May 19, 2007
<By Graeme Smith>
With only six weeks to go before my thesis should be in the examiners’ hands, there hasn’t been much time for this blog. But post-July, things should improve.
In the meantime, here’s some pictures from just one of the latest round of schools which will be receiving assistance from the Fur Elise Foundation soon. Set up by a wonderful Dutch woman to help impoverished schools in rural China, the Fur Elise Foundation has provided sporting, musical, and art equipment to over 20 remote primary schools since 2004. Elise has also improved the conditions of the children by providing running water and lighting for several schools.
This school is located in Shiyang He Village, in a particularly remote corner of Huoshan. Click on the link below to view photos, and to see what sort of items we typically provide for the primary schools. The photos were taken by Kang Ming, who works for a local NGO. To gain an idea of the costs involved, one Australian dollar currently buys 6.32 yuan.
shiyang-he-proposed-funding.doc
January 12, 2007
This site has been set up to help people interested in Fanchong Primary School keep track of the school and its activities. We also hope that perhaps the blog will encourage others to think of ways they might be able to contribute to the school – either financially or by volunteering time and skills to the ‘Friends of Fanchong’ project.
Our involvement with the school began when Dr. Graeme Smith, a researcher at the Australian National University’s Contemporary China Centre visited Anhui Province in 2004. Graeme was based at the Centre for Environment, Development and Poverty Alleviation in Huoshan – about an hour’s drive from Fanchong Village.
At the same time, Lucy Montgomery, at that time a doctoral candidate at Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries Research and Applications Centre was also conducting fieldwork in Beijing. Although China’s economy is growing very quickly, many are being left behind. Lucy was interested in finding ways of helping vulnerable Children in China to avoid a cycle of poverty that often begins with an inadequate education.
With the help of staff from the Centre for Environment, Development and Poverty Alleviation and fellow University based researchers including Professor John Hartley, Dr. Marcus Foth, Tanya Notley, Wu Qiongli, Graeme and Lucy set out to find ways of helping to improve the situation at Fanchong Primary School.
Activities to date include:
* Fundraising for art supplies and sports equipment;
* Translating ‘Digital Stories’ made by kids at Cherbourg State School into Chinese and delivering them to the kids at Fanchong;
* Sharing photos, stories and letters between Cherbourg State School in rural queensland and Fanchong Primary;
Why not check out the Fanchong Project website?
