China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF) has recently received a funding request to help rebuild ShangGang Elementary School in LeYe County, GuangXi province, China. We are doing fundraisings for this project. To make a donation and help the students at ShangGang School, please visit here.

The ShangGang Elementary School is located at ShangGang Village, LeYe County, GuangXi Province in China. The region has typical mountainous terrains as well as an under-developed road system. More than half of the residents are ethnic minorities who have lived there for generations. Historically this is one of the most under-developed areas in the province. The meager county budget has limited support to improve the very poor school conditions in the region. Such dire conditions in return limit the build of a skilled labor force needed to lift the local economy.

The ShangGang School serves the village’s 2860 residents with 16 teachers and 230 students. The existing small lecture building was constructed in the 1980s by the local people. It has been identified as a level-D decrepit structure and is not safe to harbor the young students should some disastrous events happen. However, without the funding to construct a new building, the students still have to take classes in the old building. In fact they need much more than a safe lecture building. Their wish list goes on from dormitory, library, to dining room and multimedia classroom, etc.

There is an exciting plan to demolish the old building, and replace it with a new three-story multi-function concrete building. The building will feature 500 square meters (5,400 sqft) of learning and living space in total. With the unit construction cost at 900 Yuan per square meter, and the ground-leveling and road-paving cost factored in, the gross cost will be 468,000 Yuan. The local school district is able to provide a small portion of the funding, 68,000 Yuan. Therefore there is a gap of funds of 400,000 Yuan, or $59,000. Eager to raise the remaining funds to rebuild the school as soon as possible, the local people are looking to China Tomorrow Education Foundation for help.

With our local partner in Guangxi, You2V, CTEF has successfully built 15 schools in the nearby regions over the past 5 years. We have accumulated a rich experience in sponsoring and monitoring school renovation projects in remote villages. We also follow up with the teachers and students after the new schools are in use, often contribute additional teaching equipments, classroom furniture and more to ensure the students have a better learning experience in the new school buildings.

Pictures of ShangGang School

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Original Application From ShangGang School

乐业县同乐镇上岗小学综合楼项目建议书

一、 建设项目的必要性

1、项目区经济、社会发展概况

乐业，被誉为“世界天坑之都”，位于广西西北部，地处云贵高原东南麓。全县辖4镇4乡，总面积2617平方公里，石山面积占30%，土山面积占70%，总人口15.7万，居住着壮、汉、瑶、苗、布依、彝、仫佬、仡佬、京、水、侗等11个民族，其中壮族占50%，汉族占48%，其他少数民族占2%。全境山多地少，重峦迭嶂、沟洼纵横，是山区农业型“老、少、边、山、穷县”，自然环境恶劣，交通、通讯比较落后，经济基础十分薄弱，是国务院认定的28个扶贫开发重点县之一，由于财政困难，教育投入严重不足，教育发展步履艰难。

2、项目学校教育现状

上岗村是同乐镇人口稠密的农业大村，上岗小学是上岗村村级完全小学，创办于1940年，是同乐镇创办时间早，规模较大的村级学校之一，学校位于县城西面，离县城五千米，居上岗坝中心，通往大石围天坑景区和通往贵阳的省道分别从学校南北两面横穿而过，且离学校仅一千余米。学校覆盖上岗村8个自然屯，人口2860人。有在校生230人，教师16人。占地面积：2555平方米，建筑面积：1000平方米。其中有一栋八十年代初建的群众投工投劳的教学楼，经鉴定已属危房。没有教师宿舍和学生的多媒体教室、教学仪器室、少先队活动室、图书阅览室、体育劳技室及教师办公室、学生宿舍、食堂紧缺。

3、项目建设的必要性

经济要发展，教育要先行，因此，推倒危房校舍，解除师生安全隐患，扩建一栋建筑面积为500平方米的砖混结构师生宿舍楼，成了学校急需解决的主要问题和困难，也是当地群众的迫切要求。

二、项目建设规模和资金概算

（一）综合楼设计方案

扩建一栋三层框架结构建筑面积为500平方米的综合楼。每层167平方米，共6开间，每间长6米，宽3.6米，走廊进深2米。

（二）投资概算

1、扩建一栋三层框架结构综合楼，建筑面积为500平方米。按当地建筑市场每平方米900元造价计算，约需45万元。

2、三通一平”费1.8万元。

以上合计共需46.8万元。

三、资金筹措办法

1、申请资金40万元。

2、县配套6.8万元。

四、建设年限：二0一0年四月至二0一0年十二月。

五、项目实施管理的措施

1、成立乐业县上岗村中心小学校舍建设工作领导小组，由凌云县心守家园志愿者协会监督，乐业县教育局具体负责项目的实施工作。

2、在凌云县心守家园志愿者协会监督下，教育局按下达项目建设规模和投资计划定额，包干建设，保证建筑工程质量达到国家标准。

3、由百色市综合规划设计院按国家最新校舍建筑规范设计施工图纸，由监理公司、质检站、设计室和教育局校安办负责质检，学校抽出一名领导负责工程施工监督工作，把好工程质量关。

4、管好用好专项建设资金，建好项目财务台帐，把好支出关，杜绝贪污或挪用，县财政保证配套资金及时到位，确保工程按时动工，按期竣工。

5、在县领导小组的直接领导下，采用招标方式选用有资质建筑队承包建设，努力达到少花钱多办事。

6、主动向资助单位和个人汇报项目实施进度和遇到的问题。项目建成后，可由捐赠方为教学综合楼命名，并在楼顶正面醒目处悬挂以昭示人，激励师生及群众永记亲人的功德。工程竣工后，邀请捐资方为工程竣工剪彩，并及时把工程竣工报告单和竣工照片上报。

六、预期效益

同乐镇上岗村完小综合楼建成后，可解决学校紧缺的各功能室和学生住宿，极大改善学校的办学条件，这对进一步调动当地群众送子女入学的积极性，扩大学校办学规模，提高办学效益，进一步完善学校的管理，提高教育教学质量，顺利迎接义务教育学校常规管理达标验收提供有效保障。

乐业县教育局

凌云县心守家园志愿者协会

二0一0年二月四日

by Dennis Su

Greetings from Ling Yun. The official school visiting program began this morning and we covered four schools right after breakfast at the guest house.  Two in the morning and two in the afternoon. This trip was more enjoyable because of the fair weather of 24 C and only early morning was cloudy.

The most impressive school visited should be the one at Da Ping (big level), located miles up the mountain and nestled in a valley. Condition is very much like the one at Yan Lou, the one Rich Hoeg funded. See photo of part of the road getting there and the school and kids. Many of the students have to walk about 2 to 4 km to school daily. 28 students in grades 1 to 4 with one teacher who live in a room next to the classroom. At least there is no boarding students in this run down and leaking building.

The other two have decent classroom buildings (giao sher lau) but due to growth in student population, many of the boarding ones are living in terrible conditions, like four to a bed or no bed but just sleeping on wood planks along the wall packed together. Kitchen and dining room are very bad compare to the one we build at Bu Tou with Interglow.

The forth school is one we funded earlier. Construction is well under way with first level steel reinforcing and concrete frame in place.

Tomorrow will visit three more before they drive me back to Nan Ning to catch the evening plane to Shenzhen and HK.

Ling Yun has been assisted by outsiders on many of the schools because the county budget is always in the red. Major income is from exporting tea but because of most of the county are steep hills and mountains, transportation and level land for major agriculture are limited. Even the salary of officials are under 3,000 yuan. The assistant Admin of Education Bureau who greeted me this and lasat time Mr. Lin only makes 2800 rmb. The driver makes 1800 rmb.

Sister Cailan has been very helpful in coordinating with various departments to get things done. As in many part of China I visited, the best looking building in many villages is the school. VIllagers know the value of an education and even sending the kids to boarding. Just like those in Sichuan, the un-educated minority young men who work in towns and cities were often cheated by the employers. One was case was about a young man who was promised 50 rmb a day for labor job but >only received a 5 rmb bill because he can't tell the different.

Yes, there is a potential of combining smaller schools into a central one, but so far none has affected the CTEF ones. If that happen, the worst case that we are aware of will happen: younger kids in remote villages will not able to afford the boarding fees and live away from home at such young age.

by Dennis Su

Immersing in Chinese life for a few days from experiencing life in the streets, like reading local newspapers, to all the CCTV channels in the hotel rooms, gave me certain insight about operating CTEF. Some ideas have been reinforced by chatting with the Interglow staff hired locally and with Hoi Wah.  My next task is to try to summarize some of these thoughts to be discussed with you guys at our Board meeting.

In a few hours, I will be joining the Provincial and Zhou Foreign Office representatives to ride up from Xi Chang to Putou, the town. Then tomorrow, the 11th, will start the climb up the mountain in the rented SUV to the community center for the official opening event.

Toured the Yi minority museum yesterday and learnt the first time that 1) this region was not "liberated" by the Chinese government until 1953, NOT 1949. 2) This part of Sichuan is used to belong to an old province "Kong something", 3) there was a very primitive slavery system among the Yi, and 4) the Red Army's 20,000 long march passed through here and team up with this region.

That brings up the community center: there are 98 students from the two nearby Yi villages and all must went through wash and hair cut (except girls) and changed into new clean underwear and uniform before accepted into the dormitory, because all the clothes from home have lice and other bugs. They learnt to wash their hands and clean before meals. Many thing we take for granted must be taught.

The medical team I am with is performing the very first medical check up for these kids and some of their parents, and start a recording system for them.

The ultimate goal of this facility is to lift the region out of poverty and be self sufficient in a few years. Interglow already working on a plan to have a Chinese herbal company to invest with the villagers to plant Chinese herbs to increase the income and living standards. But this takes time and Interglow is working on a master plan to phase out the operation budget in a few years. s

However, this goal sounds quite academic. The challenge to reach it is more depanding on human factors and cultural background. 1) One of the two teachers already express lack of interest to stay in such a "outpost", he is Han. 2) the clinic is staffed by the county health staff, but again, she has no motivation to help and to carry out basic health and medical procedure, not to mention the basic care that we, the civilized, expected to get from health providers. 3) How the village "corporation" leaders is working out and its relation with other villages is yet to be seen.

Regardless, CTEF's contribution in providing the center plays a large part in the lives of these people.