Climbing Mountains to Plant New Seeds
by Daniel White

"We have gone to some of the villages in the mountains, where most of these guerillas are based, and started to teach them basic English," a man known to me only as Turnoi explains.  "After spending many years in Mainland China, with all its current problems in tertiary education and where the entire life seems to only consist of pursuing business, I decided to leave and to get involved in another country shaken by political instability, communist-inspired terrorism, etc."

Turnoi and a group of colleagues have started a non-profit educational project to help the underprivileged.  "Making money is not the only major option in life - there are perhaps some other major goals to pursue in life than merely looking out for making a lot of money.  As a teacher, you can also engage in helping those qualified to study, but who have no chance to study at a regular school or college."

With no means of making a living and no way to attend school, common people often turn to fighting the government, blaming poor leadership for the current state of poverty.  "Illiteracy among larger parts of the population is a big problem there, too," Turnoi points out.

Can such optimism really change anything?  Can education really make a difference?   "In return for our efforts, we have seen some first encouraging reactions:  some of those formally engaged in guerilla fights and acts of terrorism have realized that pursuing educational objectives is much better for them and decided to leave their 'organizations.'"

Turnoi's message rings true for people everywhere in the world:  "Ignorance concerning the well-being of our fellow-men on this planet is destructive."  He sums it up by saying, "In only looking after ourselves and our own individual well-being, we tend to forget the people less fortunate around us."