Rags to Riches – Story of the Kubuqi Farmers

A Bright Future

To eradicate poverty, education should come first, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly stressed. The desert’s future will be created by the children there, which highlights the importance of education. Education can also help avoid passing down poverty to the next generation.

In the past, it was not uncommon for some children aged 10 and above to have never attended school. Now Yilidongfang School – integrating kindergarten, primary, junior and vocational high school education – has been established in the desert with RMB 110 million in funding from Elion Resources Group. The school houses more than 1,300 teachers and students. More than 3,000 local children have received an education here, and they will become the ones to shape their homeland.

Fear of the desert and attachment to it are instilled in each child in their infancy. Children here have a more profound understanding of the meaning of life. “Whenever spring comes, I feel very happy as I see budding new life. Being surrounded by green is like being embraced by my mum. I can feel the warmth. I hope my mum has changed into a flower or a tree, so that I can feel her in the desert,” said local girl Gao Yang, who was born on the edge of the Kubuqi Desert and lost her mum at a young age. Gao Yang now happily attends the desert school.

Wei Bo is a reporter with China.org.cn