To Fellow Donors 致捐款人(12/06)
To All My Respectable Fellow Donors:
As we kiss the winter blues goodbye, and embrace the coming of delightful spring, a new year of hope has arrived. This is the time for us to rejoice, this is the moment for us to be thankful.
A year has gone by since the birth of the Hope School Foundation, USA on September 15, 2005. Like a newborn infant, under everyone's loving protection and nurturing, she is learning how to take steps to move forward and grow stronger day by day, year by year.
Reflecting on the past and looking towards the future, we are overwhelmed with excitement, happiness and inspiration. I want to extend my sincere thanks to each of you for your support and encouragement. I am in debt to your caring donations. With this letter, I wish to update you on our latest activities and progress as a token of my heart-felt appreciation.
From November 8th till 26th, a total of nineteen days, we took a fact-finding trip to China. Although the trip was tiring and rushed, we came back with fruitful results.
Our footsteps covered the jurisdiction of Nan Yung City in the Ho Nan Province, including 5 counties, twelve villages, and 18 schools. We traveled more than a thousand miles in 10 days. We inspected and accepted four Hope-Foundation-funded schools, and met with one hundred sixteen students who are currently receiving financial assistance from the Foundation. We also inspected 14 schools that were in dire need of renovations. During the course of our travels, we witnessed the farmers' harsh lives. They are constantly tilling at the endless rocky clayey field with burning sun constantly on their backs. The scarcity of productive farm lands is the main reason of their poverty; in their expansive environment, the ratio of rocky mountain to stream to farm land is roughly about 7:2:1. The rundown and wrecked classrooms remind us of a Chinese saying describing a miserable living condition: "While sunny days bring the wind form all four directions into the room, the raining days will bring waters from eight places."
This journey was a combination of laughter and tears; we were happy, angry, sad and joyous; we tasted the mixtures of sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and pungency:
Happy: when we saw the completion of the beautiful school buildings funded by our foundation. The new facilities have stimulated more student registrations. School enrollments of both Jen Sun School and Quon Min School were record highs this year.
Angry: when we witnessed the huge gap of living standards between inland areas and coastal provinces, and the uneven distribution of the haves and haves not.
Sad: when we witnessed first hand their destitute environment and miserable living conditions.
Joyous: when we had the opportunity to meet and get to know the staff members of the Oversea Affair Office of Nan Yung City. We appreciated their team spirit and enthusiasm in serving the community needs. We were convinced that if we would partner with them in the future, their efficiency would save us half the effort and get twice the result.
Sour: Our hearts went sour when we saw the crude and rudimentary classrooms, overcrowded dormitories, and filthy restrooms.
Sweet: We were impressed with the principals' high energy, teachers' dedication, and students' hard work. We were also very happy to meet six school principals and discussed important education issues. We all agreed that teaching the students to promote their personal virtues is far more important than their academic achievements.
Bitter: The mountain climbing and river crossing have added some bitterness to our rough trip.
Pungent: The fresh vegetables and fruits as well as the delicious food have certainly spiced our journey.
As our souls have gone through the test of those emotions, we realized that we should treasure more what we have and be thankful always. The happiness brought by the rich harvest has transformed our frustrations and hard labor into many smiling faces. The abundant rewards we received have far exceeded what we have done. This endeavor is certainly a worthwhile one; it has encouraged us to move forward more vigorously. During the past two years, we have been blessed with love and good fortune. In the coming years, we are determined to continue providing assistance to the less fortunate and the weak, focusing our energy and time to serve the needs of our fellow countrymen. We also sincerely ask for your continued support and advice. So that we can spread more seeds of love and hope, and do a better job in the future.
I wish all of you a blessed and prosperous new spring.
Sincerely,
Alan Chen
President
Hope School Foundation, USA
December 20, 2006
可敬的捐款人諸公：
送丙戌、迎丁亥，寒冬將盡、大地春回，充滿希望的新年業已來到。這是喜樂的日子，也是感恩的時刻。
美國愛心助學基金會自2005年9月15日呱呱落地以來，迄今已逾周歲，在大家的呵護與哺育下，現在正蹣跚學步，一天一天的成長，一年一年的壯大。
回顧過去、展望未來，心中滿懷著無比的興奮、喜樂和感動。謝謝各位的支持和鼓勵，也謝謝大家的愛心與捐獻。僅藉此函向諸位報告我們的最新動態，以表達基金會對尊駕誠摯的謝意。
從2006年11月8日至11月26日總共19天，我們親自去中國考察訪問。雖然風塵僕僕、行程匆匆，但是收穫豐碩、滿載而歸。
在河南省南陽市行政區域內長途跋涉5個縣、12個鄉鎮、18所學校，行程千餘公里，歷時10天。實地驗收4所捐建的學校，會見資助的學生116名，以及勘察未來將要修復改建的14所破舊學校。其中親眼目睹農人們“面對黃土背朝天”的艱苦生活。了解到“七山二水一分田”是這些地區貧窮的主因。坐在殘破老舊的教室裏，實際體驗了何謂“晴天四面風，雨天八方水”的悲慘境況。
整個過程交織著淚水和歡笑，喜怒哀樂兼而有之，酸甜苦辣五味雜陳:
喜: 看見捐建的學校美侖美奐。錦生、光明兩校師生受此鼓舞，促使今年升學率攀高，締造輝煌記錄。
怒: 沿海內陸天差地別，貧富懸殊、分配不均。
哀: 殘破的窘狀，窮苦的淒涼。
樂: 有緣結識南陽市政府僑務辦公室的工作人員，他們的團隊精神和服務熱忱令人激賞。將來與它攜手合作，定能收到事半功倍之效。
酸: 學校教室的簡陋、師生宿舍的擁擠、公共廁所的污穢，在在使人心酸。
甜: 校長幹勁十足，老師教學認真，學生勤學苦讀，令人印象深刻。並有機會與六位校長座談，達成品德提升遠重於知識傳授的共識。
苦: 爬山涉水、路途顛簸。
辣: 蔬果鮮美、牛羊可口。
經過這次靈魂的洗禮之後，更要惜福感恩。所有的委屈與辛勞，藉著收穫的喜悅，都化成一張張美麗可愛的笑顏。這樣豐厚的回報，遠遠大於我們的給予和付出。一切都是值得的，也更激勵我們勇往直前的決心。
過去兩年多裏，我們一直沐浴在愛與幸福中。往後的歲月，更將秉持著扶助弱小之心、奉獻祖國之情，全力以赴的走下去。同時虔誠地祈望各位繼續給予扶持和鞭策，使我們能傳播更多的愛，散佈更多的希望，做得更好。 敬祝
新春納福 萬事吉昌
美國愛心助學基金會
負責人 陳楚雄敬上
2006年12月20日