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The Girl Who Learned to Smile   by KC
T he first time we saw Yongfen, she was very tense and cast her
gaze like a beam of steel towards the ground. She was leaning
rigidly against the wall of the school and her jaws were clamped with a silent tight bite as she waited for the outcome of our visit. Thoughts were racing through her mind that were revealed later in a letter she wrote.
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Before she knew about her sponsors, Yongfen stands worried that she might have to leave school.

"My family is very poor. Every year we only managed 16 bags of rice, and there are four of us in the family. It is not enough to last us till the next harvest. We still need to buy at least 500 jin (250 kg) of rice. On top of that, my parents need to pay for my schooling. Sometimes we do not even have enough money to buy salt. Many times my parents have asked me to stop schooling, but I would be in tears, begging them to let me continue. This year, my results were good enough to get me into the best school in the county, but to my surprise, when I shared this great news with my parents, they looked worried rather than happy. In my heart, I thought that I would surely not be allowed to go to school anymore, and so I became saddened and worried. Then I heard that you were coming to sponsor me for school. I just could not believe my ears. I was extremely happy. Now I am studying in the best school, and my parents need not worry. Thank you very much."

These words were translated from the first letter that Yongfen wrote to her sponsor. She did very well in her primary school examination and was posted to the best class in the best school in Luchun County, Yunnan. So now she stays in the school hostel and goes home every six weeks to see her family. She did well academically, scoring 116 out of a possible 120 for mathematics. We found out from the school that she came in first place in all of the Grade 7 examination for the first semester. Sometime after she received her sponsorship, we visited her at her school and she flashed a radiant smile. Yongfen has learned to smile because of hope.