Project Manager: Tsedan Drolma (Samantha)
This project is to buy 297 English Reading Books and 632 Chinese Reading Books for 19 teachers and 210 students in Yueya Wan Primary School in order to enrich the students’ general knowledge about the outside world and assist their study in the future..
Asia Foundation funded this project
Tsedan Drolma is from Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province, China. She is graduated from associated degree in English at the Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department English Training Program in 2009.
What? To buy 297outside English Reading Books and 632 outside Chinese Reading Books for 210 students in Yueya Wan Primary School to enrich the students’ general knowledge about the outside world and assist their study in the future.
Who? The students from Yueya Wan School in Yueya Wan Village, Sungshan Township, in the Southern part of Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province.
Photos of Project Implementation
The School leader and the project manger shake hands and he said, “Thank you very much for the Asia Foundation’s support.” They held a ceremony for contributing books to them.
Teachers who are very nice to help us to put books on the shelf
Students choose their own favorite book to read, and we can see happiness from their faces.
Project Summary
Project title: Book Project for Yueya Wan School
Project goals: The immediate goal of the project is to buy 297outside English Reading Books and 632 outside Chinese Reading Books for 19 teachers and 210 students in Yueya Wan Primary School. The overarching goal of the project is to enrich the students’ general knowledge about the outside world and assist their study in the future.
Project Location: This project is located in Yueya Wan Village, Sungshan Township, in the Southern part of Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province. Yueya Wan Village is 2 Kilometers from Tianzhu County which is 145 Kilometers from Lanzhou City, the capital city of Gansu Province. Lanzhou City is about 230 Kilometers from Xining City, the capital of Qinghai Province.
Total beneficiaries:This book project directly benefited 19 teachers and 210 students. Around 2,000 local people indirectly get benefit from this project because they don’t need to buy books for their children in Yueya Wan School.
Implementation organization/individual: Tsedan Drolma（Samantha），Wangtian Dong(the school leader)and Shem Women’s group
Contact Group: Shem Women’s Group
Funds received: Source, Amount, and Date Received
The Asia Foundation gave 14,464rmb on the 25th of February.
Activities realized in the framework of the project
Ø In March, 2007 Tsedan Drolma planed and designed a book project for Jiji Tan primary school.
Ø In April, discussed with teachers in Jiji Tan primary school of Jiji Tan Vilage.
Ø End of April wrote proposal.
Ø On the 15th of June completed proposal but the school suddenly stopped teaching, then Tsedan Drolma started contacting with other school.
Ø On the 20th of June wrote project for Yueya Wan primary school.
Ø On the 30th of July completed project.
Ø In January or February of 2009, the project was funded by the Asia Foundation.
Ø On the 25th of February Tsedan Drolma received money from the Asia Foundation.
Ø On the 23rd of April Tsedan Drolma went to Xining and purchase books. But prices of some books were higher than former price, and some books were not there. So Tsedan Drolma went to Lanzhou. Then she transported books from Lanzhou to Huazang Si.
Ø On the 24th of April transported books to Yueya Wan primary school, and the school held a ceremony of giving books. And also took pictures.
Ø On the Children’s day, there were many local people came to Yueya Wan school have attended the performance.
Ø On the 19th of June, I started writing my report.
Project Finances
|
Receipt # |
Item |
Donor |
Local |
Total Cost |
|
#1 |
Transportation |
1,600 |
0 |
1,600 |
|
#2 |
Chinese and English books |
12,714.2
|
0 |
12,714.2 |
|
#3 |
Management expenses |
150 |
0 |
150 |
|
Total |
|
14,464.2 |
0 |
14,464.2 |
Delays, Difficulties, and lessons learned
Difficulties
23rd of April, I went to Xining and purchased books. My bank account was registered in Huazangsi so the bank deducted 200rmb as servicing fee from the project money when I took the funding of the project from the bank in Xining. It was my problem that I should take the money from Huazang Si but I also did not know it till deducted the money already. When we arrived Xining, but the driver wasn’t familiar about the road of Xining, and the driver just drove us for long time in order to search the destination while at that time I felt very dizzy. Finally we found a big bookstore in Xining, and we went into that bookstore and looked for these books on the list but some of them were not there, and also the prices of some books are increased than former price. Then we decided to go to Lanzhou city and purchased the books that we could not get in Xining. We arrived in Lanzhou at night about 10:00pm. On the second day we found a bookstore which is very good and there are many good books. We just spent six hours to find the books that are in the list. But some books were still not there and then we chose other books instead of them.
Lessons learned
I learned that through this book project the students are very happy for these books and they really need those books. The teachers are also very happy and one teacher asked me to write repairing cistern project. I learn that many rural areas need these kind projects. After I have done the project it gave more confidence to do more projects to help many people as they need our helps.
Letter of appreciation
Translation Letter
Dear the Asia Foundation members:
“Knowledge can figure character of a person.” Studying can change yourself and fate. You are very nice to help us, and contributing the books to our school it means that the Asia Foundation cares and encourages us to improve our teaching skills and it means you also take care of our students who are studying in rural areas. Your help will become huge strength of energy that can inspire our teachers and students’ studying ardor, enthusiasm, creativity, and continue to complete our goals. At the same time, it also can be a wealth of energy, and make every student grow up and also can gain knowledge to build their own hometown; return into society what they learn.
We made list of 926 books and put all the books on the book shelves, we are sure that these books are very helpful for the students who are from rural areas. We know that one book, one love, one wish, and grow up with monotone, and we all appreciate your kindness.
Students of thanks can not finish, but let us build bridge of great friendship and construct hall of knowledge. We want to say “thank you very much for your kind help”.
Wish your enterprise success!
Sincerely
Yueya Wan primary school
Receipts
#1
The total cost of transportation fee was 1,600rmb.
#2
The total cost of books was about 12,714.2rmb
The receipt is about Yueya Wan school received 926 books.
#3
The receipt is about Management expenses and it was 150rmb.
Original Proposal
Project Location
This project is located in Yueya Wan Village, Sungshan Township, in the southern part of Tianzhu Tibetan Autonomous County, Gansu Province. Yueya Wan Village is 2 kilometers from Tianzhu County which is 145 kilometers from Lanzhou City, the capital city of Gansu Province. Lanzhou City is about 230 Kilometers from Xining City, the capital of Qinghai Province.
Background of Yueya Wan Primary School in Yueya Wan Village
In Yueya Wan is a multi-ethnic village, with Tibetans, Chinese, Hui, and Mongols. The local people mostly depend on farming and herding for their livelihood. Some people also do construction work or plant vegetables and grapes in a green house. Many Tibetan people cannot speak Tibetan, their mother language. Most people, except for a few older people, speak Chinese. In the families, all the school-aged children only speak Chinese, and the students do not study Tibetan since the school does not teach Tibetan.
There is a primary school in Yueya Wan village which is located below the southern mountain of Sunshan Township. There are 19 teachers and 210 students in the school. There are 6 school buildings which are Tile-roofed houses; they are old and made of bricks. 19 students live in the school. The rest of the students do not live in the school since their families are not very far away from the school. There are two dormitory rooms for the students: one has 12 beds for 12 boys and the other has 7 beds for 7 girls. There are 19 teachers who live in the school and 2 teachers share one dormitory. From 2004, all students started to study English from grade three.
Population
There are about 2,340 people of 340 households in Yueya Wan village. Among these people there are 713 men, 696 women, and 931 children (478 boys and 453girls).
Education
In Yueya Wan Village, 45 percent of the people are literate. In the village there are 10 college students (6 boys and 4 girls); 201 high school students (102 boys and 99 girls); 520 middle school students (273 boys and 247 girls), and 210 primary school students (103 boys and 98 girls) attending Yueya Wan Primary school. Some children are going to the county school, because their parents think that if students study in the county school, then they will get better education. Also, the quality of teaching in the county is better than in the village school. In the county school there are many book shops, where the students can purchase or read books. Also there are many educational activities offered in the county school.
Cash Income
In this village all the people are farmers, and they have three ways to earn money. Each family has 8 mu of farming land. Beans are the main cash-generating crop. Sometimes families can harvest 250-300 jin (125-1500 kg) of beans. They can earn around 2,000 rmb per year from selling beans.
The villagers who own sheep are able to sell fleece during the summer. 1 jin of fleece is about 10 rmb; one sheep’s fleece weighs 5.5 jin, so families can earn 55 rmb for every sheep. A family that has 27 sheep can earn around 1,500 rmb per year. Also some families might occasionally sell sheep.
Also a few of the villagers go outside the village to do construction work; some of them can earn 25 rmb per day. Usually they can earn 800 rmb for a construction project. A few households plant vegetables and grapes in green houses to earn some cash. If they successfully have the good harvest they can earn about 2,000 rmb per year. Sometime they just earn nothing from this business.
Now every thing has become expensive and the villagers will spend more money than before. To rent a machine to plow the fields costs 500 rmb. Fertilizer costs 850 rmb. The families who own sheep need to buy feedstuff which cost 1,000-2,000 rmb. Families spend around 1,600 rmb to celebrate the New Year. Buying clothes costs 750 rmb. Each family will spend 150 rmb on electricity, and around 100 rmb on phone calls per month. Also water fee cpsts around 30 rmb per person, so a families with 6 people will spend 180 rmb per year. Families who don’t have sheep need to buy meat such as mutton, beef, and pork.
In total, each family earns an average of 6,300 rmb per year, and they spend around 6,130 rmb. 170 rmb is left. If families have college students and high or middle school students, then they will spend money on students’ tuitions, then they borrow money from the relatives or ask for loans from the bank.
Agriculture
Generally in Yueya Wan Village, each family has 8 mu of framing land. People grow wheat, beans, rapeseed, and potatoes. Each mu of land can produce 100 kg of wheat per year. They don’t have extra wheat, rapeseed and potatoes to sell due to the following reasons: limited farmland, lack of rains and not enough fertilizer for the lands. Therefore it is just enough to support their families. However, most families can sell some extra beans to supplement their income.
Herding
All the villagers are farmers but they have sheep. In recent years the grassland has been divided, and around 13 families have around 200-300 sheep, and only one family has yaks. The quality of the grassland has declined recently and some families feed their sheep in a big room for whole year. Also in summer, many families move to other places and herd sheep.
Project goals
The immediate goal of the project is to buy 297 English Reading Books and 632 Chinese Reading Books for 19 teachers and 210 students in Yueya Wan Primary School. The overarching goal of the project is to enrich the students‘ general knowledge about the outside world and assist their study in the future.
Problems
1. Limited access to the books
In Yueya Wan School, the students do not have books to read, except the books from school. There are no English short stories and few Chinese compositions. Thus they have limited information and knowledge. There are also no book shops in the village and the students have no access to newspapers, magazines and other materials.
2. Low motivation to study
The students are always doing the same thing, reading textbooks, so they get bored. Even though students finish homework which teachers give them, they don’t enjoy studying. Gradually they don’t think that studying in the school is something interesting.
3. Poor reading and writing skills
The school is lacking the materials which can help students to improve their study and the students do not have access to interesting books other than textbooks. This negatively affects students’ reading and writing skills.
4. Waste time
Because there is no library to borrow books and other new materials for them to read, the students just spend their free time playing games.
5. Low scores
There are no practical materials for the students who are in grade six. They have no materials which can help them access other kinds of knowledge which will appear on the exam. So when the students take the examination for entering the middle school most of them get low scores.
6. No English materials
In Yueya Wan School, the students started to study English from 2004. There is no English reading material, besides the textbooks, for students to enjoy.
Benefits
Have more books to read: If students have access to the other books, then they can go to the library and read the books they are interested in. For instance, Chinese composition, and English short stories. So they will get more information and knowledge from the books.
Increased motivation to study: If students can get the books they think are interesting, they will enjoy reading and by the way enjoy studying.
Improved reading and writing skills: Through reading, students reading and writing skills will be improved. Access to more materials makes teachers’ tasks easier and also makes students become more confident.
Cherish time: If they have leisure time, students can go and read books, not waste their time playing. For instance, they could prepare for the class by reading related books.
Higher scores: If students of grade six could have materials which will help them on their exam, then they can prepare the exam by studying the materials. Then their examination scores for entering the middle school is will be improved. This will in turn improve the school’s reputation.
Access to English materials: If Students read more English materials they will have more opportunities to improve their English.
Beneficiaries
This book project directly benefits 19 teachers and 210 students. Around 2,000 local people indirectly benefit from this project because they do not need to buy books for their children in Yueya Wan School.
Government support
In 2008, January 16th, the project manager talked to Meng Shoutao, the secretary of Sunshan Township, about her idea of implementing a project. He said he was very happy that the project manager was planning to do this book project and encouraged the project manager to try his best to complete this project.
Gender Equality
Books will benefit boys and girls equally. Also the villagers will believe that young women also acheive. The girls in the school will regard the project manager as their role model, and they will be encouraged to be brave and confident. Also teachers will change their attitudes to girls, because they think that boys are clever and they can do important things.
Project activities
1. Contact the school teachers and ask what are the problems of the school and how can we solve the problems. (done)
2. Discuss with the teachers and students what kinds of books they need. (done)
3. Go to bookshop and find out the price of books. (done)
4. Find out the transportation fee. (done)
5. Take pictures of the school condition.(done)
6. Write project proposal.
7. Secure donor funding.
8. Purchase the books from Xinhua bookstore, Xining bookstore and another bookstore named One Plus One.
9. Transport the books.
10. Distribute the books to the school and let teachers check the number of the books.
11. Go to school and interview the teachers and students.
12. Take pictures.
13. Write final report.
14. Send final report and the receipts.
Budget
| Item | Quantity | Unit Price in rmb |
Donor Contribution in rmb |
Local Contribution in rmb |
Shem Contribution in rmb |
Total cost in rmb |
| *Chinese books |
632 | 12.44 /book |
7,863.2 | 0 | 0 | 7,863.2 |
| *English books |
294 | 16.5 /book |
4,851 | 0 | 0 | 4,851 |
| **Trans portation fee |
1,600 | 0 | 0 | 1,600 | ||
| Room | 1 | 8,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 | 8,000 |
| Desk | 15 | 36/ desk |
0 | 540 | 0 | 540 |
| Chair | 26 | 28/ chair |
0 | 728 | 0 | 728 |
| #Manage ment ex penses |
150 | 0 | 0 | 150 | ||
| Manag ement payment |
0 | 0 | 500 | 500 | ||
| Total | 14,464.2 | 9,268 | 500 | 24,232.2 |
Total Cost: 24,232.2 rmb
Total requested from Donor: 14,464.2 rmb
* The average price of each Chinese book is 12.44 rmb, and each English book is 16.5 rmb.
** Transportation fee: First to transport the materials from Xining to Huazangsi (Tianzhu County) will cost 1,000 rmb. Transporting materials from Huazangsi (Tianzhu County) to Yueya Wan School, will cost 600 rmb.
#management expenses: Money spent on phone call to the teachers in Yueya Wan Primary School and parents of children who are attending in this school; take picture, and manager travel expenses.
*Detailed list of Chinese books
| Book name | Unit price in rmb |
Quantity | Total in rmb |
| The Wizard of Oz | 12 | 6 | 72 |
| Congling Story | 12 | 6 | 72 |
| Little Wolf | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Sparrow in City | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Wise of city | 12 | 10 | 120 |
| Classical Fairy Tale | 3.98 | 10 | 39.8 |
| Protect Environment | 6.8 | 10 | 68 |
| Cucurbit Moppet | 5 | 12 | 60 |
| Cabalistic Bird Egg | 8.8 | 6 | 52.8 |
| Wonderful New Year party | 8.8 | 6 | 52.8 |
| Three-haired Outcast Notes | 8.9 | 10 | 89 |
| A Man Who Looks Like Father | 10 | 12 | 120 |
| Big Head Son and SmallHead Father | 10 | 12 | 120 |
| The Feeling of Beco ming a Princess | 18 | 10 | 180 |
| Avifauna | 12 | 12 | 144 |
| Female Sailor | 16.5 | 10 | 165 |
| Shoe- Maker’s Son | 18 | 10 | 180 |
| Gelin Fairy Tale | 9.5 | 10 | 95 |
| Fabuer Insect Notes | 22.8 | 8 | 182.4 |
| Ten Noisy Animals | 15 | 10 | 150 |
| Goddesses in the Moon | 10 | 12 | 120 |
| Kong rong Gives Away Pears | 10 | 10 | 100 |
| School Competition | 15 | 6 | 90 |
| Yi Suo fable | 19.8 | 5 | 99 |
| Go away, Don’t Disturb Me | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| No, I Don’t Want to Wash | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Hate, I Don’t Want to Eat This | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Ai, I am late Again | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Girl Who Sell Matches | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Monkey and Crab | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Golden Goose | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Mushroom Bear | 14 | 10 | 140 |
| Spy Takes Action | 12 | 10 | 120 |
| Foreign Classical & Famous Stories | 20 | 6 | 120 |
| Grass lands | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Art of Sight | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Desert | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Simple Machine | 6 | 10 | 60 |
| Honest Brave Children | 11.8 | 8 | 94.4 |
| Smart Children | 11.8 | 8 | 94.4 |
| Hard StudyingChildren | 11.8 | 8 | 94.4 |
| Little King (10 volumes) | 100 | 1 | 100 |
| Little Zhuoma | 10 | 10 | 100 |
| Bird & Insect Kingdom | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Wild Animal Kingdom | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Science beside us | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Sea Animal World | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Dinosaur Kingdom | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Traveling China | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Secret of Body | 5.5 | 10 | 55 |
| Smart Yi Xiu | 10 | 8 | 80 |
| Lucky Children (4 volumes) | 28 | 8 | 224 |
| 100 Moral Character Fairy Tales | 15.8 | 5 | 79 |
| 100 Lizhi Fairy Tales | 15.8 | 5 | 79 |
| Classical story | 19.50 | 3 | 58.50 |
| The King of Chinese Story | 15.80 | 5 | 79 |
| Miqi Wonderful Hose(Happy Day of Hot Dog) | 15 | 6 | 90 |
| Encyclo pedia of Animal’s World (3volumes) | 50.40 | 3 | 151.2 |
| The Story of One Hundred People Becoming Useful | 19.80 | 3 | 59.40 |
| ClassicalMyths (2 volumes) | 39.60 | 3 | 118.80 |
| Fluctuate Five Thous and Years of China (2 volumes) | 31.60 | 4 | 126.40 |
| Let Children Get Story of Benefits in their Life | 28 | 6 | 168 |
| The World Famous Fairy Tale Choiceness | 12 | 10 | 120 |
| Chinese Characters Description | 9.90 | 6 | 59.40 |
| Mobilization of Delicious Food | 14.80 | 6 | 88.80 |
| 360 Most Special Animals | 10 | 6 | 60 |
| Mammals | 6 | 6 | 36 |
| Antu Sheng Fairy tales | 15 | 5 | 75 |
| 101 Classical Allegories | 19.50 | 3 | 58.50 |
| 101 Classical Fairy Tales | 19.80 | 3 | 59.40 |
| Conundrums | 8 | 3 | 24 |
| Choices for World Fairy Tales | 26 | 3 | 78 |
| 1001 Nights | 25 | 5 | 125 |
| Animal Story | 25 | 3 | 75 |
| 365 Nights story | 25 | 3 | 75 |
| Xi You Ji | 26.8 | 5 | 134 |
| Dream of the Chamber | 26.80 | 5 | 134 |
| Lakh Why? | 12 | 6 | 72 |
| The Pupil’s Composition | 28 | 6 | 168 |
| The Pupil’s New Com position of Examination | 19.80 | 6 | 118.8 |
| New Topic Composition | 18 | 6 | 108 |
| New Compositionof Looking at Pictures | 18 | 6 | 108 |
| Multiple Abilities to use Phrase Dictionary | 18 | 3 | 54 |
| Thesaurus, synonyms and antonym | 26 | 6 | 156 |
| Sequel Dictionary | 7 | 3 | 21 |
| Orders of Strokes Criterion Dictionary | 18 | 3 | 54 |
| Making Words and Sentences Dictionary | 10 | 6 | 60 |
| Total | 632 books | 7,863.2 |
* Detailed list of English books
| Book name | Unit price in rmb |
quantity | Total Cost in rmb |
| Kids Study English (6 volumes) | 24 | 8 |
192 |
| English Letter Wall Map | 3.8 | 8 |
30.4 |
| Kids Early Teaching Wall Book | 12.5 | 8 |
100 |
| Children Study English Happily | 16.8 | 10 |
168 |
| English Introduction for Children (3 volumes) | 45 | 6 |
270 |
| Children English | 70 | 2 |
140 |
| Frog Pathfinder | 6.9 | 8 |
55.2 |
| Beautiful Nature | 13 | 6 |
78 |
| Calligraphy | 13 | 12 |
156 |
| Sincere Companion | 13 | 6 |
78 |
| Kissing, My Family | 13 | 6 |
78 |
| The Preparation for Entering Primary School | 16.8 | 6 |
100.8 |
| Jia Jia and Pees | 11.5 | 3 |
34.5 |
| My First English Book | 6 | 15 |
90 |
| Say Goodbye | 11.5 | 3 |
34.5 |
| Little Ya Ya | 11.5 | 3 |
34.5 |
| Little Mole Moves to a New Place | 11.5 | 3 |
34.5 |
| Xiao Bo’s First Christmas | 12 | 12 |
144 |
| Xiao Bo’s Little Sister | 12 | 12 |
144 |
| Scene Glossaryand Conversation | 19.8 | 12 |
237.6 |
| Olympic Glossary and Conversation | 20 | 12 |
240 |
| Kindergarten English (2 volumes) | 21.6 | 6 |
129.6 |
| Qingzi story (12 volumes) | 103.2 | 3 |
309.6 |
| Disney Mystic English | 13 | 6 |
78 |
| English exercises (4 volumes) | 25 | 8 |
200 |
| Happy English Classroom for Children | 12.8 | 8 |
102.4 |
| Training Scheme | 13.5 | 10 |
135 |
| Happy English | 11.1 | 15 |
166.5 |
| Happy Kindergarten | 12 | 6 |
72 |
| Good Kids Study English (4 volumes) | 39.2 | 6 |
235.2 |
| English Conundrum | 8.5 | 12 |
102 |
| Gudi Kindergarten | 15 | 16 |
240 |
| First Dictionary | 33 | 5 |
165 |
| The ABC of New Phonetic Symbols for English | 14.8 | 3 |
44.4 |
| Oxford English and Chinese dictionary | 17.9 | 8 |
143.2 |
| Choiceness English and Chinese dictionary | 20 | 6 |
120 |
| Writing English | 6 | 12 |
72 |
| The Fooling Donkey | 16 | 3 |
48 |
| The Wolf and Crane | 16 | 3 |
48 |
| Total | 297 books | 4,851 |
Sustainability
The school leader Mr. Wang Tiandong and teachers, who have been chosen as the main librarians, will take responsibility for making sure the books are not damaged or lost. Teaching materials will be protected well by teachers. Also each grade will choose two students to be librarians, and they will take turns to monitor the books. They will make certain rules in the library. Each month, the school leader will take an inventory of all the books.
A map of the project location
