Students’amazingpiecesofworkaredisplayedatGuizhouForerunnerCollege.Inrecentyears,povertyalleviationhasbecomeoneofChina’stoppriorities.Duetothesheerscaleofthecountry’sruralpopulationaswellasterritory,thetaskseemsdauntingtosaytheleast,especiallyinregionslikeGuizhouProvincewithamassiveruralpopulation,mountainousterrainmakinginfrastructuretricky,andanethnicallydiversepopulation.Accordingtorecentcensusfigures,54ofChina’s56ethnicgroupscanbefoundinGuizhou.AlthoughGuizhouisrichinminerals,itstreacherouslandscapemakesresourceshardtotap,andmanystillsubsistbyfarming.Dauntingchallengeshaveemerged.InaccordancewithChina’santi-povertydrive,Guizhouispressingaheadontwofronts:fightingpovertybydevelopingtourism,andfightingpovertywitheducation.IntermsofeducationprojectslaunchedaroundGuiyang,thecapitalcityofGuizhou,twomajoreffortsarehappeninginHuishuiCounty:GuizhouForerunnerCollegeandBaiNiaoHeDigitalTown.
GuizhouForerunnerCollege(GFC)openedin2011asanon-profitvocationalcollege.TheprojectbecamearealitythankstoVIAFaith-Hope-Love,anonprofitdedicatedtoimprovingthelivingconditionsofdisadvantagedpeopleinruralChinaaswellasdisasterreliefandreconstructionprojectsthroughoutthecountry.VIAFaith-Hope-Lovewasfoundedin2009byHTCandVIATechnologiesfounderandCEOCherWang,oneofthemostinfluentialChinesebusinesswomenandphilanthropists,andWen-ChiChen,generalmanagerofVIATechnologiesElectronicsCo.andalegendinITcircles.
TheembroideryclassprovidedbytheMinorityCultureHeritageCenterinGuizhouForerunnerCollegegathersboysandgirlswillingtolearnthetraditionalhandcraftsofGuizhouProvince.GFCprovidescollege-leveldegreesandfirst-classvocationaltrainingforfreeorforaverylowcosttoimpoverishedfamiliesinGuizhouandsurroundingprovinces.Aroundtheworld,underprivilegedchildrenfaceahigherriskofdroppingoutofschool,whetherduetofinancialreasonsortohelptheirfamily.“Mostofusarehighschooldropoutsaged16to25,”revealedoneGFCstudent.“Povertyisthemajorfactorpullingruralstudentsoutofschool.Thosefrompoorerbackgroundsaremorelikelytodropout.Ifwedon’tcompletehighschool,wearemorelikelytobepoor.Withoutliteracyorotherskillsthatcouldadvanceourcareers,weareleftwithfewoptionsandlittleincome.”
GFCcreatestheopportunitytogobacktoschooltoimprovelivingstandards.“Icouldn’thaveimaginedgettingtheopportunitytoreturntoschool,nevermindthechancetostudyabroad,”smiledWeiQiuni,anotherGFCstudent.“Moreimportantly,thisistotallyfree.”ThecollegeofferslanguagestudiesrangingfromMandarintoEnglish,hotelmanagement,internetmarketingandmanagement,andspecialtycoursessuchasthosefortheblindandtrainingrelatedtotea(animportantindustryinGuizhou).Otherspecialclassescovertraditionalhandcraftsofethnicminoritiessuchasbatikorembroidery,someofwhichareofficiallyrecognizedasChineseintangibleheritage.CraftcoursesareprovidedcourtesyoftheMinorityCultureHeritageCenter.Moststudentshailfromethnicminorityfamilies,whichrepresentamajorblockofGuizhou’spopulation.Inordertopreserveandstrengthenpreciouslocalknowledge,GFC’sfacultyincludesmanylocalminorityinstructors.
TraditionalembroiderybeingtaughtbytheMinorityCultureHeritageCenterinGuizhouForerunnerCollege.
OneoftheopenspaceofficesofChineseInternetgiantBaidudedicatedtobigdatainBaiNiaoHeDigitalTown.
Minorities’handicraftsinGuizhouTangRenFangCo.Center,acompanyfundedandfoundedbyBeijingTangRenFangCulturalDevelopmentLtd.Co.andbasedinBaiNiaoHeDigitalTown,thataimsatsavingandprotectinglocalcraftandculturebystudyingthemethodsandtrainingyoungergenerationstoinherittherichlegacy.Toprovideadditionalpracticaleducationthatcanbeusedtoenhancestandardsofliving,thecollegealsoprovidesfacilitiessimilartoanyothercampus,includingdormitories,acafeteria,sportsfacilities,anon-sitesupermarketandbank,andmore.Themostdifficultpartoftheprocess,asitoftenseems,isconvincingthefamilythatlong-terminvestmentineducationisbestfortheirchildren.“It’sverydifficulttostartsomethingnew,”explainedZhangHuiwei,thecollege’smarketingspecialist.“Amongpoverty-strickenpeopleaged18to24,themajoritychoosestogetmarriedintheirearly20stopleasetheirparents.Intheirparents’minds,providingimmediateanddirectsupporttothefamilyismoreurgentthanlearningthingsthatare‘useless’intheshortterm.”Sinceearly2011,Zhangandhiscolleagueshavebeenmakinghousecallstoconductface-to-faceinterviewswithlocaldropoutsandtheirparents.“Eventhoughwecan’tcompetewithChina’stopuniversities,weembraceouruniquesystemthatbreaksthetraditionalteacher-centeredmodelinfavoroffocusingonpracticallearning.”
BaiNiaoHeDigitalTown,apartnerofGFC,isaGuizhouProvinceinitiativethatwaslaunchedin2014alongsideGFC’sfirstgraduatingclass.Theprojectfocusesonbigdata,astrategicchoiceforthedevelopmentofthewholeprovince,bringingbotheconomicandsocialbenefits.Bigdatareferstodatasetsthataresolargeorcomplexthattraditionaldataprocessingapplicationsareinadequate.Bigdatahasintroducedsignificantchallengestotechcompaniesasitdevelopsintoanewmarket,whichmakesitanexcellentstrategicdevelopmenttool.ChineseinternetgiantBaiduandothertechcompanieshaveestablishednewofficesinrecently-completedDutch-stylestructuresthatcomposethevillagethatisBaiNiaoHeDigitalTown.Themassivecampuswasplacedamidstanoutstandingnaturalenvironment,creatingsingularworkingconditionsforitsemployees.
TherelationshipbetweenGFC,aprojectlaunchedbytwotechexperts,andnearbyBaiNiaoHeDigitalTowncreatesconsiderableopportunityforcollaboration.ThesituationsenablesGFCtoutilizeHTCandVIAcompanysupportandfocusonaccelerationofthedevelopmentofthebigdataindustryofGuizhoubycombiningeducationwithproductiontoprovideimmediateemploymentaftergraduation.Thisisawin-winsituationatitsfinest:Bycreatingaschoolinaproductionzone,companiesaredrawntotheschool’sfocusonspecificpracticaltrainingaswellastheopportunitiescreatedbytheDigitalTown,whichinturnofferbetteremploymentopportunitiesforlocalgraduates.Companiesreceivewell-qualifiedemployeeswhohavetheuniqueopportunitytoremainclosetotheirrootsandfamilywhilesupportingthem,yetstayingindependentandfindingnewprospectsforthefuture.
AnAmericanvolunteerworkingatGuizhouForerunnerCollege.InternationalvolunteersarewelcometoteachEnglishandothersubjectsatGFC.Despitethelowincomeprovidedbyworkingforthenon-profitorganization,mostteachersenjoysomuchtheexperience,especiallytheinteractionswiththestudentsandtheexceptionalnaturalenvironmentthattheyendupextendingtheirvolunteeringtime.
StudentsfromamusicclassofGuizhouForerunnerCollegethatalsoaimsatblindpeopleareperforming.