The Cupertino Courier

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Cupertino Rotarians bring hope

By MIKE BARNHART

Barely a month had passed since Cupertino Rotary's $58,000 humanitarian aide trip to remote village schools in northwest China, but Rotarian Steve Ting already was talking up future world community service projects at a fundraising dinner.

"I saw people with tears in their eyes," Ting recalled as he shared highlights of the mid-May trip. "For us that went, the entire experience will have a lifelong impact. At times, I had to hold back tears because I was so touched by the school kids there."

Ting and six other Cupertino Rotarians were among a party of 19 that traveled by bus through changing weather, visiting three elementary schools over two days. On a third day, the group distributed 400 wheelchairs to needy people.

"It took two or three hours to get to one school, and the last 30 minutes was all dirt road," Ting recalled. "At one school it rained, and another school was 9,800 feet in elevation and had snow on the ground."

The schools were located in Qinghai Province, next to Tibet, and Xinjiang Province, below Kazakhstan. Both regions are mountainous, desert areas, with little industry other than "poor farmers," Ting explained. "Local villagers make less than one U.S. dollar a day. It was obvious we could make a big difference with our resources."

The humanitarian group distributed desks and chairs to all of the schools. Two schools also received basic computer supplies, but the third did not have appropriate power for computers, so it received a paved basketball court instead.

"We went to parts of China that most people don't see," said Cupertino Councilman and Rotarian Orrin Mahoney.

The recipient schools were identified by the Shin Shin Educational Foundation of Cupertino, a nonprofit organization that helps construct and rebuild primary schools in rural, economically depressed regions of China.

The trip was Cupertino Rotary's second humanitarian project in China. It also partnered with Shin Shin in April 2005, aiding elementary schools in Liaoning Province in northeast China, next to the North Korean peninsula.

"The kids were extremely happy and enthusiastic to see us," said Ting, who joined Mahoney on both projects. "They can feel our concern, care and love."

For Liz Gallegos, Cupertino Rotary's international service director, the recent trip was her first visit to Asia. China's diversity (many of the students belonged to some of China's 55 minority groups) and the graciousness of its people impressed her. "Everywhere we went, people were there to greet us," she said. "They always were very warm and thankful."

Other Cupertino Rotarians on the trip were Hsing Kung, Uina Kubota, Albert Liu and Mary Stone, along with wives Margaret Kung and Jeannie Ting.

Liu remained in China for two additional weeks, teaching the village schools' English teachers. A former teacher, Stone will put together recordings of California high school students reading conversational text, and then mail them back to the three schools.

Much funding came through a matching grant program through the Rotary Foundation, which was possible because the Beijing Rotary, one of just two Rotary Clubs in China, is Cupertino's international host sponsor.

Sunnyvale Rotary donated money for the trip, Ting said, and the Interact Clubs at Monta Vista, Lynbrook and Cupertino held fundraisers.