The revised translation is pasted below.
Also, I just noticed that the name of the American professor who helped
register SOSCEF might have had a typo in "s".
鲍敏琪访谈录 used McCombs J.B.
吴雅楠访谈录 used McComb J.B.
I have followed whatever is in the Chinese version in the translation, and
perhaps nobody would really notice this, as I haven't noticed it until now,
but I want to point it out just in case.
=============================================
鲍敏琪访谈录
OCEF走专业化的道路是我一直的心愿
采访人： 唐棠（Teresa Tang）
采访时间：2012年6月
Interview with Minqi Bao
Interviewer: Teresa Tang
Interview time: June 2012
人物简介：
鲍敏琪先生， 八十年代负笈美国，获得（University of Nebraska-Lincoln） 博士学
位， 旅美二十余年，他为了帮助中国贫穷地区儿童上学，从1992年参与创立中国教育
救援基金会SOSCEF（OCEF的前身）开始，历任基金会第一任副会长、会长、理事等，为
促进基金会发展做出了很大贡献。在OCEF成立二十周年之际，鲍敏琪回顾发展历史，感
慨良多，在采访的过程中，他一
直强调“走专业化道路”。对于经历的挣扎，他都一一拿来分享，对荣誉却是只字不提
。他的话语里，虽然没有任何华丽的辞藻，我却清楚地听见一颗热爱着OCEF、热爱着助
学事业的拳拳赤子之心。
Biography of Minqi Bao:
Mr. Minqi Bao went to USA in the 1980’s to pursue higher education, and he
obtained his Ph.D. degree from University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He has been
living in USA for more than 20 years. In order to help the poor village
children in China to go to school, he co-founded SOS China Education Fund (
SOSCEF), the predecessor of OCEF, in 1992, and he was the first Vice-
President. Later on he also took the roles as the President, the Director,
etc, throughout the years, contributing tremendously to the development of
OCEF. At this opportunity to celebrate OCEF’s 20th anniversary, Minqi Bao
recalled the growth of OCEF with emotions, and he emphasized the necessity
to make OCEF a professional organization. When talking about the challenges
that they had overcome, he could share all the details, and yet he never
mentioned any of the honors that he had received. His words were plain and
simple, but I could clearly see his sincere heart devoted to OCEF and the
cause to help the children’s education.
问1：大家都知道您是基金会的创会元老，可以具体说说您与OCEF之间的渊源吗？
Question 1: People all know that you are one of the founders of OCEF. Could
you tell us your history with OCEF?
我从小在城市长大， 和农村教育没有很多的接触。1985年，我在漳州师范学院教书的
时候，经常有机会到农村的学校去走访，带实习的同学去体会农村的教育。那时我感觉
到农村的生存环境之艰难，农村教育更是很难开展。没有资金，没有教师，没有关注，
只有简陋的教室、桌椅和一些靠工资都没有保障的教师。那时候我们学校的毕业生都不
愿被分配到农村。1992年，海外中国教育基金会 (Overseas China Education
Foundation) 的前身中国教育救援基金会 (SOS China Education Fund)在美国加州刚
刚创立，得到了很多的支持和响应。这也是因为我们这些海外游子深深感到中国农村的
落后，中国农村教育的贫乏，满心愿意为祖国做一些事情。
I grew up in a city, and I didn’t have much knowledge of the village life
as a child. In 1985, I taught at ZhangZhou Normal College, and I often had
opportunities to visit the villages as I needed to take my students there
for field study. I was struck by the hardship of the village living
conditions and the huge challenge in village education then. There was no
money, no appointed teacher, nor social attention, except a shabby classroom
with a few tables and chairs, and a couple of teachers who didn’t even
have a steady income. At that time, none of our graduates would want to
teach in villages. In 1992, SOS China Education Fund (SOSCEF), the
predecessor of OCEF, was founded in California, and it received lots of
support. The inception of SOSCEF was totally credited to the warm-hearted
overseas students who wanted to do something for our motherland, as we were
saddened by the lagging behind of the villages in China and the scarcity of
village education.
出国多年，我也经常回国看看。农村的建设一天比一天红火，随着九年义务教育的推行
，农村孩子的教育也有了基本的保障，失学的孩子越来越少。与此同时，农村教师的待
遇也有所提高。现在，教师是一个很不错的职业。很多人也愿意到农村去执教。这一切
都要感谢祖国的强大和经济的发展。基金会成立二十周年了，看着农村教育的发展，我
很欣慰，这同时给基金会提出了更大的挑战。如何才能帮助需要帮助的人，如何把钱花
在最重要的地方，如何让被帮助的人真正地从中受益。
Having settled in USA for many years, I still visit China quite often. The
villages in China grow better and better, and with the nine-year compulsory
education program’s implementation, the village kids’ education is
guaranteed, so there are fewer and fewer children out of school. Meanwhile,
the remuneration of the village school teachers is improved to some extent.
Nowadays, teaching is not bad as a profession, and many people would want to
teach in villages. All of these changes are credited to our motherland’s
growth. OCEF has been running for 20 years, and I am very glad to see the
village education’s progress, which, on the other hand, poses some new and
bigger challenge for OCEF: how can we help the people who need the help the
most, how can we spend the money in the most important places, and how can
we ensure that the people we help can truly benefit from our help?
问2：在您任职期间，有哪些最难忘的人和事？
Question 2: During your tenure at OCEF, what are the most memorable people
and events?
在基金会让我印象最深刻的就是整个OCEF的团队合作精神。刚开始，基本成员都是学生
，我们大部份都是靠电子邮件联系。成员们每天都要在OCEF事务上花3－4小时。还好我
们当时是学生，没有什么硬性的时间安排。我在OCEF的几年里总共工作了3000-4000小
时。和我长期合作的几位会长、副会长，理事也是如此。只要其中一个人有事，其他人
就会毫无怨言的顶上。我们因为在OCEF服务而成为了很好的私人朋友。
What impresses me the most at OCEF is the team-work spirit. At the beginning
, the core members were all students, and we kept in touch mostly by emails.
Everyone needed to spend three to four hours a day on the OCEF work.
Luckily we had flexible schedules as we were students. In those several
years, my work hours on OCEF might have accumulated to about three thousand
to four thousand hours. The people who had collaborated with me over the
long term, such as several presidents, vice-presidents, or the directors,
all had similar schedule like mine. Whenever someone got tighten up on his
schedule, others would pitch in without a murmur. We became very good
friends through the OCEF service.
还有一个人，我不得不提，虽然他没有在基金会呆很长的时间，但是他在我的心里开启
了一扇窗，播下一个种子。他就是基金会第一任副会长McCombsJ.B.教授，他不但自费
为基金会完成所有法律上的注册手续，更为基金会撰写了第一版章程。他为我们起草基
金会章程时，就提出要把部分捐款划为基金会运作经费的条款写到章程里。他说即使基
金会现在不能做到专业化，那也应该向这个方向发展，而且越早准备越好。当时，这个
意见遭到全部基金会骨干义工的一致反对。我也是其中一个。很遗憾，因为治会理念上
的不同，McCombs J.B.教授
带着不解，在基金会创立后的第二年便离开了基金会。而他撰写的章程中关于专业化的
部分也没有被采纳。二十年后，这件事带来的观念冲突仍让我记忆犹新。
There is one person that I have to mention: Professor McCombs J.B. Although
he didn’t stay in OCEF for long, he opened a window in my heart or planted
a seed in me. He was the first Vice-President. He not only registered OCEF
with all the required legal work on his own spending, but also composed the
first regulation. When he drafted the regulation, he proposed to allocate
certain percentage of donations as the running expenses. He said that even
if we couldn’t make this organization a professional one yet, at least we
should try to go that way, and the sooner the better. However, this proposal
was disagreed upon by all other core members, myself included. Regrettably,
because we had different ideas on how we should run OCEF, Professor McCombs
J.B. left OCEF in the second year, and his proposal to make OCEF a
professional organization was not adopted. Twenty years later, I still
remember the conflict in our ideas vividly, and his idea did have merit.
问3：基金会初始阶段历经过不少艰难，您印象最深的是什么？又是什么让您改变了对
走专业化道路的看法？
Question 3: OCEF had a rough starting, and which challenge affected you the
most? Also, what made you change your idea that OCEF should become a
professional organization?
在基金会创立的初期，我们遇到了很多的苦难和打击。我们经历了很多的挣扎和彷徨。
基金会全义工的特性在另一个程度上也增加了工作的难度。比方说，当时因为国内的政
治环境时紧时松，基金会在中国内地的协调员工作很难开展。我联系了芝加哥中国领事
馆分管教育的参赞寻求基金会在中国开展工作的官方支持。基金会的最早两位协调员是
我依靠自己在国内的工作关系找到的。对于协调员的任命书，我一直认为要做得职业化
、精致一点。这两位协调员，一位叫陈丽璇，是厦门大学的教授；另一位叫李竟，时任
中科院北京天文台研究员。他们是我多年的好友，十分信得过。早年基金会的学生资助
金都是汇给他们然后由他们再发放的。在发放资助金的过程中，他们在国内遇到了很大
的困难。如果没有那封领事馆的官方文件，他们很可能已经惹上官司，有牢狱之灾。即
便如此，当年在基金会内部，也并非人人都赞成与领事馆联系这件事。这也从另一个侧
面说明了一个全义工组织的决策机制有待完善。
When OCEF was first founded, there were lots of difficulties and
frustrations. We struggled and hesitated. The nature of the volunteering
service made this work even harder. For example, the political environment
in China was unpredictable at that time, and it was difficult for the
coordinators in China to do their work. I contacted the Educational
Department in Chinese Embassy in Chicago to get the official approval of our
work in China. The first two coordinators of OCEF in China were found
through my own networking. I always think that the coordinator appointment
letters should be professional and elegant. One of the first two
coordinators was LiXuan Chen, a professor in XiaMen University; and the
other was Jing Li, a then research scientist in Beijing Astronomical
Observatory of Chinese Academy of Sciences. They are my old friends and very
trustworthy. The donations in the first couple of years were distributed
solely through them. And yet because of this money distribution, they nearly
got into trouble. If they didn’t have the official coordinator appointment
letters, they might have been sued and jailed. Still, at that time, not all
members agreed with my contacting the Chinese Embassy. This incident told
us that we could improve the regulation of an all-volunteer organization
like us.
类似上述事件在逐年增加，因为基金会的事情越做越大，人员也在增多，观念和想法也
常常很不一样。决定一个
项目的去留，一个事情的进退，或是一个人员的变动，都有可能有分歧，有意见，甚至
有争执。每当这个时候，我会想起当时McCombs教授离去的原因，同时，我也会审视自
己的工作，努力寻找提高的办法。另一方面，在美国呆的时间越长，很多思想观念也发
生改变。特别是在美国工作以来，也间接了解美国慈善事业的一些情况，没有任何一个
美国的慈善机构是没有专业人员的。这些都深深触动了我，也开始渐渐觉得走专业化道
路的合理性和必要性。
Similar incidents happened more and more later on. Also, because OCEF grew
steadily with more and more people involved, our members often had different
ideas and thoughts. There could be disagreements and even arguments on
whether a project should be kept or eliminated, whether an action should be
pursued or put on hold, or whether there should be some personnel change.
Whenever such things happened, I would remember why Professor McCombs left,
and I would mull over my own work to find a way to improve. Moreover, the
longer we stay in US, the more we may change our ideas. I had gradually got
to know some charities in US, and I didn’t see any charity that did not
have some professionals to operate it. All these things struck me deeply,
and I began to understand the reason and necessity to make OCEF a
professional organization.
问4：走专业化的道路是一个很大挑战，您能不能再进一步讲讲您对这个问题的看法和
具体的操作呢。
Question 4: To make OCEF a professional organization is a big challenge.
Could you elaborate more on this idea and the detailed procedure?
在美国生活的久了，你会发现违背了两个规律，你什么事情也做不好：一个是经济规律
，一个是自利规律。具体的操作就是在捐款中明确写出一部分是作为基金会的运作费用
。其实，不少捐款人也是很愿意把钱捐给一个有着成熟架构，高效运作的组织的。OCEF
应该开始雇用专业人员，全职半职都可以，一个人也可以，但是，要踏出这一步，就很
不简单。另外，基金会在这二十年的发展中，难免会有些法律纠纷，一个有专业人士的
机构会避免很多不必要的麻烦。
After living in US for a long while, you will find out that you won’t get
anything right if you violate two rules: first, the economic rule; second,
the self-interest rule. The procedure is to let the donors clearly write
that a portion of the donation is used to cover the operational cost.
Actually, many donors are very willing to donate money to a mature and
highly efficient organization. OCEF should hire some professional, full time
or half time, or even just one person initially, but it will be a big step
forward. Meanwhile, OCEF may encounter legal issues in many years of growth,
and an organization with a professional can avoid such unnecessary hassles.
问5：国内的义工网络从九十年代初到现在，队伍不断扩大，甚至不少被资助过的孩子
长大成人后也成为基金会的义工，这是十分可喜的。如何更好地组织国内义工工作，您
有何建议？包括组织架构上，或运作方式上。
Question 5: From the 90’s to now, the volunteer network has been gradually
growing, and many children who obtained some help before now become the
volunteers, which is very gratifying. Do you have some suggestions on how to
organize the volunteers in China better, such as on organization and
operation procedure?
我在回国的时候也和不少助学的基金会谈过。他们一致感觉，对于一个慈善基金会来说
，如何用钱才是关键，
同时也是最大的问题。如何把钱花出去能面对捐款人，如何把钱用在最需要的地方。
OCEF在国内的义工，不少工作条件非常艰苦，经常要出差到边远的地方去。我的一些感
触是：一，一定要有监督机制，其实，基金会已经开始慢慢地做起来了。只有互相检查
工作，才能真正的形成内部的自清系统。二是要把钱集中花在某些地区。这样既容易管
理也好出成效。只要把一个地方做好了，就会有辐射效应，把其他地方都带动起来。三
是，可以做大一些项目，象建校、课桌椅捐赠等。四是农村伤残孩子是一个还没有很多
关注的角落，基金会也可以朝这个方向发展。
I have chatted with many OCEF volunteers in China before. They all feel that
, for a charity, the most important thing is how we spend the money, which
is also the biggest challenge. The challenge is how we can spend the money
in the way that the donors expect us to do, and spend it in the most needed
places. Many OCEF volunteers in China need to travel to remote areas and
work in tough environments. My feeling is that: first, we must establish an
inspection mechanism, and OCEF has already done some of that. Only through
mutual inspection between different departments in OCEF can we build a self-
cleaning system. Second, focus the spending in certain regions. Having a
focus is effective to render results and easy for management. Once we can
support one region well, the radiating effect can influence many other
regions to join in. Third, do some big projects, such as building a school
or donating tables and chairs. Fourth, there hasn’t been much attention on
helping the wounded or handicapped village children, and perhaps OCEF can
help meet their needs.
OCEF走专业化的道路是我一直的心愿。也许我们现在的基础还不够，但是，有勇气前进
就一定会见到曙光。在此，我也祝愿OCEF发展壮大，能帮助更多的孩子完成学业，改变
人生的道路。
To make OCEF a professional organization has been my long-term wish. Maybe
we are not yet ready for this transition, but as long as we have the courage
to move forward, we will see the dawn. I will take this moment to wish OCEF
a steady growth in the many more years to come, to help more children in
their education, and to change their lives for the better!
吴雅楠访谈录
采访人： 江新
采访时间：2012年7月
Interview with Yanan Wu
Interviewer: Xin Jiang
Interview time: July 2012
人物简介：
吴雅楠先生是OCEF的“元老”之一。1992－1999年间历任基金会副会长、会长，秘书长
。吴雅楠常年旅居美国、加拿大，两年前回国发展，虽然公务非常忙，他仍然抽时间接
受了采访。吴先生分享了许多宝贵的早期资料，包括当年第“0”期基金会会刊，当年
基金会起步的艰难状况，以及二十年前中国留学生们身在海外，心系祖国，为挽救和提
升祖国的教育事业而殚精竭虑的动人故事。在OCEFD成立二十周年之际，吴雅楠决定再
度出山，参与基金会工作 。
Biography of Yanan Wu:
Mr. Yanan Wu was one of the founding members of OCEF. He had been the Vice-
President, President, and Secretary between 1992 and 1999. Mr. Yanan Wu had
lived in US and Canada for many years, till he returned China to advance his
career two years ago. Although Mr. Wu was very busy, he still gladly took
the time for this interview. Mr. Wu shared many precious documents from the
early years, such as the Vol 0. OCEF Magazine, the stories on the difficult
starting of OCEF, and how the overseas students devoted themselves to the
cause of education in their motherland twenty years ago. At OCEF’s twenty-
year’ anniversary, Mr. Wu decided to serve in OCEF again.
问1：你是92年第一届副会长和第二届会长，请问当时是怎样的机缘使得你和其他同仁
创建这样一个基金会？“中
国教育救援基金会”这个名字的由来？当时你们觉得中国的教育到了危难的时候了吗
Question 1: You were the first Vice-President and the second President of
OCEF (formerly SOSCEF), may I know what led you and your peers to found this
organization? How did the name of SOS China Education Fund (SOSCEF) come
from? Did you feel that it was a critical time for China Education?
基金会当时是由一些北美的中国留学生，凭着满腔的热情，抱着朴实的想法，受到国外
公益组织和国内“希望工
程”的启发，由首任会长施文元在网上倡议，由一批留学生响应而创建的。我们觉得自
己都是有幸抓住一些机遇的幸运儿，应该帮助那些还没有机会的人。为什么取名“教育
救援”？这是当时通过网上投票，搜集不同意见，又经过最终权衡决定的。除了这个名
字容易引起大家的关注以外，更多是基于当时国内的大背景。虽然有口号说“再穷不能
穷教育，再苦不能苦孩子”，但八亿农村人的儿童教育问题依然令人心酸。眼看祖国落
后的教育水平与经济的腾飞不成正比，我们怀着知识分子的使命感，觉得中国的当务之
急是提高教育水平，应该从教育开始帮助
祖国。基于这些共识，我们决定取名为“中国教育救援基金会”，英文名SOS China
Education Fund（SOSCEF）也容易引起更多人关注。
The idea to found SOSCEF (the predecessor of OCEF) was inspired by the
foreign charities and the Hope Project in China. The first president of
SOSCEF, Mr. Wenyuan Shi, proposed this idea on the internet, and a group of
Chinese students, who studied abroad, responded. These people were all eager
to help with pure hearts. We all felt that we were fortunate to have the
opportunities to study, and we should help the people who hadn’t got a
chance. Why did we call it SOSCEF? We had suggested several names online for
people to vote, collected their feedbacks, and finally chosen this name
with deliberation. This name was catchy, and it reflected the educational
condition in China at that time. Although there was a slogan that “However
poor we are, we won’t let education suffer; however hard it is, we shouldn
’t let the children bear the hardship”, the 8 billion village children’s
education status was still saddening then. Seeing that the education in
China then did not progress proportionally to China’s economic growth to be
still poor, we were determined to improve the education in China. Therefore
, we decided to use this name, SOS China Education Fund, to raise awareness
of this issue.
问2：我们很有兴趣知道首批学童的申请是通过什么渠道联系上的？当时通讯远没现在
发达，尤其是国内的偏远农村，有哪些人或事情起到了关键作用？
Question 2: We are interested to know how you got in touch with the first
batch of students who were supported. The communications then were not as
advanced as now, especially in the remote villages. Who or what events were
critical to establish those connections?
92、93年的起步阶段，只能通过熟人朋友之间的介绍来联系受助学童。当时基金会没有
经验，和国内又相距甚远，所以我们建立了国内协调员制度（约有20个左右）来开展一
线工作。我们当时的留学生中，有出身农家的学生，他们家乡的孩子便成为首批申请者
；还有的通过国内的老师牵线搭桥，或地方政府推荐，最终搜集了第一批123位受助儿
童。
When we started in 1992 or 1993, we could only use our acquaintances’
networking to contact the children who needed support. We didn’t have any
experience, and we were far away from China, so we established a coordinator
system (with about 20 coordinators then) to work on the front-line. Among
us students, some were originally from villages, so their hometowns’
children were among the first batch of scholarship applicants. Meanwhile,
some teachers in China helped us to inform more children, and some local
governments recommended more children, so finally we had a list of 123
children to receive our first batch of support.
国内义工中，起步阶段的几位朋友起到至关重要的作用，比如北京天文台的李竟先生和
厦门大学的陈丽璇教授就
是最早的协调员。他们承担着重要的协调任务，在国内国外之间转发信件，在当时的大
环境下，甚至引起国安局的注意，并找李竟谈过话。而陈教授则以个人名誉担保，建立
值得信任的个人账户，将海外捐款换成人民币存入该账户。至于款项是否到达学生手中
，当时缺乏足够的财务凭证，只能通过学生和学校的反馈，比如来信作为发款凭证。二
位老师通过这些艰难的方式建立起一套财务进出的证明档案。
There were several volunteer coordinators who were critical to our initial
launching. For example, Mr. Jing Li from Beijing Astronomical Observatory
and Professor LiXuan Chen from XiaMen University were the earliest
coordinators. They shouldered a big responsibility to coordinate between
different groups, forwarded the letters between US and China, and in that
environment, the National Security Agency in China had even investigated Mr.
Jing Li. Mr. Jing Li swore by his personal integrity, and we were long-time
friends so we trusted him to establish a personal banking account to
convert the US Dollar donations into Chinese Yuan. As to whether the money
had reached the students we wanted to support, we lacked the official
transaction records for accounting purpose, except for the feedbacks from
the schools and students, such as their letters, as the evidence of
financial support. These two coordinates had to take the hard way like this
to establish an accounting documentation system.
问3：俗话说“万事开头难”，成立基金会要克服什么样的困难？包括在留学生中，在
学校里，甚至在社会上，人们是如何看待这件事，又是什么因素在推进事情的前行？
Question 3: There is an old saying that all things are difficult at the
start. What kind of difficulties had you encountered? What kind of opinions
did the overseas students, the schools, or the society, have about this? And
, what were the propelling elements to move this forward?
我们当时留学生经济状况远不如现在好，有不少人靠打工维持。尽管如此，为了表达一
片心意，我们依然在网上和大学生中发起“一元钱捐助”。由于资金量有限，为了保证
资助的持续性，我们不敢扩大受捐助学生群体，只能够“量入为出”。直到现在，我心
中依然有个隐隐的痛：在我任期两年中，收到许多孩子的来信和申请。可是当时基金会
财力实在有限，只能资助其中很少一部分的孩子。在我家的地下室里至今仍保存着一箱
来自贵州的孩子们的信件和申请表，因为资金问题得不到处理，成了心里永远的遗憾..
....
The financial conditions of the overseas students then were far worse than
now, and many students maintained their living by doing some labor work.
Despite this, in order to show our support, we still campaigned for “One
Dollar Donation” online and on campus. With limited donations, and to
ensure the consistency of our support, we couldn’t extend our support to a
larger group of students, but only supported some within our means. Even
till now, I still feel the heartache that during the two years when I was
the president, I received many letters and applications. However, the
donations we collected really couldn’t cover them all, and we could only
support a small percentage of them. At my home in the basement, I still have
a box of letters and applications from the kids in Guizhou, who couldn’t
get our support due to our limited budget, which is my regret for ever……
基金会成立之初，有过不少的分歧和争论。有的质疑这个组织到底有无存在的必要，因
为有人认为抓好教育应该是中国政府的事情，更何况在国内，当时的公益组织得不到合
法身份，要靠我们这几个人的力量改变这一切，难度非常大。不过争论中，最后占上风
的思想是“与其诅咒黑暗，不如燃起明烛”，我们相信，每个人出点力，就能改变很多
东西，我们可以让社会知道教育没有被遗忘，可以让贫困的孩子们通过知识改变命运。
When SOSCEF was first founded, there were many different opinions or even
arguments. Some people doubted whether this organization needed to exist at
all, because education should be the responsibility of Chinese government;
what’s more, a charity like us was not officially acknowledged, and it was
very difficult to improve the education status by a few people. However,
through debates, we reached a consensus that we’d rather be a candle than
blaming the darkness, and we believed that as long as each person pitched in
, we could change many things. We could let the society know that education
was not forgotten, and we could help some poor kids to change their lives
through knowledge.
基金会的成立和运作可以说是个奇迹！因为我们都不是专业人士，也不是全职管理人员
，起初不知怎样开展事务，一切都靠摸索。一个典型的例证就是，当时公司注册在加州
，捐款需汇到俄克拉荷马州的一个账号，最后捐款以支票和汇票存在伊利诺伊州的银行
账号里。这是因为留学生分布在不同地区和大学造成的。为了消除捐款者的疑虑，解答
各种问题，基金会编辑了SOSCEF问题解答，分发给公众。
The founding and running of SOSCEF are very much a miracle! We were not
professionals, we were not full-time managers, and we didn’t know what to
do except through trial and error. A good example was that we registered
SOSCEF in California, but the donations were collected through an account in
Oklahoma, and yet the donations were finally saved in a bank in Illinois.
The inconsistency was caused by the fact that our members were located in
different regions and different universities. To answer the doubts from
donors and other questions, SOSCEF compiled an FAQ for the public.
当基金会运作到一定程度，内部力不从心的情况也越来越严重，因为大家都要忙于学业
，有的还要顾及家庭，且我们不是职业化的公益组织，不可能付工资给大家，只能靠义
工们的牺牲精神来维持。另外，由于刚开始只在华人圈募捐，在很大程度上依赖互联网
。互联网虽然有它的优点，但也有其局限性，募捐的影响力有限。所以在93、94年，当
我们运作到一定程度，遇到了瓶颈。
When SOSCEF grew to some extent, we found it harder and harder to keep it up
, because we also needed to spend time on our study or research, and some of
us needed to attend our families. We were not professional organization to
pay for our members, and we sustained our operation only through volunteers
’ sacrifice. Also, initially, we campaigned only among the Chinese students
through internet. Internet had its advantages, but it was also limited in
its influence. So in 1993 or 1994, we were at a bottleneck.
回过头来看，梁敢的加入是一个重要转折。他为基金会牺牲了许多，包括家庭生活和事
业的发展，没有这些牺牲，无法保证基金会工作的顺利推进。同时，因为他社交能力强
，人缘广，带动基金会走出了虚拟网络，进入社团社区，并创新了各种筹款形式，比如
组织殷承宗慈善钢琴演奏会等等，使得基金会的影响力慢慢扩大，扎根于社会中。
In retrospect, the participation of Gan Liang was a critical shift of our
course. He sacrificed a lot, including his family and career growth, for
OCEF. Without his sacrifice, OCEF wouldn’t have progressed as well.
Meanwhile, he was very social with an excellent network, and he took OCEF
out of virtual world of internet to the real-world communities. He organized
various fundraising events creatively, such as the Charity Piano Recital by
ChengZong Duan, which helped OCEF to gradually become more influential and
more rooted in the communities.
问4：尽管有创业的艰苦，但也一定有乐趣，可以和大家分享一些有趣或难忘的记忆吗？
Question 4: Although it’s hard to start this cause, it must also be fun.
Could you share some interesting or unforgettable moments?
说起有趣的事情，大家有时会因为工作和工作之外的话题在电话里畅谈几个小时，也会
在电子邮件里因为某项制度的建立而你来我往地激烈辩论。那时，互联网也才刚刚开始
，大家电脑中文输入并不流畅，所以有时常常在电子邮件里中英文并用。
Now that you mention what was fun, sometimes we would talk for hours on the
phone on work-related issues or none-work-related issues, and we could
debate in emails vigorously on whether we should establish some procedure or
not. Internet was not widely used then, and we were not so good at
inputting Chinese, so we would type both Chinese and English in the emails.
加州Tina（缪玉婷）组织第一次SOSCEF的T－恤义卖活动令人难忘，李曼负责Logo和T－
恤设计。当我第一次拿到T-恤时，觉得有种见到亲人的亲切感和找到组织的自豪感。开
始经常穿，也顺带宣传SOSCEF，穿了几次后，便把T-恤保存起来，怕洗坏了。这如今成
了我压箱底的T恤，穿起它，就又会想起许多往事……
Tina (Yuting Liao) from California organized the first T-shirt charity sale
event, and Man Li designed the Logo and the T-shirt. When I got the T-shirt,
I felt so close to our members as if we were a family and I was so proud to
be part of it. I wore this T-shirt a lot initially as it was a way to
advertise, but after a while, I kept it away as I was afraid to wear it out.
I cherish this T-shirt, and whenever I wear it, I will remember the many
things from the past ……
由于我们中国学生多为理工科，对于成立一个基金会所需的法律手续一无所知。这时，
有一位叫做McComb J.B.的美国法学院教授担任第一届秘书长，运用其法律知识，他帮
助我们建组织，设章程，使得基金会能够在北美合法地运作。
Many of the overseas students were in math or engineering majors, and we
knew nothing about the legal procedure to register a charity. At that time,
a professor from a law school, called McComb J.B., took the role as our
first secretary, and he helped us to establish this organization with proper
regulations, and to make this a legal organization to run in US.
值得一提的是，康婕女士当时负责财务，最尽职，也最辛苦。她设立了捐款账号，认真
细心地管好每一笔账目。加拿大的陈志刚为“一元钱”捐助活动也花了不少心血。至今
想起来依然觉得温暖的是：当时我们团队的成员大
都既纯真，又有激情，常常在网络上为了共同的理想密切联系。虽然很多人并没有见过
面，但不论谁，只要因为出差或旅行到其他义工所在的州，当地义工就会像老朋友一样
接待大家。记得有一年夏天我去美国新墨西哥州做研究，从加拿大开车到美国，途径不
同的州，一路都受到基金会朋友的接待，大家虽然第一次见面，但似曾相识，如同老友
团聚，那种温馨永远值得留存心底。有次梁敢一家也曾路过我在新墨西哥州的家，并短
暂逗留，当时他的两个女儿还小。前不久聊起来，才得知她们已经工作，长大成人了，
真是感叹时光飞逝啊。
What’s worth mentioning also includes Ms. Jie Kang. She was in charge of
the finances in the most diligent way. She set up an account for donation,
and she took care of each transaction. Zhigang Chen from Canada also spent
lots of efforts in our “One Dollar Donation” campaign. Now it still warms
my heart when I think of the close connections by internet between our
members for the same dream. The members were all pure-hearted and passionate
. Although most people had never met each other in person, whenever someone
took a trip to another state where another member resided, the local members
would treat the visitors as if they were old friends. I remember that I
once went to New Mexico State to do research in a summer, and I drove from
Canada through several states in US. I was received by several members along
the way. Although it was our first time to meet, we felt as if we had been
friends all along, and the warmth is still afresh at the bottom of my heart.
At another time, Gan Liang visited me in my home in New Mexico State then,
and his two daughters were still very young. Recently I get to know that his
two daughters are all adults and working now, and I’ll have to say that
time just flies.
问5：您现在国内工作，目前国家经济形势与二十年前相比有了翻天覆地的变化，不过
教育现状仍令人担忧，你一定有更多更深的感悟，在你看来，我们怎样才能帮助更多的
孩子？
Question 5: Now that you are working in China, you can see that the economic
development of China has advanced drastically from 20 years go, but the
education is still worrisome, which you must also have thought about. In
your opinion, how can we help more children?
前不久我去了一次四川省凉山地区，看望我公司为其资助图书馆的一所小学，看后感慨
良多，我再一次面对那种“熟悉”的心酸和心痛。学校依然缺乏教师，孩子们渴望学习
，可是没有足够的条件，还是黑暗的小矮屋当教室，仅有的两位老师很羡慕他人的打工
生活，心里却割舍不下这些孩子，依然在挣扎中坚持，甚至靠在外打工的妻
子维持日常开支......
Recently I went to an elementary school in LiangShan in SiChuan province,
whose library was funded by our company. In the visit, I again felt the “
familiar” heart-ache and sadness. This school still lacks teachers, and
although the children are hungry for knowledge, they don’t have enough
resources except two dark rooms as the classrooms. The only two teachers
there envy other people’s jobs, but they can’t bear to leave these
children behind as they care about them. They still persist while struggling
, and they even need the support from their wives (working away from their
villages) to sustain their daily expense.
未来，OCEF的使命还没有完成，还有很多事要做，不仅要继续传承理念，还可以拓展更
多方式帮助贫困地区的教师和孩子，让他们觉得不孤独，让他们知道还有人在关心他们
，给他们坚持下来的动力，除了资助钱款和图书以外，还可以提供“免费午餐”，吸引
更多家长送孩子上学，还可以帮助农村教师增加教学资源，经济上予以资助等等。
OCEF’s mission is not yet accomplished, and there are still many things
that we can do in the future. We will not only pass on our original ideals,
but also find out more ways to support the teachers and children in the poor
villages, to let them know that they are not alone, and they are still
cared for, to give them more motivation to keep up their work. We can
provide not only money and books, but also free lunches to attract more
parents to send their children to school. We can also help the teachers to
get more teaching materials, and to support them financially.
这次二十周年庆活动，我欣喜地看到新老义工们在相互联系和积极策划，让我们怀着感
恩的心，感谢生活给我们带来的相遇，相互支持和相互激励，我将来有机会也会和上海
组的朋友们见面畅谈。
At this opportunity of 20-year anniversary of OCEF, I am very glad to know
that many volunteers, either old or new, are getting in touch and are
actively involved in this celebration. Let’s show our gratitude, to be
thankful for the opportunities for us to meet, to support and encourage
ourselves by one another, and I hope that I can meet our members in Shanghai
group one day.
二十年前，我写过这段话，“一个人的力量可能微不足道，一个人的声音可能微乎其微
，但是一批有着共识的人聚在一起，就会向社会昭示出一种力量，传达出一个声音…..
.如果有一天，基金会能给人们传达出这样一个声音：“教育，我们没有忘记你！”，
那么基金会和会员们的努力就没白费！”
Twenty years ago, I wrote a paragraph and I still feel the same today: One
person’s power can be little, one person’s voice can be dim, but when a
group of like-minded people get together, we can show to the society this
power and convey this voice …… If one day, OCEF can send the message that
“Education, We are not forgetting you!” then our efforts are not wasted!
很感谢和敬重OCEF的朋友们的坚持，正是因为了这一份坚持，许多孩子们的生命因此得
到了改变。祝愿OCEF成为更多人生命的祝福！
I am very grateful and respectful for the efforts of the friends at OCEF for
your persistency. Because of your perseverance, many children’s lives are
changed. May OCEF be the blessing for more and more people!
吴雅楠(中)四川凉山之行
Photo 1: Yanan Wu (middle), visit in Liangshan, Sichuan.
吴雅楠(左一)四川凉山之行
Photo 2: Yanan Wu (first in the left), visit in Liangshan, Sichuan.
