School Construction – Concrete & wooden school buildings

The County Education Department provided Kate with a list of recommended locations for school construction. Kate then prioritised the list and began raising money. Working, based in Hong Kong at first, Kate enlisted the help of a local primary school teacher, Mr. Yang, Wen Hong. He served as a local representative and contact. Through regular mail, fax and telephone, the team developed tailor-made building plans. Size and function were based on local population data and official information. The necessary premises were constructed by using local techniques applied by qualified local craftsmen. Due to the combination of restricted accessibility and the local available materials, the majority of buildings were constructed as wooden structures, blending into traditional village architecture.

From 2001 to 2009, T.K.S.S. has built 58 schools, with funds mostly donated by outside parties from Mainland China, Hong Kong and overseas, ranging from NGO organizations to individuals. Amongst them 7 concrete school buildings at RMB1,161,742 and 51 wooden at RMB1,972,338, total sum of donations was RMB3,134,080.

Kate has constructed 13 wooden school buildings and dormitories in memory of her late husband Derek Payne from her own personal savings of RMB371,352.

Student Grants & Scholarships – Primary to university levels

It provides money to impoverished students from primary to university level in the hope that it could help them to finish a minimum level of education. A junior high level education allows students to have a chance to find a job in the city. However, many of them quit school earlier and work as under-aged illegal workers in cities factories.

Schools provide lists of recommended recipients. T.K.S.S. then executes follow-up home visits for verification and recommends to donors those students most in need.

School Aids – School facilities & equipments

T.K.S.S. covers a vast number of diverse approaches such as providing drinking water for students; education, recreation and sports equipments like stationery and new basketball court; replacing old blackboards and student’s desks & chairs; upgrading dormitory conditions like supplying bunk beds, bed linens and pillows; improving toilet facilities, kitchens and canteens etc.

Student’s Weekly Nutrition Support – Student’s food diet supplement

A program that helps junior high students to have a more nutritious meat based every Friday lunch before their journey home for the weekend.

Students board at the school for the week starting Sunday afternoon, bringing in their weekly rations of raw rice, chilies, and pickled vegetables for meals in school. The school collects the individual bags of rice, weights them and distributes one meal ticket for each 250 grams of self-provided rice to the student. Fresh cooked rice is prepared in the school kitchen daily and distributed in exchange of meal tickets. Extra side dishes of vegetables and meat can be purchased from the school kitchens. Many of the poorer students do not have the financial means to purchase those side dishes and what little they brought with them to go with the rice is gone easily by Wednesday. Kids from poor mountain families are forced to improvise on meager food rations in order to flavour up their daily meals. Cooked rice in cold water as porridge, red-coloured rice from the raising off liquid of the last remaining chili paste stored in plastic bags are not uncommon sights in school canteens. Normal weight and height of average natives are below national standards.

* "Student's Weekly Nutrition Support" - Program was terminated in September 2011 after the government's nationwide campaign to offer "Free Lunch Program" to students from primary to junior high school levels.