An education born of love

Frenchwoman's vision gives Ethnic girls the chance of their lives

Sixteen years ago in a remote village in China, Francoise Grenot-Wang made a wish: She wanted to help local ethnic girls get access to education.

She made that wish eight years before she died in a fire that destroyed her house, and 16 years later the mission she wished to see is prospering, propagated by many people around the world.

On Dec 18, eight girls of the Miao ethnic group sponsored by Couleurs de Chine, a nonprofit organization that Grenot-Wang founded in Damiaoshan, Danian, in the north of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in 1990 presented performances of their culture to Chinese and French communities in Shanghai.

They were invited to perform at the 2014 Couleurs de Chine Charity Dinner last month co-hosted by Avene, a brand of the Pierre-Fabre Group, with French fashion magazine, and Couleurs de Chine. The event was to continue promoting this charity project and expand the spirit of Francoise Grenot-Wang.

"It was the first time these girls had come to Shanghai, their first time in a plane and their first time seeing a big city and staying in a nice hotel, and they were very impressed," says Nora Lebbos, who is in charge of the Couleurs de Chine office in Danian village, and who was in Shanghai for the charity event.

"They were also very happy to represent their culture here."

Couleurs de Chine is dedicated to sponsoring children, of whom about 90 percent are girls, from Miao, Dong and Yao ethnic groups in Danian village to be educated. Couleurs de Chine has been active in Guangxi and three districts in Guizhou province.

The group has helped more than 11,000 children and teenagers. At present it is helping 3,000 primary school students, 1,000 middle school students, 400 high school students and about 200 university students. More than 80 schools have been refurbished or built.

"We have 2,300 sponsors, and supporters from more than 30 countries or regions have been involved in the work," Lebbos says. "There are many volunteers from France, Belgium, Switzerland and China."

Grenot-Wang fell in love with Danian village in 1997 when she was a tourist guide who visited China frequently. Despite the beautiful and well-preserved natural scenery and friendly people, she found that many local girls could not attend school because of poverty and because of the favoritism that sons enjoyed. She then decided to help them.

Over the next 10 years she lived in Danian as the only foreigner, became friends with the locals, took pictures of the girls and called on people in France to help them, until her death at the age of 59 in 2008.

In March last year, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the 50th Anniversary of the Sino-Franch Diplomatic Relations Celebration in Paris. In it he talked of China's gratitude to French citizens who had made significant contributions to China. Grenot-Wang was one of them.

Lebbos, 34, who gave up a career as a lawyer to move to Danian last July, is among those who have helped keep Grenot-Wang's wish alive.

Lebbos and her family fled their native Lebanon during the country's civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990 and moved to France.

"It was in France that I got the chance to get an education, and that's why I think it is important that these girls get an education," she says.

Lebbos says she is used to living in a city and as the only foreigner in Danian sometimes misses city life and certain foods, but adds that compared with her life as a lawyer, living in the village is much more fulfilling.

When she arrived in Danian, anyone meeting her in the street greeted her warmly, she says, and she sensed how highly they thought of Grenot-Wang.

"Everyone would say 'Hello', and I would tell them they should be saying 'Bonjour', she says. It is not easy to work in Danian, but when you see the children and the way people welcome you it is sheer pleasure."

Lebbos' job is to coordinate the group's work and ensure that sponsors' money goes to those most in need. Five volunteers help her out.

Girls in Danian can go to her, tell her of their family background and financial circumstances, and she decides whether to help.

The most difficult part is "to say no sometimes to people because there are many people on the waiting list".

Francis Canet, general manager of the pharmaceuticals company Pierre-Fabre China, has worked with the group for more than 10 years, and he has sponsored several Miao girls and encouraged friends to do the same.

Pierre-Fabre China co-sponsored the charity event in Shanghai, and Canet says that Avene would sponsor a class with 30 to 40 students. The Love Bridge Project sponsored by Avene has been set up to make it easier for children in the village to attend school.

Students there have to walk a total of up to two hours to get to school and return home every day, and building a bridge would shorten that time greatly, he says.

Representatives of Avene and the fashion magazine Elle have visited Danian twice to meet the children there. A documentary that was made was presented at a charity dinner in Shanghai attended by hundreds of people.

"We want to get more people to understand the situation of the ethnic groups in the mountains, and get more people to know the group and help with its work," Canet says.

Lena Yang, managing director of Hearst China, says that though Couleurs de Chine is well-known among French people, few people in China have heard of it.

Yang recalls the first time she went to the village, first taking a plane, then traveling by road for five hours, then by boat, and then having to walk for many hours along zigzagging paths into the mountains of Danian.

"For me it was barely believable that in this age of convenient transport there was this place that would be so difficult to get to."

In one small school there is only one teacher for a class of 20 students in two different grades, she says. So when the teacher is dealing with one group, the others need to get on with their studies by themselves. The classroom has no lighting and leaks when it rains.

"But you see great passion and desire in these children. When you get closer to them you realize what they need is not just help materially but, more importantly, care and encouragement from the outside world. I do hope more people go there and encourage the children's curiosity about the world, rather than just offering material things."

Recently Elle arranged a music exchange between the Miao girls and students in Bao Yugang Experimental School in Shanghai and arranged for the eight girls to visit the editorial office of the magazine in Shanghai.

Yang says that Couleurs de Chine is not just about making films and then leaving, but providing prolonged and sustained support for the children.

She herself has supported three Miao girls, she says. She has three daughters and has put the two groups of girls in touch with one another, hoping they all have a long-lasting impact on each other's lives.

"I think this organization is different from others. It does not just give money, but also offers opportunities to let people visit this place. It has focused on this small area and tried to perfect its work instead of thinking about expanding."

Canet says it is important for Chinese to know more about the group and get involved.

"The Chinese government has made great efforts to help those in poor areas, and we also want to awaken the public, companies and organizations to get involved and to work together to help more people improve their lives."

chenyingqun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 01/16/2015 page26)