Zhang Guimei, who has dedicated her 40 years to education at China's southwestern border, is a principal motivating young girls fromimpoverishedfamilies in mountainous areas.
Zhang was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province in 1957. At 17, she came to Yunnan province to support the development of border areas. There, she stumbled into teaching and started a career as an educator.
After her husband's death in 1996, she went to teach in Huaping county, Yunnan's Lijiang. Five years later, she established a children's home and worked as a part-time president of it. The organization adopted a total of over 170 children, who call Zhang mom though she has never given birth to a child.
While teaching there, she saw many girls drop out of school due to poverty. To change the destiny of the girls in the mountain, Zhang started her preparation to build a free all-girls high school in 2002. In 2007, Zhang went to Beijing for the 17th CPC National Congress. Her report titled "I have a dream" delivered at the meeting made her dream known to all. Later, both the Lijiang and Huaping governments sponsored her with a million yuan. A year later, Zhang's school was completed, becoming the first free all-girls high school in China. During the past 13 years, the school has nurtured over 1,800 students who have made it to universities.
With no offspring and property, Zhang lives in a dormitory building with her students. She has donated all her cash awards, donations from others, and most of her salaries, more than a million yuan, to the children and other people in need. She suffers from 23 diseases, including heart disease and emphysema, but she is still working selflessly.
On June 29 this year, Zhang was awarded CPC's top honor July 1 Medal at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where she said she did all this out of her gratefulness and love for the country, as well as the original aspiration and mission of a CPC member.
