Many rural farmers in China are hoping to escape poverty and find greener pastures by moving their families to the cities. Without any special skills, more often than not they end up as the lowest class citizens in these cities, and their children become "floating children" who are displaced from their hometown. In addition to the hardship in making a living, education also becomes a struggle for these children, removing them even farther from the road to escaping poverty.
Jin Hua (second on the left) has to take care of his siblings while his parents are out to work, making it impossible for him to concentrate on his studies |
"Life in the city has got to be better than back home. At least we can eat rice every day." With this simple belief in mind, Jin Hua's parents left their hometown in Guizhou with their children and headed to the big city of Kunming.
Jin Hua's parents are not well educated so they can only make a living by polishing shoes and scavenging. Although they work from early in the morning till very late every day, sometimes overnight, they only manage to earn around RMB 800 every month. The family of six are cramped into a dimly lit room of 50 square feet, and they have barely enough to lead a stable life amidst the bustling city of Kunming.
Jin Hua's family of six are cramped into a tiny room of 50 square feet with extremely poor living conditions |
Jin Hua and his two siblings' education has turned out to be a big problem. They are not qualified to go to government schools in Kunming since their household account is with their hometown. They can only go to private schools but not only are these schools poorly run, they charge an annual tuition fees of RMB 800 as compared to less than RMB 100 sundry fees charged by government schools. Sending all three children to school is far beyond what Jin Hua's parents can afford, not to mention the books, stationery and other materials that are required. Jin Hua has tried to help with the household earnings by polishing shoes and even begging.
With his parents' income becoming more unstable, getting out of poverty seems so out of reach. Jin Hua is very worried that this summer holiday is going to be the last one for him and his siblings as they may be forced to drop out of school …
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With the gap between the rich and the poor widening further and further, there are many stories similar to that of Jin Hua's family all over the cities in China. Currently, there are already more than 20 million "floating children" who are constantly facing the threat of dropping out of school! World Vision has been providing education and living subsidies for these floating children as well as giving their families support, such as vocational training, to help them gradually break away from the bondage of impoverishment. Your regular donation is their hope of escaping poverty through education!You can use credit card to Donate Online, or Print Donation Form and fax it to us at 2394 4844 / 2789 4744 |
To protect the beneficiary, Jin Hua is a pseudonym.
