Sichuan Calling

I'm not sure that anyone's reading any more, but I figured I'd continue posting now and again, especially now that Sichuan is in the news daily.

Daniel is going to visit this month, and this time I'll be staying in the US. It's hard to imagine what he'll see in our city of Chengdu and beyond... if I wasn't 22 weeks pregnant, I'd probably be there already to help in the relief efforts. I'm actually thinking that once the boys are about 9 months old, I will head back. Despite my exposure to development issues around the world, never have I had the experience of a place I love being devastated the way Sichuan has. I think of my family and friends there constantly, and of how much there is to do to help my sisters and brothers there recover.

We still haven't been able to reach Zhang Lin or her family - the phone number we had for her uncle (our primary contact) isn't working. It's quite troubling to think of her situation... Daniel will surely track her down when he's there later this month.

Speaking of his trip, he wanted me to spread the word that he's going to hook up with some relief teams himself. He is taking small donations of money with him, which he will give directly to victims of the earthquake. He plans to take a photo of the recipients to send back here to those who make donations. You can contact me about this by email (bamboovillagepress AT gmail DOT com) if you're interested. He leaves in a week.

Aside from our own feeble attempts to help, I wanted to also point out that there's a blog about Chengdu from NPR. It's very touching to read how these big names in NPR reporting have been moved by their experiences in Sichuan. I thought you might like to take a read as well.

Sichuan Earthquake

Just a quick post to say that our friends and family in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan have finally been accounted for. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to reach anyone in Da Miao Village yet. Zhang Lin's school is in the Western mountains of Sichuan, so of course I'm concerned for her safety in the wake of the terrible earthquake yesterday. My heart breaks to see familiar names of towns and cities affected and all of devastated faces on the news.

As I learn more news, I'll keep you updated. Daniel is traveling to Sichuan in less than a month, one of his tasks being to bring Zhang Lin her second year of tuition funds. I'm sure he'll be able to reach the family and find out how everyone fared.

Yes Grasshoppah

Big changes are taking place! Friday was my last day at my full time job, and now I am officially self employed! Hooray! Yikes! Exciting! Scary!

I've got a lot of change coming up in the next few months, so when I decided to leave my job, I thought "what the heck, let's give Bamboo Village a shot." I'll be taking the next months to form Bamboo Village Educational Fund as a real non-governmental organization, and will be spending lots of time doing product development for Bamboo Village Press. It's all terrifically exciting, and if you have any advice, I'm all ears!

One of the first projects I'm working on is a two-color Gocco print. My sister just completed her first last night, and after all of your brains stop exploding from the indescribable cuteness of her print, I'll be posting mine (which won't be fitting in the "cute" category). As a way to commemorate the beginnings of this new endeavor, I'm making a print in the spirit of Zhang Lin, BVEFs first sponsored student. I'll tell you only that there will be Chinese characters, a cricket, and moleskines involved. It's gonna be pretty cool!

Happily, being an at-home worker is going to mean more posting, more information on Sichuan, China, interviews with Etsy artists and others working for the greater good. I'm excited to be able to move this cause forward!

With that, I leave you with this shot of me from last night, working carefully over the light box. See you soon!

"tuo xiang le" - I've succombed

I might as well admit it: I've been a little more than naughty lately. I just adopted Devon's yarn collection, which amounts to a mountain of high-quality wool (like Malabrigo, Peace Fleece, and LTK yarn), and today the zakka got the best of me, and I bought this gorgeous book. It's much more exotic for the fact that it's being shipped from Japan! Who can resist this kind of ethereal cuteness???




















I was sorely tempted to get this book, too:
























Otherwise, this week has been all about work, and sadly, not Bamboo Village work. I've got several things in the pipelines, though. Maybe I'll manage to get them photographed for your perusal today.

I did manage to get a post up on Travels With Swatchy, though, so that was a huge relief! I've taken Swatchy many places this summer, so I've got to start getting them written up.

The best news of this week is that we confirmed the money transfer has been successfully completed - Zhang Lin's tuition is paid! Hoooooray! Interesting that this is 9 months after our visit to China - a nice gestation period for Bamboo Village and our first successful sponsorship. :o)

Jie Shao - Introducing Zhang Lin

Jie Shao is a noun and a verb, meaning introduction or introduce.

Today is about 4 months after I decided to start Bamboo Village Educational Fund, and I am really excited to introduce Zhang Lin, our first scholarship recipient. I met her and her grandmother last winter when we were walking down the unpaved path to see my husband's grandmother. We were visiting China, in Sichuan seeing family. Despite travel delays because of dense fog that closed airports and highways, we made it all the way out to HeJiaWan, a small village in rural Sichuan Province.

On the day we were leaving, we made a stop to see Zegang's maternal grandmother, who lives in a neighboring village. I tend to attract a lot of attention, you know, being white, and plump, and all (I stand out like a sore thumb), and people know my husband and his family, of course, so while we were walking Zhang Lin's grandma called us from the path to come sit with them and visit in the courtyard, which we did.

I wish it hadn't been so cold, not only because I was practically numb , but because my camera batteries were also frozen, and I wasn't able to take any pictures. At the time, it would have just been more photos of our trip, and more portraits to send back to the village, since we always send back any photos we've taken for the actual families to enjoy. It's pretty rare for a family to have a camera there. Now, of course, I wish I could have documented Zhang Lin's home and shown her to you in her own element, and not dressed in new clothes, in a street-side photo studio. But we'll take what we can get, she comes across in these photos with the innocence and shyness of a true countryside girl, and I'm sure she was nervous, thinking about where this photo was going to be sent.

Without further ado, gentle readers, meet Zhang Lin:

Zhang (her surname) Lin (pronounced like the English word "lean," meaning "cute and smart," according to Zegang) is a serious and hard working young woman. The photos we received today were accompanied by letters testifying to her character and situation - one from one of her teacher, and another from her local government office. I'll post those letters later this week.

Lin was essentially orphaned before her third birthday, when her mother died of tuberculosis and her father abandoned her and her older sister, a common occurrence for children of widowed or divorced men in China. After her mother's death, she went to live with her maternal grandparents, peasant farmers like many of the other families in this region. Her grandparents have struggled and sacrificed to support the two sisters, her grandfather, in his late 60s, now works as a quarry man in the steppes of Tibet, his physical labor of breaking stone bringing home about $500US per year.

Without a son to support them in their old age, and without any kind of pension, social security, or health insurance to depend on, this family lives on the edge of survival. The fact that the generation between these grandparents and the children (Zhang Lin's parents) is missing means that every cent spent on Zhang Lin's education and upbringing leaves the grandparents closer and closer to life and death decisions.

Zhang Lin was actually a really good choice for Bamboo Village's first sponsored student. She's just finishing Jr. High School, and is at the point of making the decision as to whether or not to go on to Senior High School.

While she attended junior high school, her school and local government, in a very rare gesture, covered her tuition, but now that she's about to enter senior high, or a vocational school for actual job training, her family will have to pay for her to attend. This is no small feat: families like hers in this region may make about $200 US dollars a year, and that's less than we predict the tuition to be.

This family faces the decision so many in China's poverty-stricken countryside must make: to choose deep and dire sacrifice to send a child to high school, or send them off to work. Often times, the choice is clear - the short-term gain of earning even $50 a month in a sweatshop or dangerous construction job is deemed more feasible than three or four more years of sacrifice for school, and then even more, to attend college.

Zhang Lin is a good choice on our side because she doesn't need 10 years of support; she needs about three (the course of senior high school or vocational school). It's a big commitment for a fledgling fund, but it will be worth it. I know you'll agree.

I'll write lots more about Zhang Lin's personal story in the days to come. For tonight, know that your support, moral and monetary, is meaningful and being put to use. I can hardly believe that I get to introduce her here to you. Your purchases at the many Bamboo Village shops have made this possible. Thanks so much - you my friends and supporters - you've made this possible.

















Zhang Lin and her maternal grandmother. May, 2007.