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Page 4 of 4
Children from heaven
Tzu Chi volunteers have been working to improve education in Ladysmith since 1997. The children they helped at that time are now in college. The volunteers are delighted to see how the children have grown and changed.
Volunteer Fang said that one student couldn't afford the college tuition and planned to give up studying. Tzu Chi paid his tuition so that he could continue studying. In the second semester the young man received a scholarship, so he told the volunteers that they didn't have to help him anymore.Fang added that many children's parents were poor and had little education. They worked in low-paying jobs and had problems feeding themselves. Fang didn't want the children to end up like their parents.
Another student whose grades were always among the top three in the class told the volunteers that he wanted to be a policeman in the future. This surprised the volunteers because public order in South Africa was not very good, and the police constantly had to risk their lives; in addition, the income was not very good and most people did not consider the job honorable. The volunteers later learned that this child had lost his parents and depended on help from his teachers. He said that if he could become a policeman, he would never go hungry. Therefore, the volunteers promised him that they would help him until he graduated.
Fang sighed and said that many children in Ladysmith faced similar situations, and Ho added that he really didn't want to give up on these adorable children. As long as Tzu Chi promotes education in Ladysmith, they will do their best to give these children a good future.
South Africa has changed much since 1994. Although there are still not enough classrooms or teachers--a teacher usually has to teach two grades--the government is still trying to improve conditions despite limited funding.Jabulani observed that it wasn't easy to reorganize the government. Ntandoyenkosi added that teachers are doing their best to improve the children's education because it can't be postponed. Children are a nation's future; if they are illiterate, the nation is dead. Jabulani promised that that he will never stop teaching these children, even when he isn't a teacher or when he isn't in the classroom, because they are his children and he can't stop loving them!
The teachers agree that they have a long way to go, but they know that they aren't alone because Tzu Chi will stay with them. With love from so many people, Zulu children are indeed children from heaven.
By Liu Ya-hsien
Translated by Lin Sen-shou
Photographs by Yen Lin-chao
