Guardian angel for destiny's children

To more than 200 youngsters in Central China's Hunan province, Yang Yunda is like an elder brother. Abject poverty had forced these children to drop out of school, but Yang rustled up funds to ensure each one of them completed secondary education.

In the past 15 years, the 41-year-old has single-handedly raised nearly 1 million yuan ($139,600) to help underprivileged students and at least 40 of them have managed to pursue higher studies, making their way to either college or vocational institutions.

Yang's pure altruism has earned him several awards, including the Good Samaritan of China title in 2020 from the General Office of the Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress.

Born into penury in Shangwujiang Yao ethnic township, Shuangpai county, southern Hunan, Yang had seen his sister drop out of school in order to support their family — and his education — after chronic illness took a toll on their parents' health.

The supreme sacrifice of his sister did not go in vain. Yang made it to Huaihua University in 2002, where he decided to study Chinese language and literature. In the four years that followed, he paid his way through college by doing part-time jobs and getting a student loan. He became one of the very few people from the mountain town to get a university degree.

After graduation, his classmates chose to launch their careers in economically developed coastal areas, but Yang had a more selfless idea. "Life taught me to appreciate the opportunity of education. So, despite my limited resources, I decided to help others have the privilege of finishing school," he says.

Determined to turn around the future of children in his cash-strapped hometown and its neighboring areas, Yang answered the nation's call to work as a grassroots volunteer in Longshan county, Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture, Hunan.

He still had a hefty student loan to pay off and volunteering wasn't helping his own financial condition, but Yang believed these couldn't be reasons to turn a blind eye to the struggles of underprivileged children. "My conscience did not allow me to turn my back on children who needed support," he says.

After volunteering for a year, Yang knew firsthand the problems plaguing local villages, which included acute shortage of teaching resources for rural children, and he was desperate to find a better way to help.

In 2007, he landed a teaching job at Hongyan Middle School in Longshan county, through open recruitment. On his first day at work, he wrote in his notebook that he would never let a child drop out of school. "I did not want my students to face the tough choice my sister had to face," he says.

A few months into the job, Yang received a letter from a student, 13-year-old Zhang Xiaoli, saying that she was leaving school because her parents, who suffer from disabilities, had run out of money even for medical aid.

"I could feel her helplessness as I read the letter. She was eager to continue school, but could not let her parents suffer anymore. I couldn't help but think of my sister — how distressed she must have been," he says.

Yang decided to pay Xiaoli's family a visit, hoping against hope that he might be able to convince them to somehow send her back to school. When he stepped into their one-room house, he was shocked into silence.

The room, barely 20 square meters in area, was dark and dank. The only bright source of light was a fire burning in a pit over which a soot-streaked pot hung. "Two rickety beds counted as furniture and the ceiling was so low that one would hit one's head if one stood bolt upright," he recalls.

Yang learned that the family had been neck-deep in debt for years and there was no way her parents could afford Xiaoli's tuition fee any longer. He was so deeply disturbed that he posted about his visit, along with pictures, on social media.

The response to Yang's post was overwhelming. His former classmates and friends came forward to help send Xiaoli back to school. With funds pouring in from acquaintances and strangers, she finished primary school and went on to study in middle school.

Yang, on the other hand, firmed up his resolve to seek out and help other students in need. During the first few years as a teacher, he donated a chunk of his paltry salary of less than 2,000 yuan a month to pay for tuition of underprivileged children.

"To teach is to touch a life forever. Being a teacher means caring about your students, holding their hands and helping them overcome life's many challenges," he says.

As word about his noble mission spread, wealthy philanthropists extended a helping hand. Yang traveled long distances, negotiated perilous mountain roads and even cheated death a few times to find children who needed support to continue their education.

On one occasion, when he was riding his motorcycle to a student's house, located 1,400 meters above sea level, the two-wheeler careened off the road and he almost fell off a cliff. "It was raining and the trail was slippery. Guardrails on the edge of the cliff saved me," he recalls.

Tian Chun, a former student, says he will never forget what Yang did for him more than a decade ago. "I was 15 and had dropped out of school because my family couldn't pay my tuition fee. The teacher visited me and said all I needed to do was focus on studying while he would take care of the rest."

Yang kept his word. Today, Tian is pursuing postdoctoral studies at Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, because Yang ensured he finished school. "He (Yang) was my guardian angel. I admire his selfless devotion to poor students who live in the mountains," Tian says.

Yang left his teaching job in 2009 and became a poverty alleviation officer in Xiche village of Longshan county, but he never stopped caring for children in need. "In fact, I took the new job because I knew it would help me bring students back to school," he explains.

Since June, Yang has been in charge of promoting civic amenities in Longshan county. "It is good to see the standard of living improve in rural areas. I still keep an eye out for students who might need my help," he says.