school, Shanmuqiao Middle School, Hunan Province.
After graduating from there in 1993, Chai changed jobs several times and finally became a teacher in Wenlai Middle School.
In 2004, he decided to improve the condition of his hometown -- Shanmuqiao Town -- with his own savings.
Shanmuqiao Town has been poor for a long time. There is no factory in the town and most people go outside for work or farm to make living. Transport is not convenient because it's surrounded by mountains. Chai decided to build a mountain road from his hometown to the outside world.
When the villagers heard about this, they were so enthusiastic that they volunteered to be the laborers to save costs. So Chai only needed to pay for the construction materials.
The whole road is not very long, about 1.5 kilometers in total. However, even stone and high explosives cost him more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,926).
For Chai, it was not an easy amount to raise. He paid just over half of the total first, which was all his savings, and he bought the rest of the material on credit and paid it off gradually.
By the winter of 2004, the road was completed. And half a year later, Chai had completed his payments.
After the road was built, he thought about doing something else for his hometown. Then he remembered the Shanmuqiao Middle School, where he graduated. He decided to establish a scholarship to support education.
In 2005 other teachers at the Wenlai School learned about this. With their efforts, the two schools established an official cooperation -- Wenlai teachers and students visited Shanmuqiao Town and donated more than 70,000 yuan to buy projectors for every classroom. And Shanmuqiao School learned management techniques from the Wenlai Middle School.
With this help, Shanmuqiao School's quality of education has improved greatly. In the recent two years, the rate of Shanmuqiao's graduates entering local key high school has risen by about 50 percent.
"I just want my hometown to develop as well as Minhang does," Chai says. To his great joy, this dream is not only his, but everyone's.
After graduating from there in 1993, Chai changed jobs several times and finally became a teacher in Wenlai Middle School.
In 2004, he decided to improve the condition of his hometown -- Shanmuqiao Town -- with his own savings.
Shanmuqiao Town has been poor for a long time. There is no factory in the town and most people go outside for work or farm to make living. Transport is not convenient because it's surrounded by mountains. Chai decided to build a mountain road from his hometown to the outside world.
When the villagers heard about this, they were so enthusiastic that they volunteered to be the laborers to save costs. So Chai only needed to pay for the construction materials.
The whole road is not very long, about 1.5 kilometers in total. However, even stone and high explosives cost him more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,926).
For Chai, it was not an easy amount to raise. He paid just over half of the total first, which was all his savings, and he bought the rest of the material on credit and paid it off gradually.
By the winter of 2004, the road was completed. And half a year later, Chai had completed his payments.
After the road was built, he thought about doing something else for his hometown. Then he remembered the Shanmuqiao Middle School, where he graduated. He decided to establish a scholarship to support education.
In 2005 other teachers at the Wenlai School learned about this. With their efforts, the two schools established an official cooperation -- Wenlai teachers and students visited Shanmuqiao Town and donated more than 70,000 yuan to buy projectors for every classroom. And Shanmuqiao School learned management techniques from the Wenlai Middle School.
With this help, Shanmuqiao School's quality of education has improved greatly. In the recent two years, the rate of Shanmuqiao's graduates entering local key high school has risen by about 50 percent.
"I just want my hometown to develop as well as Minhang does," Chai says. To his great joy, this dream is not only his, but everyone's.
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