Researcher praises the kindness of strangers that changed her life

Financial support from the Spring Bud Project, which provides education for rural girls, changed Yu Guowen's fate, taking her from a mountainous area of Jiangsu province to become a researcher in Beijing.

"Over the years, the kindness of society has brought me strength and sustained me through every stage of my life," said the 34-year-old, who was born in a village in the north of Nanjing, Jiangsu's capital.

In 1995, when Yu was in primary school, illness was the main cause of her family's poverty, she said.

The family's low income meant its members were malnourished, so her grandparents, mother and younger sister were forced to spend money they could not afford on medication.

Her parents made a living by farming and working odd jobs, but they never thought of allowing her to drop out of school, despite their financial problems.

"I am really lucky to have such a family. At the time, many parents in my village still believed that it was pointless for girls to study," Yu said.

At the time, there were 24 students in her class, but only eight were girls. Later, two girls dropped out. "One of them left to support her brother's education," Yu said.

In 1989, the China Children and Teenagers' Fund launched the Spring Bud Project, a welfare program that mobilizes social forces to help girls who have dropped out return to school, and to improve teaching conditions in poverty-stricken areas.

In 1999, the project started funding Yu as a reward for her excellent academic performance. In addition, strangers donated books, stationery and clothing.

After graduating from high school, she was admitted to Nanjing Normal University's applied math major.

Later, she gained a master's and a doctorate from Beijing Normal University, and then enrolled in a postdoctoral program at the school.

In 2019, she finished the program and entered the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences as a researcher.

Her job is to communicate with teachers every week to stay abreast of teaching practices.

"I know that teaching is a profession that can bring the brightest things to people. Although I am not a teacher, I talk with them and their students every week, which makes me happy," she said.

Having been helped by strangers, Yu has always been keen to take part in social work. At university, she volunteered to work in hospitals so she could help people who had difficulty hearing and speaking.

She also volunteered to teach at a school for children of migrant workers. The school was remote and inaccessible, so many of the volunteers who went with her gave up halfway. However, Yu persevered to the end of the allotted period.

In her opinion, voluntary service is a two-way street of giving and receiving. "The experience of volunteering inspires me to face difficulties with optimism because I know they will pass," she said.

So far, the Spring Bud Project has helped more than 2.81 million poverty-stricken girls return to the classroom, and built 1,402 Spring Bud schools. A large number of the students it has helped have become professionals, including army officers, teachers, doctors and scientific workers.

In 2013, the enrollment rate of girls in China's primary schools reached 99.72 percent, slightly higher than the figure for boys.

In 2018, a report published by the National Bureau of Statistics said the gender gap in the country's compulsory education system had basically been eradicated.