Jiang Lijuan visits a primary school in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region to see the girls she has helped to return to school.
Many girls from families living in poverty are returning to schools in Ningxia, thanks to the efforts of an elderly woman.
Jiang Lijuan sits in her chair and slowly goes through a photo album, page by page. The 88-year-old knows the stories behind the pictures - stories of several thousand girls from remote areas of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region whom she once helped to return to school after they had dropped out because they couldn't afford the 80 yuan ($11) tuition fee.
Over the past 25 years, Jiang has raised 5 million yuan to help girls from poor families, but she doesn't focus on the money. She's more interested in the people.
"Look at these two little girls," she says. "They envied the kids who had leather shoes."
She knows every child in every photo.
"This is Du Juan from Yanchi county. I saw her frequently until she went to college. There are many college students whom I supported. We took this picture when we went to Guyuan together," Jiang says.
Jiang's story started in 1994, when she learned from TV news that 17,000 girls in Guyuan had lost their chance for an education because their families couldn't pay tuition. She was shocked.
"It's only 80 yuan, which isn't much," she says.
"But it's a big deal for girls to be educated. Girls today are the mothers of the future, and their education levels will directly affect the lives of their kids. They have a great responsibility to change the backwardness in remote areas, and we have to help them."
Previously, Jiang was a staff member of a residential committee in Yinchuan, the regional capital. She mobilized her family to support three girls. Then, she enlisted the help of seven female colleagues to send another nine girls back to school.
After that came her letter to the Ningxia Women's Federation asking for donations from the 29 units of the Spring Buds project in Ningxia. The project, led by the All-China Women's Federation, a government agency, was launched in 1989 with the aim of getting girls back into classrooms and to improve conditions for teachers in impoverished areas.
Jiang bustled around government institutions and companies, and met with ordinary people to raise money. Many were moved by the stories of the girls, and some donated immediately.
Sometimes, Jiang was met with sharp rebuffs. She remembers the criticism of people who didn't want to give, and their words hurt. "Is this a big deal that you need to worry about?" some asked. "There are so many poor people in the world. How can you help them all?"
Worse, they attacked her age and retirement status: "At your age, people usually rest at home. What are you running around for?"
Jiang let the negativity roll off. She focused on finding the next generous giver.
In September 1996, the first Spring Buds course sponsored by the Xiguan residential committee, where Jiang had worked, opened in Guyuan with 46 girls in attendance.
In the following years, more courses started in Ningxia, including in Yanchi, Tongxin, Xiji, Haiyuan and Pengyang.
