Shanghai Daily news

An illiterate Anhui Province man is realizing the education dreams of his youth with the establishment of an inexpensive school for local migrant children. Zhou Jinglu reports.

For someone who has had such a hard life, it is surprising that Wang Houcai is willing to tell his story. Yet, the illiterate man who has spent much of his money on education over the past seven years, is very open about his life.

The Anhui native was born into a poor family, the fourth son among seven children. At the age of eight, he displayed a strong eagerness to attend school. His interest in education came from books and pictures which he had seen at a neighbour's house.

However, Wang's farming family couldn't afford to have him educated, not even at the primary school level. Instead, he had to stay at home and look after his sisters and brothers and help around the farm.

"When the cattle were grazing, I liked to stand on the country road and watch the other children on their way to school," the 38-year-old recollected with a smile.

"The children looked so happy. They bounced along the road and sang songs along the way, carrying their school bags. But a kind of sadness suddenly enveloped me. I realized that for me, it was just a dream."

After 18 years on the farm, Wang decided to go to Shanghai to look for a job in 1986. He promised to earn money for his younger brother's tuition.

"The experience of finding a job in Guangming Town, Fengxian District, was hard to forget. I felt shame and sadness for myself for lacking knowledge. I was usually refused by employers and missed hundreds of chances because I could not read or write Chinese characters at all," he said.

Despite never attending school, Wang remained diligent and hard working. He did many jobs, working as a porter on the docks, as a cleaner and as a butcher.

He then found success in the vegetable wholesaling business in 1991, meeting his wife at the time. He was liked by all his customers because of his kind heart and sincerity. Gradually, more and more people came to him to buy vegetables and he saved nearly 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) in his first eight years in business, giving him a relatively comfortable life.

At the market, he would often see many migrant children with their parents, taking his memory back to his own childhood. Most of them were from the central part of China, an area of the country that had not been developed as fast as the southeast.

Like himself many years before, the migrant adults had come to Shanghai to find jobs. However, they could not afford to send their children to school in the downtown area. Instead, they usually had to stay home when their parents were out for work.

Wang thought to himself that it was unfair for the children to be denied an education because of their family's poor financial condition.

"I didn't want to see them be illiterate like me. I made up my mind to rescue them from the dilemma," he said in a low voice, staring at the ground. "I thought 'why not build a school for those migrant kids?"'

Wang then made up his mind to start his "career" as a headmaster, something that surprised everyone.

In 1999, he rented several classrooms and bought desks and chairs. A dining room and a playground were also set up to cater to the students' needs. The "headmaster" devoted himself to the school's construction and he lost 20 kilograms over six months.

He was even happy to act as cleaner of the school. Last summer, when the sewer was blocked by rubbish, upon hearing this he started to clear the passage himself, despite the strong smell.

Tuition for the school is currently quite low, 300 yuan in comparison to 700 yuan in other downtown schools. Wang has recruited some retired teachers to give the lessons.

Currently, the school has become the biggest and most popular among 10 others in the district. It now has about 600 students and offers lessons from primary to middle school.

"It is not a wise idea to manage a school for those people who want to earn lots of money," said Wang.

"I used all my savings and borrowed some from my friends. My annual income has become inadequate to meet expenses and it is much lower than the years I worked in the vegetable business."

"However, I never regret my decision or think of giving up. It was a dream of mine a long time ago. Now my students help me and take me closer to that dream."

Just like a candle, the man lights others but consumes himself.