Editor's Note

With the care of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and under the leadership of the All-China Women's Federation, the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) launched the Spring Bud Project in 1989, to help impoverished girls return to school, and to promote girls' education in disadvantaged areas.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in 2012, with the attention and concern of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and with the strong support of Peng Liyuan, special envoy of the Spring Bud Project for promoting girls' education, the project has carried out various actions, focused on girls' education, safety and health, to care for and support girls. During the past decade, the project has supported 1.76 million girls, and it has provided one-on-one companionship services and personalized psychological counseling to 133,400 girls. After they receive support from the project, the Spring Bud girls never forget to give back to society. With love and various actions, the girls have demonstrated the Spring Bud spirit of "unremitting self-improvement, striving for excellence, developing stronger virtues and pursuing better lives."

Today, we introduce a new section, Spring Bud Blooms, to share stories about Spring Bud girls who have grown up and become contributing members of society, and to encourage society to care for the development of girls. Xiang Wenyan is one of them.

With the support of the Spring Bud Project, Xiang Wenyan, a young woman from Southwest China's Yunnan Province, recently graduated from university and secured a job in Kunming, capital of the province.

Although Xiang was fortunate to have received considerable assistance and care from the project, few people fully understand the many difficulties Xiang had to overcome — over the past few years — to achieve success in both her studies and career.

Xiang was born into a rural family in Pingbian Miao Autonomous County, in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The family depended on their agricultural produce for their livelihood.

Xiang recalls how her family was still listed as a poverty-stricken household in 2019, even as she attended university in Kunming. At that time, both her father and grandfather labored hard on their farmland.

The family had run up a debt of 30,000 yuan (US $4,285) — but only raised a mere 5,000 yuan (US $714) by selling three head of cattle — when Xiang was in her third year of primary school. It took the family several years to pay off the debt.

Xiang says her parents always placed a high priority on her education, and that of her younger brother, and her parents always encouraged them to study hard and leave the village. She says her parents believed knowledge would make a difference in their children's lives.

Xiang applied for a national student loan in 2019, after she was admitted to Yunnan Communications Vocational and Technical College, in Kunming.

Unlike her classmates, Xiang had little time to experience and appreciate the things around her, because she had to work odd jobs to support herself throughout her studies.

One day, Xiang received a phone call from her former high school teacher, who informed Xiang she qualified for financial assistance through the Spring Bud Project.

Xiang applied, and she received a 1,500 yuan (US $214) grant from the project. Since then, Xiang received an annual subsidy of 1,500 yuan until she graduated in 2022.

Xiang says the support she received from the Spring Bud Project allowed her to spend more time on her studies, and to participate in extracurricular activities.

While at Yunnan Communications Vocational and Technical College, Xiang always scored well on her assignments and tests, and she earned a junior-level, accounting-professional certificate.

In 2022, Xiang attended a three-month internship program in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. She was impressed by the convenient transportation in the city.

Her internship made it possible for Xiang to embrace the outside world, and to have a deeper sense of gratitude for the project, which made it possible for her to change her life's trajectory.

Xiang was filled with hope after she returned from Chongqing. After all, she had received a job offer, to be an accountant with a Kunming-based trade company, on the eve of her college graduation.

Xiang is preoccupied with preparing to write both the certified-public-accountant (CPA) test and the national college-entrance examination for adults, as she hopes to obtain more knowledge to enrich her mind and broaden her horizons.

Xiang urges people to look ahead, and to believe life will be brighter and better in the future.

Xiang does her utmost to lend a helping hand to school girls from mountainous areas; for example, she uses her personal experiences to encourage them to fight for a bright future, against all odds. Xiang also conveys love and compassion to those in need.

Photos Supplied by CCTF

(Women of China English Monthly)