Editor's Note

With the care of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and under the leadership of the All-China Women's Federation, the China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) launched the Spring Bud Project in 1989, to help impoverished girls return to school, and to promote girls' education in disadvantaged areas.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, in 2012, with the attention and concern of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core, and with the strong support of Peng Liyuan, special envoy of the Spring Bud Project for promoting girls' education, the project has conducted various activities to care for and support girls, and it has focused on girls' education, safety and health. During the past decade, the project has supported 1.76 million girls, and it has provided one-on-one companionship services and personalized psychological counseling to 133,400 girls. After they receive support from the project, the Spring Bud girls never forget to give back to society. With love and various actions, the girls have demonstrated the Spring Bud spirit of "unremitting self-improvement, striving for excellence, developing stronger virtues and pursuing better lives."

Today, we introduce a new section, Spring Bud Blooms, to share stories about Spring Bud girls who have grown up and become contributing members of society, and to encourage society to care for the development of girls. Chai Xinrui is one of them.

Chai Xinrui gives a class at Shangyao Xinnan Primary School.

Chai Xinrui is a senior student, majoring in chemical engineering and technology, at Guangxi University, in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. She has gained greater confidence and momentum — in her efforts to both complete her university education and sail against headwinds — since she became a recipient of the Spring Bud Project three years ago.

Chai is one of four children from a rural family in Maji, a town in Dingtao District, in Heze, a city in East China's Shandong Province. Her parents have earned a living by farming and doing odd jobs.

Chai's grandmother has Parkinson's disease, which consumes a lot of the family's money each month. The family also has to pay the living expenses of Chai's younger sister, who is a middle school student, though she has qualified for the national exemption of tuition fees. Chai's parents must also buy baby formula and other products for her twin, infant brothers, and that is a financial burden.

Although life is not easy for the family, Chai's parents attached importance to her education. When Chai was admitted to middle school, in an urban area of Heze, her mother found a job in a food-processing factory near the school, so she could accompany and take care of Chai.

Chai Xinrui (second from left) poses for a group photo with her teammates during the national college students chemical engineering design competition.

Chai, who felt the love and support of her family, studied hard. When she enrolled at Guangxi University, she began to worry about the tuition and living expenses.

Chai's head teacher in high school introduced Chai to the Spring Bud Project, and advised her to apply for assistance.

In January 2020, several cadres from Dingtao Women's Federation visited Chai, at her home, and offered financial assistance from the project. They also gave Chai a down-filled jacket and encouraged her to keep studying hard.

Since then, cadres from Dingtao Women's Federation have visited Chai annually. They also talk with her on the phone regularly, because they care about her life and studies.

"Spring Bud Project not only helps relieve the pressure and burdens in my life, but also makes me feel the love and care from caring people and society. I will pass on the love and give back to society in the future," Chai says.

Over the past three years, Chai has organized and participated in various volunteer activities, such as caring for seniors, serving as a provisional teacher and joining in fundraising activities.

"We call on the students of our university to collect waste, such as cardboard boxes, and donate the money from selling the waste to help children in need. We also organize charity-sale activities on campus … and then donate the money, as well as clothes and other materials, to children in mountainous areas," Chai says. 

Chai Xinrui (third from left, second row) poses for a group photo with her schoolmates during a public-welfare activity.

When she served as a provisional teacher, at a remote primary school, her classes were well-received by the pupils. She says bright smiles on the children's faces, and their eagerness for knowledge, firmed up her determination to participate in public-welfare activities.

Chai is now a probationary member of the Communist Party of China, and she is resolved to carry forward the spirit of selfless contributions to the causes of the Party and people.

Chai has received many awards and scholarships in recognition of her academic performance.

She has also participated in work-study programs, to ease the burden on her family, and she has assisted teachers in their work and helped her classmates with their studies.

When she is asked why she decided to study chemical engineering and technology, Chai explains she is interested in the major, and adds she hopes to improve the lives of more people with technological innovation.

Chai is preparing to write the national postgraduate-entrance exam, which will be held at the end of this year. "I hope I can continue to study and do scientific research, and repay society with practical actions," Chai says.

Photos Supplied by CCTF

(Women of China English Monthly)