A Cinderella Story

We know it so well: her parent dies, a step-parent enters, and that poor girl's life is changed forever. For the children of poor nomadic Tibetans, losing a parent to accident or disease is common. Regardless of the emotional state of the child, the remaining parent must remarry quickly. It's a matter of survival. And if the step-parent already has children, the grieving child is rarely accepted and usually becomes a 'servant' - the last to be fed and without hope of an education. Young Decuo was a Tibetan Cinderella.

Decuo's father died in yet another car accident on Tibet's hazardous roads. Her mother soon remarried, so Decuo was sent to live with her uncle. Another mouth to feed was a financial strain for him, and education was out of the question. She was soon sent to live at Huangnan Children's Home.

Cinderella story...

Christian Action social workers noticed that Decuo seemed unable to get along with anyone, so they stepped in. Treated with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, the direction of Decuo's life changed. Since China's laws forbid the proselytization of children, we must either model the love of Christ or see them suffer. As a result of our ministry, Decou's transformation was truly remarkable!

She began to believe she was valued. Hope took root in her heart. She began to take an interest in her schoolwork. She knew that without an education, she would either be doing whatever unskilled she could find in the city, or be subject to a life of back-breaking physical work as a nomadic Tibetan wife, living off a land that is barely able to sustain a family.

Decuo has now completed High School, which very few economically disadvantaged Tibetans ever do, and she has gone on to study at university. She is now hoping to take the national Chinese Civil Servant Examination, and to qualify as a social worker after that.

During a recent visit to Hong Kong sponsored by Melco Group, Decuo told us: "I want to use my past to reach out to other kids who find themselves in a bad place. I know my experiences can help them a lot! I would like to thank all the donors who have given me the opportunity to further my studies, without which I may have been forced to quit school and find a job. You have enabled me to enter college. My life changed because of you - I could never have imagined it would turn out like this!"