"GCI IS LIKE A MOTHER TO ME AND GAVE ME THE LOVE I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED. BECAUSE I HAVE LOVE AND HOPE, MY HEART IS NOT DARK ANYMORE."
After losing his mother and grandfather, whom he loved dearly, Li Zhuang went to live with his father, who has a mental illness and is abusive. A dedicated student, Li Zhuang faced many hurdles due to poverty, abuse, and a lack of educational opportunities. Thanks to Golden Courage and its supporters, Li Zhuang is a successful graduate of the Great Expectations program. He is now a college student who dreams of helping small businesses with marketing.
IN LI ZHUANG’S WORDS
My mother died when I was two. I lived with my grandfather as a child, and I really loved him–my grandfather took as good of care of me as possible. He died of cancer when I was in my first year of middle school. After my grandfather passed away, my father returned home so he could take care of our lambs and me. Because of his disability, it isn’t easy for him to be a father. So when I was very young, I started helping my father. My father only has one hand that is working. Because of his mental illness, he jumped in a fire and has severe burns on his hand and body.
My father is very abusive because of his illness. There were many times when my teacher thought ‘that was it’ for me because of the abuse.
Additionally because of his disability, he couldn’t find a job he liked. My father never went to school, but I have the opportunity to have an education.
I am in my third year of college at Beijing College University. After I graduate, I want to work for other people and learn from them. I want to focus on helping others shop for good foods. There are a lot of small companies and products and they don’t have money for marketing. I can do it, either online or through word of mouth. I want to see small companies succeed.
I feel it is so important to let people know who does the right things, for the foods and for organic growth. I want to investigate and figure out these things for people. In high school and college I learned a little English, too.
“If I didn’t have the opportunity from Golden Courage, I know my world would be very small. You probably don’t know what it means for your world to be small and pitiful. Without Great Expectations, I wouldn’t be able to serve my dream to help my father,” said Li Zhuang.
Lii Yuhan (“A Very Cold Rain”) is an 11-year-old fifth-grader who lives with her grandparents and her mother. Her mother, a burn victim, has lost her fingers, and her face is badly disfigured.
