President's Message
Operational Report
Events
Abstracts of Student Application Letters
What SOAR Can Accomplish
In the several months since I began to work for the SOAR Foundation, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the program that we members and volunteer workers have tried to build. Even as I continue to learn more about the program I would like to share my reflections with you.
The program needs to grow, and all of us associated with the program are trying to make it grow. The aim of the SOAR Foundation is to enable motivated rural children from very poor families in China to continue their education. There are literally a countless number of these children and in the foreseeable future-despite the rapid development of China-local resources will not be sufficient to cast a supporting net for them. This is particularly true in the interior provinces targeted by SOAR> We need to harness all possible sources of funds - from generous individuals, foundations aand corporations - and channel them to the needy children.
In the short run, SOAR helps to enrich the lives of the children it supports. But this is too narrow a perspective. The purpose should be seen more broadly. Even if we are fortunate in ouur effort to raise more funds, it is obvious that we will have to rely on what we may identify as the "multiplier effect". Most of the children who receive the education made possible by SOAR will serve their communities in the future. As these communities prosper, they may begin to become self-supporting and thus take off on a course of accelerated growth. SOAR plays the role of a catalyst. To maximize its effectiveness, we need to go beyond the simple criterion of neediness and select children who are able, motivated, and have leadership qualities.
In the rural areas targeted by SOAR, individuals with a high school education make a great difference to the future development of a community. They are able to reach out to the outside world through books, newspapers and magzines, and to use the new knowledge socially and economically. In the meantime, without the help from SOAR, the children of high school ages are more likely to be compelled to join the labor force because of the economic pressure on their families. Therefore SOAR focuses on helping the children at the beginning of their high school education and, if they make good progress, continuing the help until they graduate from high school. This help, supplemented by the mentor program of SOAR, provides auxiliary assistance when and where it is needed.
The effort by SOAR may be likened to lighting candles in a dark hall. It should start in the darkest-poorest-corners. It is hoped that, with the announcement of SOAR awards in a community, motivation to learn by all the candidates will enhance education bears fruit, SOAR can move on to cover other corners.
Within the limits set by the availability of funnnds, SOAR hopes to brighten the horizon.
T.Y. Shen
The SOAR Foundation has an annual meeting to review the program and to plan for the future operation. In 1997 the annual meeting will be held in Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove (near Monterey) on August 16 and 17. All members are welcome to attend the meeting. If you are interested, please call Bob Roll at 415-495-8559 and he will help you to make the reservations. We also plan to hold regular fund raising events. You will be notified as these occur.
A Report on SOAR Foundation Operations
In its first year, 1996, the SOAR Foundation awarded 262 scholarships to deserving and needy secondary school students in rural China. Of the recipients, 139 or 53% are female and 123 or 47% are male. These 262 students were selected from 758 applicants from 22 provinces. A distribution of applications and awards by province is shown in the table below.
The value of each scholarship is 500 Yuan, roughly equivalent to US$60, to cover the living costs, tuition, and supplies for one year of schooling. Scholarships are initially awarded for one year but are renewed for those students who are successful in their academic work and plan to continue their education. Given the inflation in China, the award will be raised to the equivalent of approximately US$85 in 1997.
Application forms for scholarships were distributed in China through two channels: the Rural
Library Network and a group of selected teachers who had received recognition from Tseng Education Foundation. The
applications were evaluated by volunteer university professors and scholars living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The first round of evaluators read each application-autobiographies and recommendation letters- and
scored them with numerical scores from 1 to 3. Those applications receiving a score of 1 or 1.5
were given to the second round evaluators, who again score them on a scale from 1 to 3. All of the
applicants with top scores after the second round were reviewed by the program committee at a nine
hour meeting, where the final selections were made. The program committee is led by Youzhi Ma and
Faith Chao. These evaluators put in many hours of hard work and their efforts are much appreciated.
| Province | # Applications | # Awards |
| An-hui | 11 | 3 |
| Gan-su | 31 | 9 |
| Gui-zhou | 132 | 42 |
| Guang-xi | 6 | 2 |
| He-bei | 43 | 13 |
| Hei-long-jiang | 11 | 5 |
| Henan | 25 | 10 |
| Hu-bei | 4 | 2 |
| Hu-nan | 49 | 19 |
| Jiang-su | 26 | 14 |
| Jiang-xi | 29 | 8 |
| Liao-ning | 10 | 4 |
| Nei Mongol | 48 | 24 |
| Ning Xia | 40 | 26 |
| Qing-hai | 11 | 2 |
| Shaan-xi | 32 | 16 |
| Shan-dong | 4 | 1 |
| Shan-xi | 18 | 6 |
| Si-chuan | 45 | 20 |
| Xin-jiang | 17 | 4 |
| Yun-nan | 79 | 14 |
| Zhe-jiang | 10 | 1 |
The major goal of the SOAR Foundation is to developcommunity leaders in the villages of rural China. To fulfill this goal, a mentor program is established to complement the scholarship program. The mentors provide advice, encouragement and guidance to the scholarship winners. They are assigned to provide continuous support during the students' middle school years and hopefully the relationship will extend to the years after the students have begun their careers.
During this first year, it was difficult to recruit a mentor for each student. Only at the end of 1996 were a sufficient number of mentors found. Each of the mentors corresponds regularly with his/her students. The Foundation provides each mentor with address stickers, envelops and postage stamps to facilitate the exchange. Most of the mentors write and read Chinese. It has been arranged that those mentors who can't may send their letters, written in English, to the SOAR Foundation office. One of the SOAR associates in China, Professor Gu Zhao-qi of Tsinghua University, will recruit gradute students at his university to translate and forward the letters.
Any member who has not signed up to be a mentor is welcome to take advantage of this opportunity in the coming year. Please contact the SOAR office.
Next year the number of the SOAR Foundation awards will be determined by the success of our membership drive and fund raising efforts. The SOAR Foundation is planning to apply to other charitable foundations and corporations for support. The grant application proposal has been completed and will soon be sent out. The Foundation is also planning fund raising events and new membership drives.
Fund raising is essential if we are to continue to support the present scholarship holders and to award scholarships to new applicants. The objective of the SOAR Foundation is to receive 1000 new applications and to make a total of 500 scholarship awards in 1997.
In January applications will be mailed to the agents in China. The deadline for acceptance of new applications is in May. Final selection of new scholars will be completed in July. It has been estimated that more than 2000 manhours of work are required to process the applications. Voluntary help is urgently invited.
"When I am struggling with my education, I often remember the childhood of scientist Edison. This boosts my confidence, but I often wonder why the electricity bulb he invented so long ago still has not lit up the places where we live. I have to follow his example and learn enough to change the poor conditions of my village where I grow up. I am the youngest in my family. My parents do not require me to do farm work but expect me to excel in school. My school record has been outstanding for the last five years... The village where I live produces tung oil, but over the last few years many of the tung trees have died, which have made the lives of our poor villagers still harder..."
-Lo Youngfu, male
Zhenning Autonomous County,
Guizhou Province.
"Our family of six depends on my father's work of making noodles. My mother s health is very poor. In order to meet the expense of educating myself and my brother, in addition to paying for our living costs, my father gets up extremely early and returns home long after dark. Everyday when I see him leaving, I quietly realize that giving me the opportunity for an education does not come easily. It comes from the sweat and blood of my hardworking parents. I will definately treasure my opportunity of going to school...I have to do a lot of homework, but I persist on getting to school and do my best at everything."
-Yang Chiping, Age 12, Male
Rujiang City, Jiang-xi Province
"There are six people in our family. During the last few years there has been famine in our village. My family can't afford exercise books so I use the backs of the pages in the old exercise book for my new work. Due to our family's financial difficulties the school does not require me to pay tuition. When I was in the third grade I started paying close attention to my school work. Whenever I have time I study my new lessons and review the old ones. This year I participated in the national science contest and won the second prize in the elementary school category. I also won a speech contest at a commemoration ceremony of our country's founding. ...One day my parents told me that hail had wiped out our family's crop and I could no longer go to school. I don't mind wearing torn clothes or eating cheap food. But I felt that learning is essential if my family is going to end its tradition of illiteracy."
-Xin Yuan, Age 11, Male
Libo County, Qing-hai Province
"We are a farming family. My father's health is very bad, so our family's livelihood depends on my mother's work. We save every yuan to support my sister's schooling. We have no money to care for my father's illness. My mother cannot spend what she needs for proper food and clothing, because we don't have enough money to pay for the necessities.
My parents often say, "We have worked our whole lives and got nowhere becuase we are not educated. Both of you were born at a good time. If you study hard, you will have a better future and can work for your country." Both my parents and my teacher have taught me to grow up properly. I not only do my school work but also help my classmates to learn their lessons. I am always one of the top three students."
-Lu Baochang, Age 12, Male
Jishou City, Hubei Province
"We are a peasant family and depend on our hands to make a living. In the last seven years seldom have we been free from hunger, and our family has been unable to send us to school. One day my father bought me a bundle of textbooks and told me, "You can go to school now. Here are your books."I jumped with joy and walked through the school house door. Later on my mother told me that the money for my books had come from the selling of the family chickens.
Shortly after my first year in school my mother became seriously ill. We could not continue my education for a year...I remember one time as a third grader when I needed a book, our family had to sell five jin of beans, which was the only food we had left...I know it is very difficult for my family to pay for my education, so I try very hard to learn in order to repay my parents' devotion and love.
-Bai Xiaoming, Male
Xiagou Village
Our family consists of my mother, my sister and me. My brother died ten years ago. My father, who wanted to continue his family name and wanted a boy instead of a girl, married a new wife and heartlessly deserted the three of us.
The three of us earn 100 yuan a year. Almost every May or June we don't have enough to meet our living expenses, but our mother insists that we continue our education. She often pleads with the school to loan us money for books. Fortunately my teavher sympathizes our family's plight and tries his best to help. Therefore I try my best at whatever I do, and my teacher praises me. I cannot describe how happy that makes me. I was one of the top students in my class from the first grade to the sixth grade..."
-Yu Jiali, Age 13, Female
Zhenning County, Guizhou Province
SOAR Foundation in a nutshell
The SOAR Foundation is completely staffed by volunteers. The chairperson (Ms, Siu Fong Huang) is the founder and her endowment provides a major share of the resources of the Foundation. She is supported by an Advisory Committee, whose distinguished members are Nobel Laureate John Harsanyi, Professors S.S. Chern, S.S. Chu, T.Y. Lin, and W. M. Tu with a Board of directors who perform the day to day operational tasks. At the present the president is T.Y.Shen, and the vice president is Ma Youzhi.
The tasks of the SOAR Foundation are carried out by the members of a number of committees:
-Executive Committee (made up of all the Board Directors) is the policy making group;
-Progrram Committee (Ma Youzhi and Faith Chao, co-chairs) processes scholarship applications and makes the final awards;
-Fund Raising Committee (Margret Tan and Leong Tan, co-chairs) stages fund raising events and makes applications for support from foundations and corporations;
-Membership Committee (Julia Tung, chair) maintains contacts with existing members and launches new membership drives;
-Public Relations Committee (John MacMeeken, chair);
-Volunteer Committee (albert Tso, chair) recruits and coordinates volunteers;
-Finance Committee (Irene Sun Fong, chair) keeps income reports;
-Secretarial Committee (Lydia Wan and Bob Roll, co-chairs) keeps records of official functions and transactions.
All the directors and officials of the Foundation can be reached via the SOAR Foundation office at 333 Third Street, San Francisco, Ca. 94107. The telephone number is 415-495-8559. The fax number is 415-543-2778. There is also a web page on line. The web site is "URL:http://www3.mediacity.com/-soar".
At the end of each year a Newsletter and in the middle of each year a brief Newsnote will be publisched to keep all the members informed about the operations of the Foundation.
The SOAR Foundation would like to thank all the volunteers who helped during 1996.