Impoverished minority youth get a lifeline out of poverty

by Xinhua writer Zuo Yuanfeng

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- On a hot summer's day in August 2006, Lamao Cering crouched in a windy field in west China's Qinghai Province murmuring to herself. "I want to go to school," she chanted quietly over and over in an almost mantra-like trance, oblivious to her father's call to come back and tend the sheep.

Seven years earlier, the 17-year-old Tibetan from impoverished Langjia village was attending school like millions of children worldwide until she was forced by her family to drop out from grade four against her will.

Lamao is just one of many children who have quitted school to work for their families. The situation is commonplace in China's poor areas as many parents, themselves with minimal or no education, still think it's fair for children to abandon their studies, limited as they are. They see the benefits as two-fold; money spent on textbooks and other necessities can be saved and the children can contribute to the family income.

For Lamao, her situation has worsened with time. She is now too old to attend basic schooling and lacks the credits needed to attend college.

According to UNICEF statistics, at least five million children of senior secondary age, many from ethnic minorities, are stuck in a similar situation around China. They are unable to attend school due to poverty and they come from areas where child labor, inadequate infrastructure and a lack of trained teachers are all common.

Zhai Yong, an official with the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), said young people like Lamao Cering were a special group in society, stuck between childhood and adulthood. "They have little or no guidance on how to improve their quality of life and how to protect themselves in vulnerable situations."

Co-developed by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and CAST, "Driving Dreams" is one program set up to help such adolescents. The non-traditional education project was launched in December 2005 to provide education in livelihood skills and science literacy for out-of-school children between 10 and 18 in the country's poor rural areas.

Since joining the project a year ago Lamao Cering has learned embroidery and how to make her family's flock of sheep grow healthier and stronger.

During a visit to Lamao's home, the project's teacher receives a warm welcome from the family.