Editor's note: General Secretary Xi Jinping once mentioned that poverty alleviation must help wisdom, and poverty alleviation must be cured before foolishness. Allowing children in poor mountainous areas to receive a good education and become useful talents in society is an important task in poverty alleviation and development, and it is also an important way to block the intergenerational transmission of poverty. From this point of view, the significance of education poverty alleviation is not only poverty alleviation, but also to cultivate more technical talents for the country.
Dongxiang Autonomous County of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, one of the "three districts and three prefectures" in the deeply impoverished area, is the only ethnic minority autonomous county in the country with the Dongxiang ethnic group as the main body, and is also one of the 58 counties in Gansu Province with contiguous special poverty areas and 23 deeply impoverished counties. Due to the restrictions of natural conditions and geographical conditions, it has created the saying that "the national poverty alleviation looks at Gansu, the Gansu poverty alleviation looks at Linxia, and the Linxia poverty alleviation looks at Dongxiang".
In Dongxiang, a series of liangya gullies have delayed communication with the outside world, and also blocked the youth and dreams of students in the depths of the mountains, and reading has become the only hope for students to get out of the mountains. Ma Jing (pseudonym), a 15-year-old Dongxiang girl, is a microcosm of this deeply impoverished area.
A school that is the only way to change life in poverty
Ma Jing's father traveled to construction sites across the country all year round, and his part-time income was the family's only source of income. The mother was home with five children, including Ma Jing and her three younger sisters and a younger brother. "My two younger sisters are in third and fourth grades, one sister is in the village kindergarten, and my two-year-old brother is at home." Ma Jing said.
If it weren't for her family's difficulties, Ma Jing would be in her first-year class now. She loves to read, and her score in the middle school exam is 505, ranking second in the class. She was very good at this grade, enough to attend the best high school in Linxia Prefecture.
She said, "I originally wanted to go to high school to go to college, but my family has many younger brothers and sisters, my studies are very good, the family conditions are not available, and my teachers and classmates have also advised me, but I think Guoqiang School is more suitable for our family's situation." Ma Jing's tone was firm and clear. For her, being able to continue to study and learn skills is the only way to change her life in poverty.
Linxia Guoqiang Vocational and Technical School was built on the bank of the Tao River in Daban Town, Dongxiang Autonomous County, with its back to the Phoenix Mountain, which means "a phoenix in the ravine". Ma Jing's family lives in Qijia Village, Dongling Township, and from home to school, she spends two and a half hours crossing the mountains and mountains, and has to change trains four times before and after.
Ma Jing, who had just reported to the school gate, felt tired at the first point. But when she entered the school, she felt her eyes light up. Spacious and bright classrooms, well-equipped laboratories, warm and clean dormitories, everything here makes her hope for the future. In the next three years, Ma Jing will study the operation and management of high-star hotels at the school. This is also the highest admission score among the students in the first high-star hotel operation and management major of Guoqiang Vocational School.
Although she did not go to the high school she longed for, Ma Jing, who is sensible, felt that she was lucky. "Here three meals a day are free, accommodation does not cost money, and the cost of returning home can be reimbursed." Not only does the school not charge, but I can also receive 60 yuan a month, without any financial burden. Ma Jing said.
Apply what you have learned and give back to your hometown
In the interview, Ma Jing's class teacher Jing Yuchang told reporters that Guoqiang School is different from other ordinary vocational schools, and non-profit charitable schools should vigorously carry out moral education. Children like Ma Jing have the opportunity to go to developed places, experience advanced hotel operation and management experience, apply what they have learned, and then come back to help make practical changes in their hometown, which is Ma Jing's goal here.
Founded by Country Garden Group and Guoqiang Public Welfare Foundation with a donation of 300 million yuan, this school is a free, purely charitable secondary vocational school. The school adheres to the pursuit of education and poverty alleviation, exempts students from poor families from all fees, and implements the training goal of "having both ability and political integrity, one person becoming a talent, and the whole family get rid of poverty" in combination with industrial development, and helps children in poor areas to master the employment skills of settling down.
Jiang Hong, principal of Linxia Guoqiang Vocational and Technical School, told reporters that now Dongxiang people go out to work, most of them are moving bricks at construction sites, working on production lines and doing cleaning, etc., and there are fewer people with professional and technical skills.
"What we want to change is this phenomenon of making money only from hard work." The school has 73 teaching staff, including 21 "double-teacher" teachers with both enterprise work experience and teaching work experience, accounting for 50% of the total number of teachers. Jiang Hong said.
In Jiang Hong's view, the school can cultivate practical experience while guiding students' theoretical knowledge, so that children can teach according to their aptitudes, truly learn useful, master a skill, and help them rely on themselves, which is also the top priority of China's educational development.
"Like an old saying, when you enter the mountain, you must think about the way out of the mountain. In addition to the operation and management of Ma Jingxue's high-star hotel, the school also has five majors: construction engineering construction, automobile beauty and decoration, property management, urban rail transit operation management and accounting. By learning professional knowledge and practicing skills, you can immediately have your own career planning and goals after graduation, so that you can get out of the mountains and change your life. Jiang Hong said.
At the mention of the last sentence, Jiang Hong smiled, and her eyes narrowed into a slit. As a worker who has been engaged in the education industry for many years, Jiang Hong firmly believes that the opening of Guoqiang Vocational School can enable more children to go out of Dongxiang, out of the mountains, and change their destiny, which is his biggest dream.
Stepping out of the mountains and changing her destiny is also the dream of Ma Jing, a Dongxiang girl.
In the final interview, Ma Jing told reporters that she longed for the outside world. She once went to Xining, Qinghai, with her father, who was wandering on a part-time job, and spent a summer vacation. It was also her only experience of leaving Dongxiang, and although it was short, it left a deep impression.
The place she yearns for the most is Guangdong, although she has only learned about what it looks like in class. Looking forward to walking out of the ravine, she hopes that she can become a "phoenix flying out of the ravine". (Text/Liu Jing Photo/Chen Weisong produced by China Story Studio)
epilogue
It is better to give them fish than to give them fish
Allowing children of poor families to receive education, blocking the intergenerational transmission of poverty, and making every child have confidence in themselves and hope for the future are the original intentions of Country Garden Group and its founder Yang Guoqiang to open the road of poverty alleviation for 28 years.
As early as 1997, Yang Guoqiang set up a 1 million "Zhongming University Student Bursary" to fund poor college students with excellent character and academic performance in 20 colleges and universities in Guangdong Province. Subsequently, Yang Guoqiang focused on poverty alleviation and education, and successively established three charity free schools, Named Guohua Memorial Middle School, Guangdong Country Garden Vocational College, and Linxia Guoqiang Vocational College Technical School, to help students go to school and "further study" employment. Since the establishment of the company, it has donated more than 6.7 billion yuan to the whole society.
The road to poverty alleviation will eventually come to an end, and the road to education is arduous and long.1. As Yang Guoqiang said, "I hope to do my best to help more people get rid of poverty and realize the value of their lives." ”
Ma Jing (pseudonym), a 15-year-old Dongxiang girl, is in a professional etiquette class, where she majors in the operation and management of high-star hotels.
Ma Jing's curriculum includes public basic courses and professional basic courses, of which public basic courses include Chinese, mathematics, history, English, professional ethics and law, career planning and career guidance.
In addition to the operation and management of high-star hotels, there are five majors in the school, including automobile beauty and decoration, construction engineering construction, property management, urban rail transit operation management and accounting.
Principal Jiang Hong has been engaged in education in Lanzhou for 20 years. He said the school's goal is to achieve "one person to become a talent, and the whole family to get rid of poverty." "Like an old saying, when you enter the mountain, you must think about the way out of the mountain. Children come with a strong sense of purpose, and by learning professional knowledge and practicing skills, they can have their own career plans and goals immediately after graduation. ”
The school's motto is "Learn to be human and learn to do things." Principal Jiang Hong said: "What we want to change is the phenomenon of only relying on coolies to make money. Let the children change the backward employment concept in three years, and have their own clear career planning and goals. ”
In order for students to quickly improve their professional skills in school, the school has made great investment in infrastructure construction. In this practical classroom of urban rail transit operation management, the subway cars of Lanzhou Metro Line 1 are imitated as they were.
In the midday cafeteria, students are queuing up to eat. The school canteen is completely free of charge for students three meals a day.
In addition to the completely free accommodation, the school also pays a monthly living allowance to students, which is 40 yuan for boys and 60 yuan for girls.
Since junior high school, Ma Jing has been the school's announcer. After coming to Linxia Guoqiang Vocational and Technical School, she chose to join the broadcast hosting club.
In the broadcast room, Ma Jing discussed the broadcast with the teacher. The school has set up many interest clubs, including sports and music, to explore and cultivate students' various strengths.
Although she did not go to the high school she longed for, ma Jing, who is sensible, feels that she is lucky to continue to study and learn skills here. Looking forward to walking out of the ravine, she hopes that she can become a "phoenix flying out of the ravine".
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