Fund 1000 Scholarships in Rural China for a Year

Hello everyone, my name is Ying, I’m currently studying in Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. I graduated from Guizhou Huangping Nationality Middle School. Time flies! SOAR has been supporting me for 5+ years. From a poor village in the rural southwest of China to Shanghai, the international cosmopolitan, SOAR family witnessed my progress and helped greatly in each step of my progress. Without SOAR’s volunteers and donors' support, I would have not achieved anything on my own. SOAR - I can't thank you more than enough!

My family's total annual income is barely $4,500. My parents don’t have stable full time jobs. My dad found some contractor work as a mover and my mom worked in a restaurant washing dishes in the back kitchen. Thanks to SOAR, I was able to finish high school and now study at university. 

SOAR not only supports me financially, but also with my studies. For students from rural villages, English is a very difficult subject, especially for speaking English. In high school, because we need to focus on passing the college entrance exam, our teachers put focus on English grammars. But entering college, speaking became more important. I didn’t have any opportunities to speak English in our rural village back home, so when I came to Shanghai, immediately I felt the huge gap between myself and other students. I was not confident at all and felt self-abased. At that time, SOAR volunteer Ms. Z. reached me about an one-on-one English tutoring class with volunteers. From Ms. Z.'s kind guidance, I started the English speaking class once every weekend during the summer vacation. The content was very broad and touched all kinds of aspects in life. From this experience, my listening and speaking capability in English leaped tremendously. Later on, I was given a chance to become an English tutor myself as a volunteer. I couldn’t be more grateful! Now I can pass SOAR’s love to others and help those in need. The teaching experience also helps me to improve further more, and accumulates valuable social experience.

My college life is wonderful and fulfilling. Thanks to SOAR, I built up self-confidence and found my goal in life. Besides studying, I joined all kinds of activities. I visited senior homes in Shanghai with other volunteers, I loved doing yoga, I sang and danced in the university new year’s gala show. I also found my first part-time job. I hope I will be capable enough to give back to society and pass down the SOAR spirits of helping others. 

Thank you for everything you’ve done with me SOAR!

SOAR Student

Ying

Editor’s note:

Friendly reminder that GlobalGiving’s April 2022 Little by Little campaign will last 5 days, from April 4, 2022, at 00:00:00 EDT to April 8, 2022, at 23:59:59 EDT. All eligible donations up to $50 USD per unique donor per organization will be matched at 50% for the duration of the campaign. 

Terms and conditions here: 

https://www.globalgiving.org/leaderboards/april-2022-little-by-little/terms/

Thank you for all your kind support!