25/11/2025
During this week of Thanksgiving, we continue to thank God for 20+ years of service in Asia by remembering with gratitude the story of a few young people who decided to respond with courage and generosity.
In 2002, CWEF began its integral relationship with Concordia International School Shanghai when a group of high school students and teachers joined a service learning experience in a tiny village called Manpo in rural Yunnan province.
During this trip, the students from Shanghai were tasked with interviewing families and making observations about a subject they were interested in. Three students named Josie, Elaine, and Echo decided to learn more about schools and education in the village.
The girls discovered that many families in Manpo struggled to pay the relatively small amount of money needed to send their children to elementary school. They also found that, even when children could attend school, girls were often kept home after Grade 4 to care for younger siblings, while boys went out to work in the fields or take other jobs to help support their families.
Josie, Elaine, and Echo returned to Shanghai determined to help more kids in Yunnan go to school. In partnership with our CWEF team on the ground, they launched an on-campus fundraising initiative that became known as Yunnan Education Project (YEP).
The girls started small — one presentation to their teachers and classmates. Their efforts quickly gained traction, and within a few short years, YEP and the generous community at Concordia Shanghai were not only sponsoring hundreds of scholarships for students in Yunnan but also funding larger projects, such as the construction of village schools and drinking water projects.
Today, we can look back and marvel at how that small seed planted by those three students in 2002 has grown into something much bigger: over 45,000 people in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guangdong provinces have been positively impacted by the efforts of YEP and the Concordia Shanghai community through a wide variety of community development projects and service initiatives throughout the years.
Their story calls to mind the Apostle Paul’s reminder to his friends in Corinth:
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." -- 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
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Today, this legacy of love and generosity continues through people like you.
In 2026, we intend to provide support for 45 new students in Zhaotong — the same region of Yunnan province where Josie, Elaine, and Echo began supporting students back in 2002.
Would you join us?
The most impactful way to partner with our CWEF team is by committing to pray regularly and give monthly.
If you haven't done so already, please consider setting up a recurring donation or a generous year-end gift here:
https://bit.ly/3yRj9f5
