Thanks to the Tibetan Development Assistance Trust for providing 50,000 RMB for this project. This, plus a donation of 39,900 RMB by the Standard Chartered Bank China (Limited), and a local contribution of 9,000 RMB, created a school construction project of 99,200 RMB that benefited 400 local Tibetans (49 households) in Jianke Tibetan Village, Jinyuan Tibetan Autonomous Township, Hualong Hui Autonomous County, Haidong Region, Qinghai Province, China. The funds were used to build 2 classrooms, 2 teacher quarters, a toilet for both teachers and students, 15 desk and chair sets for students, 4 metal stoves for both teachers and students, 2 sets of teacher desks, and 2 beds. The school now has 32 students--a preparatory class, and grade 1 and grade 2 classes.
The village leader said, "Ten additional students will attend school next semester. When I was a child, school conditions were very poor and villagers were unaware of the importance of education. Our parents kept us at home so we could herd livestock in the mountains. This explains why 90% of village adults are illiterate. Now, we have many difficulties be because we do not know Chinese. For example, it is hard for us to find toilets in cities and it is also very hard for us to find work in cities. These difficulties have convinced us that education is important."