A DAY OF XIAOLAN

Shilan Kang, girl, 12 year old, address, Sichuan prov. Mabian county, Minzhu, country, Jinbu(progress)village, Hongcun(red village) group, school Minzhu village primary school five grade class 2.

Xiaolan’s parents have worked in city for many years, and they haven't returned home in for two years. Last year they sent home 2000RMB (approx.250 USD) home as the living cost for their children and Xiaolan’s grandparents.

Now at home, is Xiaolan’s grandfather, 65, is in good health, so he does all the field work. Now, he comes to feel his age and he is not strong as before.

Their land is 3 and half basic unit. (Each unit has a field and hillside land). The layout of their land can meet the family’s need. But no, the grandfather is not strong enough as before to work the land, so they have to buy most of their rice.  They keep a pig and sell in the end of year.  
They seldom eat pork, mostly green vegetable, some times pepper with rice.

Xiaolan’s grandmother, 61, hurt herself once working in the field several years ago, and not has still not recovered.  She is sick and often coughing.

Older brother, 13, Guanyu Fan, is in the 6 grade in same school, he is not tall as Xiaolan because he has been weak since he was very small, so by the local culture’s tradition, he has his mother’s name along with his surname

Xiaolan’s younger brother Shishuang Kang is Xiaolan twin, and in the same school, 5grade.

Xiaolan’s father’s sister and her husband also work in city all year round, and leave their two young girls to live together with Xiaolan’s grandparents. One is six and another four.  


Xiaolan is a diligent student; she is silent in school and gets along well with classmates. In the home she is a very helpful hand.  
Xiaolan gets financial support from an organization, 125yuan (16 USD) each semester.  In her home in on the wall she has many awards for study and sport. But recently she is lagging behind in study.


Her family is very popular in local area.
Her family is among the average class.  Poverty is widespread in her hometown.
We told her one day ahead that we will take pictures of her day.

April 25, 6am when we arrived, she is already making breakfast.  


Grandfather and her older brother are not home, the day before he was hurt when play with friends and so Grandfather took him to the doctor in county hospital.
Xiaolan’s morning is very busy. Making breakfast, feeding pig, making sure her brother and cousins get up, have breakfast, wash and dress, and clean up. (most pictures taken in morning) Xiaolan does all this work in good order one by one.  









Finishing morning work, she brings cousin to school, now still has one hour before class begin, so she cleans the classroom with the students

and then begins to preview lessons
.
In class, she raises questions and asks teacher’s help.

At noon, she, her brother and her cousin go back home for lunch. Xiaolan’s cousin is tired so she has to carry her back home.

The older brother has arrived home earlier so he warmed rice; lunch food is pepper with rice. Grandfather and the older brother are home now, and he is ok.

Grandfather has brought home a piece of port fat, which is the only oil for the family this year.


At, 3:30 back from school, Xiaolan does her homework first for about one hour.

Then she brings her cousins to a hill to cut grass for pig.


Dark coming, grandmother is already waiting them home ……


It rained, so we didn’t photograph more, we didn’t want to disturb more of their quite life.  
We can imagine, Xiaolan needs to prepare her family’s supper, feed the pig, and she might watch TV with her family for a while, (a small white and black TV) but not for long, because they can’t afford to use money on electricity. She might phone her parents, (they have telephone, but once again they can’t afford much for telephone costs; to them it’s expensive wasteful).


When with Xiaolan came back home, we asked her, “What you will do in future?” She said, “I never thought of that. We said, “Set yourself a goal and work hard for that”. She said, “I see…”

That’s the day of girl Xiaolan, who is among many lovely Chinese rural children



(Article and pictures approved by Xiaolan, copyright by SJA. ZZM )
Contact: sissyzheng@gmail.com
Photo links in below:
http://photo.163.com/photos/gsjczzm/121889573/

[ 本帖最后由 斯嘉 于 2007-5-17 14:05 编辑 ]