9/7 曹蕊由蘭州來電
Field update from Cao Rui (English Translation By Ed Chao)
曹蕊 下鄉field trip之前之後總是會打個電話给我们。曰前曹蕊才從field trip回来，她所謂的field trip绝不是我们一般人想像中的吃喝玩樂。旅途常達一至兩個星期。 白天長途拔涉 晚上 夜宿農家。 許多小縣村没有直接交通工具，常常走到要哭。
Whenever Cao Rui makes a field trip to poor rural areas of Gansu, she always give us a call on the phone before she leaves and after she returns. The other day, she called again after returning to Lanzhou. Her so-called field trip was completely unlike what an ordinary person would expect. Her trips are usually between one to two weeks. The days are usually strenuous and the nights are spent in a rural village. These small villages don’t have direct access to public transportation so the last few miles of travel are always done by foot. Surely the hours of long treks caused Cao Rui to despair.
這一次field trip因为小女兒無人托管，便带在身边。
因為天熱，農村衛生環境極差，小女兒被跳蚤咬得满身疱。這次我们談話的大致内容如下：
On this specific trip, Cao rui had to bring her daughter with her, since she couldn’t find anyone to babysit. Unfortunately, after arriving, due to the country heat and the poor sanitation levels in the village, her daughter was nearly devoured by fleas.
The highlights for this specific trip are as follows:
（１）一般小兒心臟手術費用是３﹣４万人民幣。这相当于農民３０年的收入。要給孩子做手術几乎是一輩子也不可能的事。
(1) Congenital heart surgery generally costs between 30-40,000 RMB. This is approximately the equivalent of 30 years savings for a rural family. Therefore, the notion of paying for a child’s operation is virtually impossible.
（２）曹蕊这次去的地方主要是天水。另有两位北師大師生同行。我们在前两个月經由尚立富先生安排，特别邀請两位北京师范大学师生针對小红巾計劃進行抨估。他们回北京后会出示一份客觀完整的書面報告給基金会。我们会在東村族網上公開給大家。這也表示我們基金會對小红巾計劃所有支持者負責。
(2) Cao Rui’s main destination during this trip was TianShui. She traveled together with two other associates from Beijing Normal University. Two months ago, we met Mr. Shang Li Fu, who introduced and arranged these two men to focus on evaluating the Little Red Scarf project. The objective was to provide an independent report about the Little Red Scarf to the Chao Foundation in order to be published on Eastvillagers. We hope that this report will provide useful information to all the donors and supporters of this project.
（３）曹蕊並說明天水目前有５０個病童已接受冶療。但還有許多病童仍在排隊。比較起來天水佔的比例較大的原因是當地婦聯會大力支持小紅巾計畫。不僅挨家挨戶去問，甚至用喇叭在村上廣播，告訴村民美國有善心機構及人士可為他們旳孩子開刀冶療。所以在曹蕊寄給我們的受惠兒童中發現天水的孩子特別多。在此我們也希望其他貧困地區的婦聯會亦能效法，安排有先天心臟病的孩子及時接受冶療和小紅巾計畫有效的配合。
(3) Cao Rui told me that 50 children from TianShui had already received heart surgery under the Little Red Scarf project (Of course there are still many on the waiting list). The high number of treated Children from TianShui can be attributed to the proactive support and cooperation from the local women’s league. For example, the woman’s league went door to door to inform the villagers, while also making many public announcement using loud speakers. We hope that women’s leagues in other villages can learn from this experience to extend the benefits of Little Red Scarf to more children.
(４)最後曹蕊提到我們上次甘肅之行所見到的十位接受手術的小朋友。他們常常問起我和 Ping。 希望能再見到我們。在我的上一個Blog 特別提到的歹棟棟, 現在己經長得又壯又活潑. 我們真是非常盼望十月底再訪蘭州時能和孩子們再見一面。曹蕊説他們個個都長高長壯，永遠脫離了心臟病的困擾。這是一件多麼令人振奮的事。
(4) Cao Rui reported that 10 children whom Ping and I met during our last visit to Lanzhou plan to have a reunion when we visit again in late Oct. She told me that one of the boys named Dai Dongdong that I mentioned in my previous blog is now getting stronger and more active. I am very excited for this reunion, especially because I will be meeting Dai Dongdong again as well as many of the other children. According to Cao Rui, all of the children are now stronger and taller and free from heart problems, which in the past deprived them from the most basic of abilities inherent in any healthy, normal child.
在此特別要感謝對小紅巾關心和樂捐的各地朋友們。你們讓這群本來在臨死邉緣的孩子們又重現生機恢復了健康。
I want to thank all of you who supported this project. With your generosity and support, a great number of children’s lives have been revitalized. They are no longer under the threat of death and now can look forward again to the prospect of growth and opportunity.
