Introduction

The Sunflower Project is organized by a group Chinese and Tibetan volunteers to raise education funds for Tibetan children from families in extreme poverty in Northwest Yunnan.  This purely grassroots project is operated without any government funding or operation overhead.  For Chinese readers, please visit their site for further information. 

Throughout the years, Sunflower project will  make several rounds of recommendation of children in need of education fund and match them with donors.  Volunteers travel to the villages on Tibetan Plateau, sometime through trekking on foot for several days, to assess the candidate's financial situation.  Children recommended by the project are usually from from families with an annual income below $200 and are forced to drop out of school. 

In spite of the difficult living condition, the Tibetan children we have met during our trekking trips are all full of unbridled joyful spirits.  However, these bright kids will not be able to take charge of their own future if they continue dropping out of school at young age.  Without education, they will be struggling at the very bottom of the society when they grow up and the light that is sparkling in their eyes now will be gone forever!

People in Northwest Yunnan are already making amazing efforts to help improve the situation. Now, they need your help!  Here is your chance to make profound difference to someone's life! For more information, please read the story of Puli Tibetan School.

Method of Donation

• Donate through "Tibetan Children's Education Fund" operated by our non-profit partner Crooked Trails. 

Your donation will be eligible for tax deduction.  You may also ask for matching funds from your employer. 

• If you prefer, you may contact Ms. Chiaoyang Zhang directly and transfer your funds to China.  

Suggested Amount

• It costs ~$70 to support a child through one year of primary school and ~$115 through one year of middle school.  We recommend you consider committing continuous support in order for the recipients to finish primary school or middle school.  

Post-donation Follow Up

Mystic Trails is committed to facilitating post-donation follow-up for the oversea donors.  We will inform you the name and contact information of the child who received your donation.  If your fund goes into a pool of donations that supports several children, we will inform you all the recipients' names and contact information.

Since we are running our trekking tours in Dechin area annually, we will try to collect follow-up information and report back to the donors.  If you wish to establish interaction with the child you support, please contact us for details.

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Chiaoyang and "Migratory Bird" cafe

Chiaoyang Zhang is one of the main organizer of the Sunflower Project.  She used to work as an accountant in a metropolitan city in Sichuan Province.  In 2002, after visiting Dechin, she fell in love with Mount Kawa Karpo.  She left her city job and opened a small cafe, called Migratory Bird, right in front of the majestic Kawa Karpo.

Yet, mountain God Kawa Karpo has a larger plan for her.  After moving to Dechin, she found herself more and more involved in the education of the Tibetan Children, mainly through her work with the Puli Tibetan School.  Today, Puli and the future of Dechin Children has become an indivisible part of her life. 

For years, Chiaoyang has volunteered vast amount of work as an avid advocate for the Puli school.  With her association with professional people in large cities, she brought in large amount of donations.  Not only has she devoted all these work without any financial return, she is also reluctant to receive fame through media exposure.  For her, the work itself is the ultimate payback.   

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