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. Yan Wenhui is one of them.

Yan Wenhui (middle) poses for a group photo with her students. [CCTF]

Yan Wenhui, 20, is from a rural family in Nashan, a town in Jinggangshan (known as the "cradle of the Chinese revolution"), in East China's Jiangxi Province. Her birthplace was mentioned in the popular revolutionary song, Ten Farewells to the Red Army.

In 2014, Yan was going through a difficult time when she was introduced to the Spring Bud Project. Since then, the spirit of both the Chinese revolution and the Spring Bud Project have influenced and guided her. She has been brave, resilient and independent, and she has expressed gratitude for the project, and she has strived for excellence.

Yan's parents did everything they could to make sure she and her two younger siblings had childhoods full of love, even though the family wasn't well-off.

Yan's father died in an accident when she was in the fifth grade of primary school. His sudden death plunged the family into deep distress, and poverty.

Yan's mother had to take on several jobs, in addition to her full-time work, to earn enough money for the family to get by.

Yan did her best to support her mother, by doing household chores and taking care of her younger brother and sister.

Yan didn't achieve ideal scores on her middle school entrance examination because she was still coping with the death of her father. She says it was the trust and love she received from her mother that helped her pull her life together.

Yan's life gradually returned to normal, and she began earning good marks in school, and eventually ranked among the top of her classmates.

After learning about her family's difficulties, the local women's federation contacted Yan, in 2014, and helped her apply for a scholarship through the Spring Bud Project.

Yan not only received financial assistance, but also love and care from charity-minded people with the project.

During her extracurricular pursuits in middle school, Yan became a volunteer docent with a local group of volunteers, and she shared revolutionary stories, traditions, songs –– and the revolutionary spirit –– with tourists who visited Jinggangshan.

Yan says that experience helped her deepen her understanding of the revolutionary culture in Jinggangshan, and it helped her strengthen her will to face any difficulties and challenges.

Despite ranking among the top students in the city, Yan decided to study at a normal school rather than a prestigious high school. She wanted to be a rural primary school teacher after she graduated, and attending a normal school would allow her to achieve that goal while also saving money for the family.

"As long as I study hard, and work hard, I will always create a better future for myself, and for my family," Yan says.

Yan received a solid academic grounding, participated in several training activities, and studied traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy while attending the normal school.

With several of her classmates, Yan volunteered to work with primary school students. She helped them study, and she told them stories about the revolution and relevant traditions. Yan also helped them feel the warmth and strength of society.

Yan became a teacher, in a primary school in her hometown, after she graduated from the normal school. In relatively short order, Yan was named a group leader, among all of teachers, for first-grade students.

Yan always prepares for her classes, and she strives to be a good guide for the children.

In her spare time, Yan volunteers with a public-welfare organization in Jinggangshan, and provides love and compassion to disadvantaged children.

Yan vows to always be a teacher, and to make constant efforts to improve her professional competence and safeguard children's healthy growth. She also vows to continue participating in public-welfare activities, especially those that spread love and warmth to people in need.

(Women of China English Monthly)