Li Dao-yin, 19, suffers from long-term malnutrition. Poverty has put a considerable strain on his mind as well as his body. But he never gives up hope. He is trying his best to be accepted into a fine arts university. He knows that the only way to escape a life of poverty is through education. Although the road ahead of him may be rough and bumpy, he is determined to keep going.

Bending down, Li blows the stove fire into life. The simple action is symbolic of the many children in Danzhai who are determined to ignite their torches of life with the tinder of education.

"If you think education is expensive, consider the price you pay for ignorance." This slogan hangs on the wall of Minzu High School in Danzhai, Guizhou Province, southwest China. Here, ignorance is equated with poverty. The locals believe that only the power of knowledge can break the bonds of poverty into which they are born. They believe the only way to get out of the mountainous backwoods they live in is to get an education.

Despite the fact that the coastal regions of China are rapidly growing richer and more prosperous, many areas in the hinterland are still plagued by backwardness and deprivation. Danzhai is a perfect example: Every year, tens of thousands of children in the area are forced to drop out of school due to poverty. Even those who are fortunate enough to stay in school do not know how long they will be able to afford such luxury. Such students live in constant fear of not being able to continue their schooling.

"In the whole of Danzhai, there isn't a single child who doesn't cook, do the laundry, graze cattle, or chop firewood," said Du Yu-qing (杜玉清), director of the Danzhai County Education Bureau. His remarks reveal the hard life that local children face on a daily basis.

I arrived in Danzhai in the summer of 2006 with a team of Tzu Chi volunteers. We had come to the mountainous county to hold a summer camp for local children. During the trip, I met with many young students who have refused to succumb to the pressures of a difficult life and have persisted in attending school. They know that an education is their only hope to better their lives. Their tenacity and courage in the face of adverse circumstances was truly impressive.

Determined to realize his dream

At six o'clock in the morning, the air smelled pure and refreshing. Mo Yong (莫勇), a student at Danzhai Tzu Chi Junior High School, hopped out of bed as soon as he heard the school bell tolling. He quickly made his bed and left his dormitory room to wash up in the communal washroom. Afterwards, he returned to his room, gathered up some brochures and school supplies given out by Tzu Chi volunteers the day before, and ran to the square to assemble with the other students.

Most of the students who attended the Tzu Chi summer camp were either orphans or came from poor families. Some of them attended schools constructed by Tzu Chi, and some had even received tuition scholarships from the foundation. If it weren't for such assistance, many of these students would have been forced to drop out and start a life of hard work. Their families just could not afford their tuition.

Seventh-grader Mo is small for his age, and he looked inconspicuous among the other students in the crowd. I would not have noticed him if I had not caught him secretly wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. He was taking part in a group activity called "Never Wait to Show Respect to Your Parents." The participants of the activity had a three-kilogram (seven-pound) bag of rice strapped to their stomachs to simulate the experience of pregnancy.

"When I think of how hard my mother works on the farm without me there to help her, I cannot help but feel sad," said Mo, his eyes filling with fresh tears.

Mo's parents, both in their fifties, are tenant farmers. A year ago last July, a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring burned down their home. They lost everything they owned, which aggravated the family's already difficult living conditions. To make matters even worse, all of Mo's textbooks were also destroyed by the conflagration. "Losing our home was bad enough, but losing those books really broke my heart. I felt as if my whole future had been reduced to ashes."

"Where do you and your family live now?" I asked.

"In a makeshift shed," he replied quietly. My heart ached when I thought of the family living in a hut barely strong enough to shelter them from the elements.

The following day, after driving for three hours on bumpy mountain trails, we arrived at Mo's home--a shoddily built wooden hut standing next to the fire-ravaged remains of their old house. The gaps between the wooden planks of the shelter were stuffed with newspapers.

We entered the hut and saw Mo cooking over a small stove. The stove fire had just been extinguished, and he was lifting the lid of a pan to see if the vegetables in it were cooked.

"The vegetables will be used to feed the pigs," he explained to us. He deftly picked out the remains of firewood from under the stove with a pair of tongs. "These chunks of wood have not been completely burned yet; they can still be used to build fires. No need to waste them." We were impressed by how much he cherished things.

After cooking the vegetables and chopping firewood, Mo had to prepare lunch. Later, he would prepare dinner for himself and his family. "My parents are busy working on the farm, so I always do all the household chores." Despite the heavy burden of his chores, he never complained. No matter how hard he worked, he knew his parents were working harder. They left for the fields every day before dawn, and returned home after dark--all to pay for his education. He was glad that he could help ease their burden by doing what he could at home.

Mo took out a jar of crude salt from a wooden cupboard and sprinkled some in a pan. "My life is like a condiment bottle containing all sorts of flavors--sourness, sweetness, bitterness, peppery hotness, and saltiness. I've tasted them all. All the difficulties and setbacks I've experienced in my life stem from poverty." Clearly, I could tell that Mo was mature beyond his years.

This year is the first year Mo has received scholarships from Tzu Chi. "The scholarships saved me from dropping out of school," said Mo. "But even if there were no scholarships, I would still find a way to make money to pay my tuition. I'm determined to go to school, even if I have to collect garbage to get the money."

A weak body, a strong mind

"This is Li Dao-yin (李道銀)," said Du Yu-qing, director of the Danzhai County Education Bureau. The director introduced a boy beside him who stood less than 150 cm (4'9") tall. Looking at the small, stoop-shouldered boy, I could hardly believe that he was 19 years old and would be taking the college entrance examination next year. Li had been receiving scholarships from Tzu Chi for nine years. When he heard that Tzu Chi volunteers were visiting Danzhai, he immediately expressed his strong desire to meet us.

Du gently supported Li with his hands. Seeing the boy's weakened condition, the Tzu Chi volunteers with me became concerned for his health. Dr. Wu Sen (吳森), a member of the Tzu Chi International Medical Association, promptly examined him and discovered that Li suffered from scoliosis and the effects of extreme malnutrition.

"I have diarrhea any time I eat things other than cooked rice, water, and steamed vegetables," Li confided to the doctor.

Pan Shi-you (潘世友), class director at Minzu High School, suggested that Li also might be suffering from bone tuberculosis. Pan mentioned that Li's father may have passed the bacteria to his son before he died of tuberculosis. Dr. Wu added that Li might also be suffering from gastric tuberculosis, which would explain why he was unable to digest all but the simplest of foods.

Li's family is destitute. After his father passed away nine years ago, his mother had to single-handedly take care of the whole family. Because the family was deep in debt, Li's two brothers, then 15 and 16 years old, were forced to quit school and go to work as farmers. It wasn't long before Li and his sister also had to leave school.

During that time, Li's heart was wrenched with pain whenever he saw his former classmates walking to school. Tears filled his eyes as feelings of sadness and helplessness overpowered him. Holding back his tears, he thought to himself, "How I wish someone would come to help us so that I could go back to school! I don't care if I have to walk more than 20 kilometers [12 miles] to and from school every day!"

Fortunately, Li became one of the first aid recipients when Tzu Chi volunteers started visiting Danzhai in the winter of 1997. "I'll never forget how the volunteers braved the cold of winter to deliver scholarships to us at school." Ever since returning to school, he has managed to stay in the top 20 of his class.

That afternoon, we followed Li to Minzu High School to take a look at his school life.

Li had to climb hundreds of steps to reach his classroom. Worried that it might be too strenuous for him, I put out a hand to help him. He just smiled and said, "It's all right. I can manage."

"Li always insists on walking on his own, unless he's suffering from severe joint pains induced by cold weather," said Pan, the class director. "He also always helps with household duties when he gets home from school. He never uses his poor health as an excuse to get out of doing chores."

When we arrived in Li's classroom, we found a countdown written on the blackboard: "336 days to the college entrance examination." With less than a year to prepare for the major exam, Li was working extra hard. As soon as the dismissal bell sounded, he picked up his pencil and notebook and hurried towards the school art studio to work on an unfinished pencil sketch.

"If I can get into a fine arts university, I'll work part-time to pay my living expenses. I'll also apply for student loans, if possible."

Li quoted from his favorite poem, "Since you have decided on your far-flung destination, don't fear the wind and rain that may accompany your journey." In poor health, from a poor family, and born in a poor mountainous village, he knows that the only thing he can do is to study hard and get into a good school. Completing his education is his only hope for pulling himself out of poverty.

"The rougher the path of life, the harder I must work to travel it. I will persevere," Li said. Although his voice was feeble, his spirit was as determined as it could be.

Help from Tzu Chi

Since 1997, Tzu Chi has been implementing a relief plan in Guizhou Province. Volunteers regularly visit the towns of Longquan, Xingren, Yangwu, Changqing, Nangao, Paidiao, and Yahui in Danzhai County to distribute relief goods, provide scholarships, and build schools. Over the years, Tzu Chi's efforts have benefited over 29,000 local students. Over 60 have entered college. One example is Mo An-mei (莫安梅).

"I'll never forget the day I received my acceptance letter from Yunnan Normal University, which specializes in training quality high school teachers. I held my younger brother in my arms and burst into tears," reminisced An-mei, as she squatted in front of her home washing bean pods for lunch. She recalls feeling a mixture of joy and anxiety upon receiving the acceptance letter. She was overjoyed at being accepted into the prestigious university, but at the same time worried about how to get the tuition money.

Like Li, An-mei has had a difficult life. When she was in the eighth grade, her diabetic father died of uremia. Suddenly, she was left to take care of her younger brother and their 74-year-old grandmother. None of them were able to work for a living. To pay off the enormous medical bills amassed by their father, they had to mortgage their home for a loan. With no money left over to pay for their education, An-mei and her brother were forced to drop out of school.

Because the family did not own any land, they could not even make money from farming. Grandma Mo remembered that with no means to make a living, the best they could do was to manage on low-income supplements provided by the government: about 100 renminbi (US$12.70) a month. "It was so awful that my poor grandchildren had to live in such poverty!" Grandma remarked.

Fortunately, An-mei was able to resume her schooling with financial help from relatives and Tzu Chi scholarships. Now a college student, she is studying very hard to get good grades. This in turn helps her obtain scholarships provided by the university she attends. The scholarships, along with a student loan from the Guizhou provincial government, have allowed her to stay in college. "My schoolmates can spend their money like water, but I have to lead a simple, plain life. I have a large student loan to pay back." After she graduates from Yunnan Normal, she will have to repay the loan, as well as the money borrowed from her relatives. She will also still need to support her grandmother and brother, who is currently in high school. It looks as if the family has a long way to go before they can escape from a life of poverty.

Yang Yu-ming (楊玉明), 22, is another student who struggles under the heavy burden of tuition fees. He used to receive financial aid from Tzu Chi; now he is a student at the Beihai Vocational College of Art Design in Guangxi Province.

When Yang was four years old, his mother abandoned him and his father, taking with her his baby sister. Yang's father was constantly ill, and the meager income earned from the small family farm wasn't nearly enough to support the family. From as far back as Yang can remember, they have been relying on help from relatives to make ends meet. When Yang started attending junior high school, his tuition fees increased. His father, unable to bear the increased financial burden, asked him to drop out of school. "Fortunately, Tzu Chi volunteers started giving us money. Thanks to their encouragement and financial help, I was able to continue my studies."

Yang has to pay about 9,600 renminbi (US$1,219) per year to study at the Beihai Vocational College of Art Design. "That's an astronomical figure for us. Even with the help of our neighbors and relatives, we were only able to scrape together about 4,000 renminbi [US$508]. And that doesn't even include room and board."

Yang said that he tries to spend as little as possible on his three meals; sometimes eating barely enough to fill his stomach. While his schoolmates have cell phones and computers, he has to do without such luxuries. "I concentrate on my studies to get better grades. That's the only way to guarantee that I'll win the scholarships offered by the school and the only way to guarantee that I can remain in the university."

Yang's heart softens when he thinks of his father, whose thin frame is constantly racked by coughing fits. "Once, I even considered dropping out of school to help support my family," he observed. "But whenever I think of the many kind-hearted people who have helped me, I know I have to keep going and study as hard as I can. Otherwise, I'll let a lot of people down."

A rough road

Shi Zhong (石忠) and Shi Qin (石琴) are a pair of siblings who live by themselves in Songlong, Yahui. Their parents live and work in Jiangsu, a long distance from their home, making money to enable them to attend school. The family gets together only once a year, to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The house owned by the Shis is bare and unfurnished, except for the certificates of merit that cover the walls. Zhong and Qin have received Tzu Chi scholarships since they were in elementary school. Now they attend the Tzu Chi Junior High School, the best of its kind in the area. The school is a long way from their home; they would have to walk an hour over mountain trails to get to a bus stop and then travel three hours by bus to reach the school. In order to save time and money, they chose to live on campus.

Zhong told me that he was doing his utmost to pass the entrance exam to the best high school in Guizhou. "My parents had to leave home to make a living, and I want them to rest assured that their hard work will pay off." He is planning on attending a university in the more prosperous coastal areas after graduating from high school. He hopes that he will make a lot of money after college. In fact, his dream is to one day build a hospital in Danzhai, where many villagers have died of illness.

Alongside the many students in Danzhai who are working hard for a better future, a group of local teachers are doing their best to help the poor students in the area.

Wu Heng-shun (吳恆順) has been a teacher for 17 years and now serves at Danzhai Tzu Chi Junior High School. He said that the persevering spirit of the local students, who are determined to attend school no matter how difficult the circumstances, impelled him to stay and teach in the backward mountainous region.

Many teachers at Tzu Chi Junior High School are also doing what they can to help poor local students. Although they are financially strained themselves, they enthusiastically donate money to help children who are too indigent to go to school. "Tzu Chi volunteers have come from far-away Taiwan to help our children. How can we just sit back and do nothing?" asked Wu.

Born and raised in poverty, the children in Danzhai are struggling to build a better future for themselves. No matter how rough and uneven the roads ahead of them are, no matter how difficult it is to liberate themselves from the shackles of destitution, they are set on forging their own paths. We believe that with their determination they will certainly be able to overcome all that stands before them and one day fulfill their dreams.