In order to help more children in the mountains, Xu Benyu initiated the establishment of the "Hengai" fund. This fund is based on his scholarship of NT$2,400 and accepts donations from all walks of life. He hoped to get further support from his alma mater, so he wrote three lette

In order to help more children in the mountains, Xu Benyu initiated the establishment of the "Hengai" fund. This fund is based on his scholarship of NT$2,400 and accepts donations from all walks of life.

He hoped to get further support from his alma mater, so he wrote three letters to Yang Shaobo, then secretary of the Youth League Committee of Huazhong Agricultural University, reporting on his work and life and the difficulties of Dashi Primary School, and hoped that his alma mater would extend a loving hand to help a group of children in the mountains.

Xu Benyu’s first letter was written like this:

I am a little busier this semester. In addition to attending classes, I also gave several reports. Some are arranged by the Youth League Committee, and some are invited by the school. Originally, I didn’t like to give reports, and always thought it was a kind of publicity. Later, I thought about it. As long as I don’t relax my requirements, through reports, I can let others know about the living and learning status of children in mountainous areas and contribute my love. Isn’t it a good thing!

In early April, I went to Dashui Township to give a report and visited two primary schools. One of them, Dashi Primary School, is in even worse condition than the original Cave Primary School, and its education is in tatters. This school may be the place where I will teach in the second half of the year. I want to go back to my alma mater during the summer vacation, but I also miss home. I wonder how everything is going at home?

Three days later, Xu Benyu was invited to another school to participate in the Children's Day. After returning, he wrote another letter:

On June 1st, I went to visit a primary school, about 10 kilometers away from Maochang Town. Half of the roads are inaccessible even to motorcycles and can only be passed on foot. Ordinary people can only earn 4 yuan by carrying 100 kilograms of stuff for others to sell in Maochang Town, 10 kilometers away. There was no way to transport coal locally, so we had to carry it manually, which made me feel very sad. Comparing them and thinking about those who live in big cities, we should not have any complaints.

I have seen this reality a lot. My heart is heavy and I am under a lot of pressure. I always want to help a bunch of children in the mountains. Some students are so pitiful. Now I am thinner, more mature and "older" than before.

I sincerely hope that my alma mater can extend a loving hand and help a bunch of children in the mountains! As long as every student and teacher in the school donates one yuan every year, many students can go to school! Every student and teacher only needs to collect used books and magazines a year. If one person sells 1.5 kilograms a year, how many children can be brought back to school?

Three days later, after careful consideration, Xu Benyu summarized the problems he wanted the school to help solve and wrote another letter. He focused on three ideas in his letter:

First, can you lend me 5,000 yuan through the school league committee? I am worried that my living expenses will not be enough for the next year. This semester, the Provincial Youth League Committee will distribute 500 yuan every month. I can save as much as I can. I want to use it to support 50 students and reduce their tuition fees. I asked other departments of the school a few days ago and they said that loans can no longer be granted. Second, after I return to Han, can the school select 2-3 more volunteers to continue teaching every year? The candidates can be graduate students or student leaders who want to stay and work in the school. A year is not a long time, but it is a kind of exercise and improvement in all aspects. Third, I would like to ask if there is any company looking for charity ambassadors. I want to help children in the mountains in this way.

In addition, can the school send my deeds materials to the China Youth Development Foundation to participate in the annual poverty eradication award selection. I'm not doing it for the honors, I'm just doing it to get funds to support students. I know this idea is wrong, but this is the only thing I can do now.

Xu Benyu finished writing this letter in the early morning of June 5th. He felt very uneasy. He didn't know whether these efforts would bear fruit, and he couldn't sleep for a long time.

These three letters seem to be written casually, but in fact they are the beginning of Xu Benyu's transition from personal teaching to calling for love, which is of great significance.The three letters flew to Wuhan and attracted great attention at Huazhong Agricultural University, just like butterflies flapping their wings in the Amazon Basin and setting off a storm in the Mississippi River Basin.

The leaders of the Youth League Committee of Huazhong Agricultural University quickly received the letter, took it seriously after reading it, and forwarded it to the main leaders of the school, which aroused great concern among the leaders. Professor Li Zhongyun, secretary of the party committee of the school, said: "I want to go and see it and support Xu Benyu. You can give some money to repair the primary school building. As a national key university, it should do something for basic education in the west. This is the university's social responsibility."

Dashui Yi and Miao Buyi Township is a newly built ethnic township in 2001. It is located in the eastern part of Dafang County, 67 kilometers away from the county seat. The total population of the township is more than 12,600, of which ethnic minorities account for 76%. The township has more than 12,300 acres of arable land, which mainly produces corn, potatoes, soybeans, and flue-cured tobacco. However, the average altitude is 1,600 meters and it is a karst landform, so the crop yield is not high. The township economy is very backward, with the per capita income of the township being less than 500 yuan. Except for the township government, all villages in the township do not have telephone access, and most villages do not have electricity. The road leading to the county town is a tractor-taught road and is in extremely poor condition.

There are 14 primary schools in Dashui Township, including 3 public primary schools, 11 village primary schools and 4 private primary schools. There are 2,340 primary school students and 103 teachers in the township, of which only 54 are formal teachers, and formal teachers with junior high school or high school education account for 40%. Substitute teachers are mainly junior high school students. Each primary school student pays 140 yuan in tuition, miscellaneous fees, and book fees every year, but many farmers are still unable to pay, causing their children to drop out of school.

Dashi Village is 18 kilometers away from the seat of the township government. There was no road at that time. The villagers are mainly from the Yi ethnic group, and there are two households from the Buyi ethnic group. The annual per capita income is only about 200 yuan. The villagers mainly grow corn and potatoes as rations, but the harvest in the fields is often not enough to eat, so they have to earn some money by raising pigs and chickens or carrying coal in small coal mines.

The streets of Dashui Township

However, Dashi Village has always had a tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education. Dashi Elementary School was built in 1943, formerly known as "National Dashi Elementary School" and has a history of more than 60 years. The only "teaching building" of Dashi Primary School was built in the 1940s, and it was already crumbling at that time. A total of 110 students in 6 classes of 6 grades attend classes in this old building.

Dashi Primary School is a village-run primary school without any investment from the state. Teachers only have a junior high school education and their monthly salary is 110 yuan. However, because many students are in arrears with their tuition fees, this 110 yuan is just a policy figure.

"In the most difficult years of the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang was still able to build such a primary school; now so many years after liberation, why can't the Communist Party do a good job in it?" This is the thought of many local villagers. From this perspective, it is even more meaningful to help this school.

On May 1, 2004, the Dashi Village Committee made a major decision: to mobilize the whole village to donate money to celebrate Children's Day grandly. All village cadres, party members, and teachers donated generously and raised more than 500 yuan. The children rehearsed theatrical performances and had a happy festival, which also brought laughter to the remote mountain village.

More than a month later, on June 26, Professor Peng Guangguang and Teacher Fan Jingqun from Huazhong Agricultural University came to Dafang County, Guizhou Province. They visited Goudiaoyan Primary School in Maochang Town and Dashi Primary School in Dashui Township, and were deeply shocked when they saw the faded donation notice.

What deeply shocked the two university teachers was not only the poverty in Dashi Village, but more importantly, the local people’s tenacious struggle against poverty, especially the children’s strong desire for knowledge. Their blackboards are small because chalk is expensive, so they don't want too big a blackboard or too many teachers writing on the blackboard; the desks can overturn at any time, but the children have long been accustomed to it. As long as they can study, they don't care about any difficulties; the building may collapse at any time, but as long as it doesn't collapse and as long as they can still study, even if they are in danger, it won't be a problem... What kind of power drives them in their hearts? In such a harsh environment, they must study, study, and study again? What kind of force is driving them and making them so eager for the nourishment of knowledge?

The two teachers immediately reported the investigation to the Party Committee and leaders of Huazhong Agricultural University. In the inspection report, they wrote: “The villagers of Dashi are simple and have a tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education.The village-run primary school is in disrepair and is crumbling. The classrooms are separated by bamboo fences to allow light and ventilation. Large areas of the roof were leaking, and plastic sheets and cardboard were used to protect them from the rain. The floor has long been worn and uneven, cracked and creaking everywhere, making it scary to walk on it. The classroom was dimly lit and the desks were incomplete. Many students used broken wooden boards to put up the desks at both ends and crowded together to attend class. The blackboard is small and worn. In such a classroom, children study seriously and attentively, and the sound of books resounds throughout the mountains and fields, and everyone who hears it is moved. "

Before the two teachers from Huazhong Agricultural University left Dafang, the principal, Professor Zhang Duanpin, called. Principal Zhang said: "The school has made a decision to donate 80,000 yuan to help Xu Benyu to build a new school building for the local primary school. "

After hearing about it, the leaders of the Dafang County Party Committee and Youth League Committee made it clear that they respect Xu Benyu's wishes and firmly support him no matter where he teaches in Dafang County.

Xu Benyu is very happy. This is what he has fought for for Dashi Primary School through hard work. It is the first time he has played a role as a bridge and link. He has a strong sense of pride.

"Volunteers should become a bridge and a link. The role and value of volunteers should be played to a greater extent, and the meaning will be greater. "Xu Benyu said.

(Excerpted from my work "For the Children in the Mountains", Guizhou People's Publishing House, January 2017 edition)