Special Report :  Concerned about the Mountainous Areas 、 Love Bridges the Gap ,  Foundation Laying Ceremony for Huaguo School Building

Huaguo Company's General Manager, along with leaders from Leizhou City Education Bureau, town government, and the school, broke ground together

On December 8th, the foundation laying ceremony for the Huaguo school building at Tiaoqiao Primary School in Tiaoqiao Village, Leigao Town, Leizhou City was grandly held. Mr. Zhou, General Manager of Huaguo Company, along with relevant personnel from the Taiwan Business Association, leaders from the Leizhou City Education Bureau, Leigao Town Government, and Leigao Town Central Primary School attended the ceremony and broke ground. Over 500 teachers, students, and villagers from Tiaoqiao Primary School witnessed this historic moment. The Huaguo school building, soon to be constructed, is located in Tiaoqiao Primary School in Leigao Town, Leizhou City, Guangdong Province. This school is a rural primary school located in a remote mountainous area with over 400 students. The school buildings are old, and there is a shortage of teachers. All students have to go home for lunch, and some students even have to travel 7-8 kilometers of mountain roads. Many school-aged children are unable to enroll in school on time or drop out prematurely.

Three years ago, Foshan Huaguo Optical Instrument Co., Ltd., which has always adhered to the corporate principle of contributing to society through its business, learned about this situation through feedback from its internal employees. It immediately launched an investigation and decided to donate to Tiaoqiao Primary School. Initially, it donated office and teaching supplies and awarded scholarships. Later, as needed, it selected 4 outstanding employees within the company to teach at the school until now, and this will continue. Mr. Zhou, the general manager of Huaguo Company, also personally sponsored 4 underprivileged students.

With the help of Huaguo Company, the support of the local government, and the efforts of all teachers and students, the overall appearance of Tiaoqiao Primary School has been completely transformed. The school's academic performance, which was previously ranked last in the town, has risen to the forefront. Many teachers and students have won awards in city-level teaching and sports competitions, thus increasing its influence in the local area. Students from other villages nearby have also come from afar, hoping to enroll in Tiaoqiao Primary School. In view of this, to continue promoting the traditional Chinese virtues of poverty alleviation and respecting teachers and valuing education, and to advocate a new social atmosphere, Huaguo Company has decided to invest more than 500,000 yuan this year to build a three-story school building on the school grounds, in order to better solve the problem of students from surrounding villages having difficulty attending school and to achieve standardized school standards faster.

The new school building is expected to be completed in March 2011. At that time, a brand-new building will rise from the ground, children will have bright and spacious classrooms, and the school's teaching staff will be further expanded. This also means that more impoverished children will enjoy good teaching resources and open up their future ideals.

At the foundation laying ceremony, Mr. Zhou, General Manager of Huaguo Company, delivered a speech expressing his high hopes for Tiaoqiao Primary School. He said that every time he comes to Tiaoqiao Primary School, he is deeply moved. Seeing the development of Tiaoqiao Primary School and its villagers, he is very happy. Of course, he also hopes that through Huaguo's funding and the support of the local government, Tiaoqiao Primary School will become a renowned school not only in Leizhou, but also in Zhanjiang or even Guangdong Province.

That day, many news media outlets, including Leizhou Television Station and Zhanjiang Daily, were attracted and competed to film and report on the entire event.

While donating to Tiaoqiao Primary School in Leizhou City, Huaguo Company also extended a helping hand to impoverished areas such as Nanxiong, Shaoguan, and Pingmo, Guangxi, bringing a more hopeful future to the children there through the Hope Project. It hopes to use every practical action to mobilize more social forces to participate in public welfare undertakings. (Provided by the Cultural Office)

As soon as Mr. Zhou arrived, many elderly villagers enthusiastically greeted him and expressed their gratitude.

Mr. Zhou had a cordial conversation with a nearly 90-year-old villager and happily held a six-month-old baby nearby.

Tiaoqiao Primary School took this opportunity to launch a photo exhibition of Huaguo Company's teaching staff at the school.

Mr. Zhou gave a speech at the ceremony.

Four local impoverished students personally sponsored by Mr. Zhou took this rare opportunity to happily visit their "Uncle Zhou".

Mr. Zhou took a commemorative photo with relevant personnel from the Taiwan Business Association, volunteer teachers, and Huaguo staff.