Overview

What We Are Doing:

In an effort to assist in the aftermath of China’s recent, devastating earthquake, we are establishing a scholarship fund for middle school students in Beichuan county, Sichuan province, China. This fund will directly benefit the 3^rd year students at Guixi Junior High School in Beichuan county, and will be applied to providing for dormitory fees, food and clothing for the upcoming school year. The total number of 3^rd year students at Guixi Junior High School is approximately 198 students, most of whom are of the Qiang ethnic minority. It is our goal to provide stipends to cover dorm fees, cafeteria fees and provide for clothing for one year for as many of these students as possible. The total cost for said fees comes to approximately $350 per year/per student and includes annual dormitory fees, monthly food costs and clothing for one year. The fees are broken down per item in following posts.

The scholarship fund will be established and facilitated via the help of my friend and former student, You Caiguo – or, Ronald. It is through Ronald that I found out about Guixi Junior High School and a tangible way to reach out to a community that means so much for so many of us.

Our goal is to gather as much monetary support as possible over the next eight weeks, enabling us to send money directly to China at the end of August. It is our hope that this fund will encourage and invest in the futures of the students at Guixi Junior High School not only at this important and difficult time but also in a sustainable, long-term capacity in the future.

For more detailed information, we have created blog entries addressing specific aspects of the fund including who will benefit from the fund, where the school is located, how the money will be collected and sent to China, why we have chosen this particular school and area, and what exactly the money will be used for and will cover for each student.

Beyond this, we welcome questions, comments and/or suggestions!

Thank you, in advance, for your interest and support. We will keep you posted as to our progress!

Thanks!

Amy Vallance Phariss

Who We Are:

Amy Vallance Phariss is a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served as an ESL teacher in Mianyang, Sichuan from 1999 - 2001. During my time in China, I taught English to college-level students at Mianyang Teachers College. Many of these students have become teachers themselves, often in smaller, more rural towns and villages throughout the province.

I have a BA from Texas Tech University in English and history and a MA in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia. I interned for The Asia Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies and worked as a research assistant for a international consulting firm and as a researcher for The Asia Foundation on the issue of human trafficking.

You Caiguo - Ronald is a former student of the Peace Corps volunteers who served in Minayang including Amy, Erin Mudd and Jill Baumgartner. Ronald now teaches at a local middle school in downtown Mianyang, and we all keep in touch with Ronald, hearing of his continuing education, his marriage and his plans for the future. He is a man with ideas. Ronald is most famous among the PCVs for his lists. All three of us knew the feeling of coming home from teaching to find a note taped to our door:

Miss Fan (Amy) - please provide a brief explanation for the following:

Bertrand Russel, Medicaid, The Beats, Rabbit Run, Synecdoche, Hyperbole, Non-Hero, Noam Chomsky and HTTP.

Ronald was particulary disappointed when I could not define HTTP.

When I began thinking of how to help and what to do in the aftermath of the earthquake, I immediately thought of Ronald. He has been a great source of information - unbelieveably reliable, quick to respond and thoughtful during a crisis of which he is literally in the middle. Ronald has provided useful, timely and updated information on the status of life in Mianyang and the surrounding areas, and has helped identify the students for whom this fund has been established.