October 2006 Work Report

Initial report on the work done by SP EDIFY up to October 2006

Sain Paul Educational Infraestructure Fund for the Small Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan

The situation of the ethnic minorities in Yunnan :

The Province of Yunnan is situated in the south-west of China, and it is the Province with the greatest number of ethnic minorities. The common phrase \"the ever-changing clouds of the south\" refers to this Province of high lands and snowy mountains. Again, the saying \"In each mountain a distinct ethnic minority, and every ten kilometers a different weather\" describes faithfully this province of red soil, that is the home of 25 out of the 56 ethnic minorities in China.

The mountainous area of Yunnan covers 90% of the land : the high mountains and wide rivers make this Province unique in China, and this has influenced a great deal the customs and the economic development of all the ethnic minorities.

The main geographical characteristics are as follows: Yunnan\'s land is like a big slope, with the highest regions in the north-west where we can find great rivers like the Yangtze, Mekong and the Salween. This is the area where the Lishu, Durong, Nu, Tibetan, Naxi, Pumi and other ethnic minorities live. From this region we go on to a lower level area towards the south to a height of less than 1000 meters. It is here that we find the inhabitants of Tai, Hanni, Jingpo, Wa, Lagu, Pulang, and so on. Towards the east there is an elevated table land of about 2000 meters., and here is where other tribes live : the Yi, Bai, Chuang, Miao, Yao and so on.

These geographical conditions, aside from other historical events, have shaped and limited the economic development of these ethnic minorities. A portion of the population lives in extreme poverty.

According to an information from the Government of the Yunnan Province, up to the year 2006, 7.64 million people have an annual income of less than 865 RMB (about 90 EUR) . Of these, 2.86 million earn less than 625 RMB annually, and among them there are about 500,000 persons who survive in conditions of minimum subsistence. More than 600,000 families (more than 4 million people) live in caves or in houses made of bamboos and straw roofs. Some of the ethnic minorities like the Miao, Lishu, Lagu, Wa live mainly in the mountainous remote areas in poverty and without water and even without any vegetation around them. They literally live in a constant state of extreme poverty.

This state of poverty is found not only in the field of economic production, but also in that of education. Most of these places have no schools, and so the children have to go on foot to the nearest school. This may take them 2 or 3 hours to reach. When it rains the difficulties multiply not only because of the poor state of the paths, but also because most of the schools are poorly maintained and the roofs are made of straw with the walls made of bamboo; all of this provides very little protection for the children against wind and rain.

SP EDIFY

SP EDIFY is a private organization, which started with Mr. Domingo Li Shu, Mrs. Margarita Chen Li and Mr. Jose A. Lopez who had the common interest of helping these ethnic minorities. The objective was right from the start to help these poor children whom they knew, in order to give them a basic education. In this way the group hoped to get the attention of all levels of society to be aware of this problem of the lack of education that the ethnic minority is in urgent need of. SP EDIFY had a very humble beginning, but the objectives have constantly been increasing through the propaganda made mainly by Mr. Jose A. Lopez and through the financial assistance received from the persons who were aware of the existence of SP EDIFY. These persons have extended a generous hand towards these ethic minority groups so much in need of assistance. In this way these groups were able to experience the generosity and warm care of a united human effort.

This whole activity has received the general approval of all the various social levels, but we are also aware that as we go deeper into our plan, we have encountered other many difficulties, and that to rely on the limited energy of only some people could place the whole plan in jeopardy.

In the year 2004, Mr. Domingo Li Shu had the idea of creating a \"Fund for the education of the Ethnic Minorities of Yunnan\" (SP EDIFY) . The aim was to let others know about the plight of these Ethnic Minorities and to highlight the importance and meaning of the assistance that is being given to these groups. The motto of SP EDIFY is \" To achieve for all the children of the Ethnic Minorities in Yunnan the opportunity of receiving a basic education. \" In this way it is hoped that they can overcome their serious situation of poverty. Since its foundation SP EDIFY has promoted and financed the schooling of many children, who due to the poverty of their families were unable to enroll in the schools. This made it possible for 27 children of the Miao ethnic minority group to receive education, at the same time helping the people of this place to have medical attention as well as subsidizing some members of the group to obtain medical training. SP EDIFY has also helped 49 children of the Tibetan ethnic group many of them being orphans.

From the year 2005 until the present year 2006 SP EDIFY has carried out the following contributions to the population of the ethnic minorities :

Contribution of 6000 RMB for the medical operation of one child who suffered a lightning strike.
Purchase of 200 blankets with respective blanket covers for distribution among the population of Shahongkou
Contribution of 14,000 RMB for the construction of a Primary School in Shahongkou.
Installation of a public telephone system in Shahongkou to allow the people of this place to have a form of communication with the others outside of this area.
Purchase of 180 sports items for the children of Shahongkou.
Purchase of more than 3000 items of stationery for the use of the students of this shool in Shahongkou.
Purchase of 198 pairs of sports shoes which was distributed among the students of Shahongkou (as they do not normally use shoes, with the rain they have suffered many injuries from falls).
Purchase and installation of curtains for the new school of Shahongkou.
Purchase of more than 200 school books for the students of Shahongkou.
Organize a Medical Mission by the Kunming\'s Ophthalmology Hospital for Children. 5 Ophthalmological professors were present and they examined all the students of the Primary School of Shahongkou.
Subsidized the cost of the schooling of 40 children among whom 7 were orphans of both parents, and 6 of either father or mother.
Subsidized the expenses of the medical studies of members of the poorer groups in order to acquire sufficient medical knowledge to be able to serve the native population.

Situation of the Miao ethnic minority

The Miao people due to their special historical circumstances, live mainly in very remote mountainous areas. The popular saying goes \"The Miao live in the mountains, the Yao in the bamboo forests, the Chuang near the water, and the Han in the cities.\" Furthermore the Miao are known as the \"savages of the south\".

The Miao, traditionally cultivate the fields which are rejected by the other ethnic minorities who have them under their control. This has affected very much their economic development. In recent years, due to the gradual deterioration of the land and the increase in population, there has been an important migratory movement towards lands that promised better conditions of livelihood.

After a lengthy and exhaustive investigation we are of the opinion that the situation of the schools in the Miao area is particularly bad. The government does not have the sufficient means to remedy this situation. The Miao population has been largely forgotten by everyone. We believe that the lack of education is one of the primary causes for the extreme poverty that is found in this area. For this reason, we believe that helping them with the establishment of schools has real meaning, and that this assistance is a real and concrete way to improve the conditions of life for the whole Miao population. In order to build one school, SP EDIFY places the following conditions :

The population will have to be in the excess of 80 families. In many areas the population has lost its civic rights due to the migratory movement, they have been labeled \"black population\".
All the schools will have to bear the name \"Daoming\", which means a Bright Way (the name indicates that education is the only way to help in the acquisition of a brighter and more hopeful future)

Objectives and Development of SP EDIFY

In order to direct the attention of all levels of society towards the idea of the education of the ethnic minorities, and the founding principles of SP EDIFY and its gradual development, the group of directors of SP EDIFY has made the following plan which should be completed by the middle of the year 2007:

Complete the organization chart of SP EDIFY : organize an accounting system in accordance with the laws of the country, with an internal audit system in such a way that the whole accounting system of SP EDIFY be clear, exact and complete.
Finalize the organization of the Primary Schools \"Daoming\":
The salary of the teachers will be paid by the residents where the school is built. In this way the schools will be self-maintained. In order to enhance the dedication of the teachers towards the education of the ethnic minorities, a system of monetary reward will be established (the reward will be 50 RMB per month). Furthermore, considering the results of the examinations and the amount of students promoted to the following levels, at the end of each semester a further consideration will be made of another financial reward (between 100 and 200 RMB).
A program of technical training will be organized for the teachers with the aim of assuring the quality of the education of the children.

The students will be examined regularly in order to be sure that they have acquired the necessary knowledge to be able to attend a normal school after they have finished 4 years of primary studies. Otherwise these students will only be able to receive schooling until the 3^rd year of Primary.
Modern educational material should be obtained which are already used in other schools, with the aim of obtaining the methods and educational programs of the schools that we have established.
Bring teachers from outside regularly to talk to our teachers as well as to our students giving them in this way an opportunity to come in contact with the reality of the outside world.
Fix a definite program of studies.
Establish a system of rewards for the most exemplary students. These rewards will take the form of educational material, such as books, writing material etc.
Continue to help financially the schooling of those students most in need among the ethnic minorities, who live in the mountainous regions. For this we will try to reach all those populations of those areas inhabited by the tibetans in order to carry out the work of a preliminary investigation necessary for us to help especially the orphans or those poor children who cannot go to school for economic reasons. An indexed file will be made to record the details of each child who receives assistance from SP EDIFY.
In November of 2006 the construction of the first primary \"Daoming\" (Daoming n.1) will begin in the area of Honghe (Red River), Xiaolongtan county, in the village of Hongpitou. This school is expected to be inaugurated in February of 2007 (Here you can see the detailed information of this school). The population belongs to the ethnic minority Miao.
In March of 2007 we intend to begin the construction of another primary school \"Daoming\" (Daoming n.2) in the region of Honghe (Red River), Jianshui county, in the village of Xiaoge. We expect to finish this school before June of 2007. The population of Xiaoge belongs to the ethnic minority of North Miao. (we shall publish an information in detail about this population)