The Ripple Effect

Summer holidays are over and our students are back at school. Christian Action has been recognising and supporting disadvantaged students in Qinghai since 2008. Our Education Grant Programme helps students pay for their university tuition and living expenses. In exchange, the students have to be involved in CA’s community services. That involvement helps cultivate their sense of responsibility to society. Over the years CA has supported a total of 1,922 such students.

In August, we held the 2019-2020 Tongren Education Grant Award Ceremony to present the recipients who have shown potential for academic excellence. Additionally, they have a sense of duty to give back to society. Due to pandemic travel restrictions, Marlon and I went online to give the students our blessing. Over the past 12 years, we have witnessed the growth of our students. Many are grateful for the opportunity they had been given, so they studied hard. Their good results are a testament to the success of our programme.

For example, Geri has been a Grant recipient since 2016. He has recently graduated from the Northwest Minzu University in Tibetan-Chinese translations and will continue his Masters at Lanzhou University. Geri is the eldest of five children. He said, “Christian Action’s Education Grant Programme reduced my family’s financial burden and allowed me to focus on my studies.” In the past four years, Geri has actively participated in CA’s community services. He said, “Through my visits to orphanages, nursing homes and prisons, I have learned to appreciate life from different angles. I hope to help more people in the future.”

Geri’s father was present at the Award Ceremony. He choked up as he said in Tibetan, “Tashi delek (Thank you)! My wife and I did not receive a formal education. But despite our circumstances, CA has always encouraged us to send our children to school so that poverty will not hinder the pursuit of their dreams. Geri is the first university student, and is now the first graduate in our village. All five of our children are in school. We have set a good example for our fellow villagers and have shown that with education life can be improved.”

The comments of parents always touch my heart. I am a mother and I know that parents always want the best for their children. I am truly honoured that our Education Grant has such a profound ripple effect on the lives of many people. At CA, we look forward to encouraging more disadvantaged students to pursue education, and so change many more lives. Please click here to support our Qinghai Programme.