Volunteers rally to help girl from the grasslands

Sharing her smile

Before she left, a British member of the Newsroom, who'd been fundraising for Geru Tsomao's expenses, co-organized a live music event at Beijing's Joy Land bar. All 60 tickets sold out.

I had expected acoustic guitars, keyboards and cover tunes. But I didn't expect a belly dancer, cello, head banging and－after the revelry moved to a nightclub－pole dancing and face paint. I also didn't expect Joy Land's bartender to donate several hundred yuan and serve free shots, or for the American owner to volunteer to run a marathon for Geru Tsomao.

Indeed, the booze and goodwill flowed freely.

At one point, I looked back at the crowd of people from around the country and world who had come together for a Tibetan girl they'd never met.

Geru Tsomao wasn't there. But we were all sharing her smile.

"I'm grateful to all the people who've worked so hard to make this happen to change my life," she said. "My classmates and relatives say I speak more clearly now. I'll study hard and remember these people forever."

She must return to Beijing for the next round of surgery after six months and will also have to undergo up to 200 sessions of speech therapy.

We were able to save a significant amount of money, as the hospital－to our surprise－provided substantial discounts. China Daily arranged for Geru Tsomao to stay in an apartment on the news group's compound, and its canteen provided her food, including specially prepared liquid meals. China Daily's Communist Youth League is fundraising for her subsequent trips and treatments.

The girl from the grasslands may even move to the capital to complete her education while finding her voice in new ways through rehabilitation, confidence and life experience.

But one way or another, this teen, who'd been abandoned or ignored for much of her life, will return to the city and a large community who cares for her－and to face the world and speak her truth in new ways.

Who knows how far her future journeys to Beijing and beyond may take her－and how many people will share her smile?

I know I will. And I won't be alone.