Zhang Guimei, who has dedicated her 40 years to education at China's southwestern border (be) a "mother" for more than 170 children and a principal motivating young girls from impoverished families in (mountain) areas.
Teaching at a middle school in Huaping county, she saw many girls drop of school due to poverty. It saddened her very much and made her realize that an educated female is able to cut the intergenerational (transmit) of poverty and change the future of three generations. In 2002, Zhang started her preparation to build a free all-girls high school, in hope of changing the destiny of the girls in the mountain lifting them out of poverty.
In 2007, Zhang went to Beijing for the 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress as a deputy. Her report, title was "I have a dream" made her dream of building a free all-girls high school known to all. Later, both the Lijiang and Huaping governments (sponsor)her with a million yuan, Zhang's school was completed, (become)the first free all-girls high school in China.
The school, born to fight against poverty, is a shelter for a number of girls in that area. During the past 13 years, the school has nurtured over 1,800 students who have made it to universities.
Zhang suffers from 23 diseases, including heart disease and emphysema, but she is still working selflessly. She gets up at 5:00 a. m. and is always the first one among all the stuff (arrive) at school. She also checks how the classes are going three times a day. Zhang has made over 1, 600 family visits (annual)for the past 12 years, covering a total distance of 110,700 kilometers.
