Ｂｒｉｎｇｉｎｇ Ｈｏｐｅｓ ｔｏ Ｃｈｉｌｄｒｅｎ Ａｌｌ Ｏｖｅｒ ｔｈｅ Ｗｏｒｌｄ

I.

On October 9， 2006， a calligraphy， painting and photo exhibition “Pearl S. Buck in Zhenjiang” was held in Perkasie， a beautiful small city in Pennsylvania， the U.S.， where the headquarters of Pearl S. Buck International (PSBI) located. The exhibits on display vividly showed the natural conditions， social customs and new development of Pearl Buck’s Chinese hometown， and the friendly exchanges between Zhenjiang and its US friendship city and PSBI.

This was a special exhibition held at the suggestion of PSBI President Ms. Janet Mintzer. All the exhibits were offered to be bought by the viewers and auctioned off on the spot， and the earnings were donated to the Pearl S. Buck International Class in Zhenjiang.

President Janet Mintzer and the Chinese side decided through consultation on the concrete plan for the exhibition and the charity sales， and meticulously arranged， organized and publicized them. As one of the sponsors， PBSI provided the venue for the exhibition free of charge and affixed the seal of PSBI to the exhibited works. Janet invited local celebrities of various circles including entrepreneurs， state legislators， presidents of banks， presidents of colleges and universities to visit the exhibition and participated in the charity sales. She signed her autograph on the certificates of the calligraphic works， paintings and photos selected for the exhibition.

After the exhibition， PSBI held activities for the China Children’s Benefit. On behalf of PSBI， Janet donated 6，750 US dollars to the Pearl S. Buck International Class (PSB International Class) for the newly-enrolled students to start school. The delegation of Zhenjiang City briefed about the PSB International Class and presented PSBI with a school flag of the Zhenjiang No.2 Middle School autographed by the students of the first graduating class of the PSB International Class and the students’ letter of thanks. The two sides decided that the PSBI would contact 30 American families， each of which would form a pair with one of the 30 students in the PSB International Class and every year offer 225 US dollars in aid of its paired student， send him (her) gifts on holidays and help him (her) improve English through emails and letters.

Ms. Janet Mintzer received her master’s degree of social work at the US Temple University. She worked in non-profit organizations for 12 years before joining PSBI and has won two national awards. In September 2001， she began to serve as president and chief executive officer of PSBI. In the few years since she assumed the presidency of PSBI she visited Zhenjiang 3 times. It was under her initiation that the PSB International Class was set up.

Ms. Janet Mintzer has a special feeling towards Zhenjiang， where Pearl Buck lived for 18 years and considered her Chinese hometown. Carrying out the behest of Pearl Buck and shouldering the mission of PSBI， Janet shows loving care for the poor students and helps the orphans.

In October 2002， Ms. Janet Mintzer， in the capacity of PSBI president， attended the meeting in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the birth of Pearl Buck.During the meeting， she visited Chongshi Girls School (it is now called Zhenjiang No. 2 Middle School) where Pearl Buck once studied and finished her middle school education. After graduating from Randolph-Macon Women’s College in the United States， Pearl Buck returned to Zhenjiang and worked as an English teacher. The buildings of the school are well preserved as they were a hundred years ago. Looking for the trails left by Pearl Buck in her study and teaching， Janet walked into the classroom where Pearl once studied， and talked warmly with the students about their study and life. She visited the Pearl Buck exhibition in the school. In her talk with the leaders of the school and Zhenjiang’s educational department， Janet said， Pearl’s precious 18-year experience in Zhenjiang roused her inspiration for creation and her humanitarianism. In order to carry forward Pearl’s humanitarian spirit of loving education and caring for the healthy growth of the youngsters， Janet discussed with the leaders of the Zhenjiang educational department and the school and decided to give financial aid to the poor students to help them finish schooling. At Janet’s suggestion， in August 2003 the Pearl S. Buck International Class， a loving care project with the aim of providing financial assistance to help the poor students finish their schooling and showing solicitude for the underprivileged people， was set up. It recruits students from the areas where Pearl once lived and worked. The poor students receive a 3-year high school education without tuition fees and with free accommodation and living allowances.

A chance has changed the fate of a group of children. In remote poor areas when students are unable to continue their study in school because of poverty， the PSB International Class has given them a new hope. In 2003， 78 students from six cities of Anhui， Jiangxi and Jiangsu Provinces were enrolled in the class. A student from a remote mountainous village in Jiujiang， Jiangxi Province， told his story. His father died before he was born and his mother also died only nine days after he was born. Since then he and his aged grandparents were dependent on each other for survival. His grandparents died one after another when he was only seven years old. Aided financially by his relatives， he finished his study in a junior middle school. Though he was a student of good character and fine scholarship， he was unable to continue his study in a senior middle school. When he was preparing to leave school， the PSB International Class reignited his hope. In order to improve the quality of the class， the school has adopted a special policy and provided it with the best teachers and equipment. The school grants each student a scholarship ranging from 500 yuan to 2，000 yuan according to his (her) marks of the entrance examination， and also offers floating scholarships according to the students’ performance in the mid-term and term examinations. Over half of the students have won the scholarships. The school provides part-time jobs for the destitute students to help them solve financial difficulties in their daily life. The PSB International Class also gets support from the Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Institute and various social circles. These poor students are experiencing the warmth of the Class.

Every time PSBI President Janet Mintzer and Chairman of the Board of Directors John E. Long， Jr. visited Zhenjiang， they would come to see the students of the PSB International Class to learn how they studied and lived. PSBI has donated money several times to help them solve difficulties.

In order to let the students have a chance to know about the education in the U.S.， PSBI invited the students of the PSB International Class to visit the U.S. and financed their visit. In September 2005， a six-member delegation of Young Envoys of China-US Educational Exchange paid a two-week visit to the U.S.. They visited Pearl Buck’s hometown and the Rock High School， and had exchanges with American students， which helped them broaden their vision， increase their knowledge and foster lofty aspirations.

In order to improve the teaching quality of the PSB International Class， at the suggestion of Janet， PSBI signed an agreement on cultural and educational exchanges with the Foreign Affairs Office of the Zhenjiang Municipal People’s Government which stipulates that PSBI recruits American volunteers to teach and work in Zhenjiang. Since 2003， 19 teachers with the spirit of dedication and shouldering the mission of PSBI were sent in 5 batches to teach in Zhenjiang. Most of them have high academic credentials and teaching experience. Among them， some have master’s degree or doctorate in literature， physics and pedagogy， and some have worked as university teachers and professors. They have not only reinforced the teaching staff of the PSB International Class， but also brought vigour to education in Zhenjiang. They have brought Western teaching conceptions and methods. In teaching practice they and the Chinese teachers learn from each other， sum up experience and try every means to improve teaching quality and have really “made foreign things serve the needs of China”.

In 2006， over 70 students of the first PSB International Class graduated， among whom 6 were admitted to the country’s key universities， 57 to regular universities and colleges and 15 to colleges for professional training. Such a high proportion of students entering schools of higher learning attracted wide attention， making the PSB International Class well-known. The PSB International Class， which has so far enrolled altogether over 300 students in four school years， embodies Janet’s deep feelings towards and painstaking care of poor students. In his letter written on behalf of the students to the PSBI president， Qiu Kuanyong， an orphan who was going to study in Nanjing University， said that he thanked PSBI for giving him the chance to change his fate and that in the past three years the school had exempted him from tuition and accommodation fees. Without the aid from PSBI， he would never have had a chance to study in a senior middle school， still less a chance to enter a university. He wrote in his letter， “From the bottom of my heart I thank PSBI and the PSB International Class which have helped me when I was in the most difficult time of my life. I am sure I will definitely have a chance to repay what society has given to me and let more people get care and help from society when they are in difficulty.”

II.

President Janet Mintzer continues the work left by Pearl Buck and faithfully carries out the international mission of PSBI. She tries her best to help those underprivileged children and give disabled children， orphans， children without families and refuge children more chances. She thinks that these groups of people need more help and care.

On the bank of the ancient canal in Zhenjiang there is a social welfare institute which has taken in more than 70 abandoned babies， orphans， disabled and mentally retarded children. One day they greeted a special guest Ms. Janet Mintzer， PSBI president. In the recreation room the children clapped their small hands and sang songs to welcome this foreign aunty coming from the other side of the Pacific. Janet like a loving mother kissed these children again and again. She asked in detail about the process of adoption of these special children， inspected the facilities in the nursery， watched child rehabilitation training， listened to the briefing given by the head of the welfare institute and praised the institute—the Zhenjiang Children’s Centre—well run. When seeing that the facilities in the Children’s Centre were not good enough， for example， the beds for the children were old plank ones and the boiler room was a bit far from the centre and did not supply enough heat， she said at once that she would help replace the facilities for the centre. Not long after returning home， she sent Laura Paulus and Carole Watters from “Welcome Home” to Zhenjiang to make an inspection and discussed with the persons concerned about further improving the living facilities for the children. PSBI donated 9，505 US dollars and bought 75 stainless steel beds and two sets of solar energy equipment. Though Janet is busy with her charity work in various places of the world， she does not forget the children in Zhenjiang and has phoned from the United States several times to ask about the improvement of the welfare institute and the life and health of the children. Once she learnt that some of the mattresses of the baby beds needed changing， she specially remitted money for the purchase. She has given financial aids to the Children’s Centre many times for buying medical equipment and nutrient and is keen on helping find American families that are willing to adopt these children.

“To bring hopes to the children all over the world” is the mission undertaken by PSBI. Janet Mintzer is carrying out the mission by taking actions. She said that she would further strengthen cooperation with Zhenjiang， care for and support the cause of children’s education and health in Pearl Buck’s Chinese hometown， “continue the work left by Pearl Buck， and make efforts to build a new bridge of benevolence between the East and the West.”

The author is the deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Zhenjiang Municipal People’s Government.